Books Reporter

Job Summary

The Wall Street Journal is seeking a reporter on its Features & WSJ. Magazine team to write consumer-facing book and literary-world features, report lively and prescient trend stories, and write highly shareable stories focused on authors, books and readership for a general consumer audience. The role requires a high-metabolism feature reporter with a zeal for chasing distinctive, character-driven angles on the biggest literary and book-world industry stories of the day, as well as an eye for the big personalities and cultural forces shaping the medium, from writers to sellers to #BookTok crusaders.
Responsibilities

Report, write and fact-check an average of four stories each month about books, literary trends, authors and the key players in the book world.
Develop highly shareable, witty, adrenaline‑driven story ideas that have clear news value and are executed elegantly and thoughtfully.
Maintain a well‑developed roster of industry contacts and knowledge of key figures and sources to help garner scoops, identify trends, and develop features.
Modulate between detail‑driven enterprise stories and whimsical, humor‑rich features that mine for joy.
Embod the Features and WSJ. Magazine mission to simultaneously inform and entertain.
Work collaboratively and egolessly with senior feature storytellers, enterprise and business teams, and the Media bureau focused on corporate business‑side stories reshaping books.
Uncover untold stories, develop them into juicy features and engaging reads.
Amplify traditional profiles of authors, fan trends or literary trends with humanizing detail and a strong eye for shareable, well‑crafted narrative that shows potential for long‑form WSJ. Magazine inclusion as features or cover stories.
Embrace audience data, learn continuously, and fuse metrics with great taste and imaginative ideas.
Ensure the voice, tone and standards of The Wall Street Journal are consistently met; stories must be accurate, fair, objective and of impeccable quality.
Scrupulously uphold newsroom policies and procedures around ethics and conduct.
Report to the Bureau Chief of Entertainment & Arts within the Features team.
Qualifications

Unputdownable clips and exceptional writing and reporting skills.
4 to 8 years of experience covering a relevant beat, including news, reported feature stories, and well‑developed enterprise or long‑form feature storytelling.
A proven history of finding unexpected takes on fast‑moving news events, with an eye for book‑world stories that appeal to a general audience.
A sense of humor, including a proven history of incorporating clever, intelligent angles into widely covered stories.
A meticulous approach to ensuring facts and details are exactly right, minimizing corrections and bulletproofing stories with close attention to detail.
A sharp sense of how to connect with digital audiences.
Visual thinking and a vested interest in how stories will appear across platforms.
A collaborative, team‑player attitude, an upbeat outlook and an entrepreneurial spirit as coverage needs grow and evolve.
Compensation and Benefits

Base Pay Range: $120,000 – $150,000.
Competitive and flexible compensation, with bonus eligibility based on market benchmarks and individual contributions.
Benefits‑eligible roles include a comprehensive and competitive package covering health, retirement, wellbeing and more, with optional benefits to meet diverse employee needs.
Equal Opportunity Employer—all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

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