SAND is looking for a new fiction editor, and the deadline to apply is Sunday, 11 May 2025.

Are you drawn to risk-taking fiction and experimental fiction with a message? Are inclusivity and intersectionality important to you? Are you passionate about the many ways indie literary journals challenge traditions to push the literary conversation forward?

Our new fiction editor will be working with co-editors on our fiction team to share the work of reading, selecting, editing, and finalising the fiction SAND publishes. It is most important to us that applicants share our values and aesthetics as well as our commitment and passion. The chosen candidate will be trained and mentored in their new role, so skills such as editing can be strengthened after joining the team.

Please note that SAND is an entirely independent, self-funded project. Our whole team works on an unpaid, volunteer basis, fitting SAND around a range of day jobs and other responsibilities.

The successful fiction editor applicant should have most of the following:

• A collaborative, supportive approach with strong communication skills
• A passion for fiction, clear editorial vision, and an understanding of SAND‘s taste, aesthetic, and values
• Knowledge about the craft of fiction and/or creative nonfiction, with writing experience a plus
• Experience editing fiction and/or creative nonfiction, which can also include editing your own work or the work of others, e.g. in workshops
• Time and willingness to attend monthly team meetings as well as more frequent fiction team meetings during reading and editing periods
• Around 6-8 hours availability per week to dedicate to SAND (during biannual submissions/editing phases, more hours may be necessary, particularly to read large volumes of submissions)
• Be living in Berlin ideally for at least the next two years
• Native-level English

The fiction editor’s most important tasks will include:

• Reading fiction submissions and choosing pieces for publication in collaboration with the team
• Editing stories with authors and proofreading stories with the team
• Helping to manage our team of fiction submissions readers
• Reading widely and staying up to date on important discussions in publishing
• Helping with editorial outreach to attract the diverse voices SAND seeks to publish
• Attending monthly team meetings at 7:30 pm alternating first Monday/Wednesday of the month, at least two editorial meetings per issue, as well as more frequent fiction team meetings during the busy periods.
• Supporting with additional SAND activities (e.g. book fairs, events)

If you’re excited about this position and share our values, aesthetics, commitment and passion, but are not sure if you have all of the relevant experience, please apply anyway! It’s not necessary that you have formal qualifications in writing or editing: We’re most interested in getting a clear picture of how applicants will fit into and contribute to the SAND team.

To apply, please send the following to [email protected] by Sunday, 11 May 2025:

Your CV and a cover letter detailing, for example:

• What attracts you to SAND and this particular role
• How your experience, aesthetics, and values align with SAND’s mission and editorial vision
• What you hope to gain from being an editor at SAND

At the end of your cover letter, please include:

• A list of 3 fiction authors that demonstrate your personal taste in fiction + a 1-2 sentence note on why you like each one
• A list of 3 short stories in English (incl. author) that demonstrate your taste in fiction + a 1-2 sentence note about why you like each one
• Optional: Your favourite literary journals (please don’t include SAND, we’re interested in finding out more about your taste and interests)

We’re looking forward to your application!