Hachette UK Design Internship alumni come together to celebrate as 2026 applications open for expanded programme

8 April 2026, London, UK – On 25 March 2026, over 50 designers from across the industry gathered at Carmelite House, Hachette UK’s London office, to celebrate almost 20 years of its Design Internship success.

Attendees, including designers at Hachette UK and past interns, heard about the impact the internships, originating with the Little, Brown Design Internship back in 2008, have had. Over the years, over 40 designers have started their careers with internships at Hachette UK and have gone on to work at publishers across the industry, including recent Designers of the Year short-listees and winners.

The alumni event also marked the relaunch of Hachette UK’s expanded Design Internship. This year, the internship will offer six places to budding designers/illustrators and allow them to join a selection of divisions at Hachette UK. This is part of the publisher’s commitment to Changing the Story by creating opportunities for the next generation of designers and further building on the existing industry-leading design outreach already offered across Hachette UK.

The Hachette UK Design Internship, which launched as a cross-divisional programme for three candidates in 2025, gives candidates a broad experience across different divisions, with an expansive overview of the realities of working in-house at a large and varied publisher. This includes the opportunity to work on live briefs, attend photoshoots, and meet colleagues in key departments across the business. The intention is for designers to leave the experience with a full understanding of bringing a book to market and a range of work demonstrating their new skills to add to their portfolio.

To ensure the internship is as accessible as possible, it operates on a hybrid model, with interns working partly at home and partly in the London office. They will be supplied with equipment and are fully paid for the duration of their experience.

Applications open on 8 April for three weeks, with the internships running across the summer from June to September. More details can be found on the Hachette Careers page here.

Katie Espiner, CEO of Adult Trade at Hachette UK, said: “This fantastic initiative is the brainchild of some of our enormously talented and generous designers. The number of applicants we received last year shows the genuine need for our creative spaces to be truly opened up, and I am pleased that Hachette UK is committed to continuing to run this internship on an annual basis.”

Nico Taylor, Literary Art Director at Little, Brown Book Group, said: “It was incredible to come together to celebrate the success of the Hachette Design Internship, and we’re so pleased to be launching the internship in its expanded form for 2026. Over the years, Hannah Wood and I have led internships at Little, Brown and seen how rewarding it is for budding designers/illustrators starting or renewing their careers to get practical ‘live’ work and be immersed in the professional publishing environment. We felt there was scope to expand this across other Hachette divisions and give interns a broader range of experience. We can’t wait to welcome the next six designers to Hachette UK.”

Isha Mahajan, a 2025 Hachette UK Design Internship Trainee, said: “This internship is an amazing opportunity for someone who grew up reading books and has always wondered about how the world of publishing works to get an inside peek at how every department works in unison to publish a book. I am very keen to work in publishing, and this has been the perfect way to start my career.”