ABSTRACT
This essay offers a tour of the structure of a typical publishing house, as well as brief overviews of the departments which may exist within it. All publishing houses are different, of course, so what is described here is a fictional organisation. Similarly, of course, departments and their duties vary from company to company - sometimes several departments may be combined into one, or there may be considerable overlap (deliberate or otherwise) in their roles and responsibilities. This essay is not intended to be a forensically detailed depiction of how contemporary publishing houses function but rather to provide a grounding that might offer readers some helpful context for the more focussed essays to follow. The departments or teams covered here range from Contracts to Audio, from HR to IT and from Finance to Rights. The essay takes pains not to prioritise overly the Editorial and Marketing functions as those tend to receive the most coverage elsewhere.
