Looking for an internship in publishing? You could be the next intern with Bucknell University Press for the 2016-17 academic year. Applications are due Thursday, March 10.
Bucknell University Press offers the Cynthia Fell internship, a competitive, yearlong, non-paid internship for sophomores, juniors, or seniors interested in scholarly publishing. The internship is equivalent to one class. The internship is named for the late Cynthia Fell (1932-1994), associate director of the Press from 1968-1990.
Since 1968 Bucknell University Press has published over 1000 scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences. We are among the leading publishers in the world in eighteenth-century studies, Latin American Studies, and Luso-Hispanic Studies. We currently publish eight book series that includes the work produced by the Griot Institute for Africana Studies and the Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment. We receive about 300 scholarly book proposals per annum from authors world wide, from which about 30 titles are published.
Operating under the Provost’s office, the Press is run by its director and editorial board, consisting of 12 Bucknell faculty members drawn from various disciplines. In conjunction with our business partners, Rowman & Littlefield, the Press engages in all aspects of scholarly publishing, from the acquisition and evaluation of book proposals and manuscripts to the graphic design of catalogs and dust jackets to the marketing and promotion of the finished product. We attend conferences and we engage daily with authors and scholars from across the country and the world.
The internship is open to students in any major. No former experience in publishing is necessary to apply. The internship will teach you about all aspects of publishing scholarly books. It will require 6 hours of work per week, occasionally off campus. Interns will earn one non-traditional study course credit for successful completion of the yearlong program. The internship is equivalent to one class.
The intern will participate in the following activities, among others:
- Proposal and manuscript evaluation
- Researching external evaluators
- Attending editorial board meetings
- Proofreading
- Updating certain aspects of the web page
- Design of dust jackets and print ads
- Design of computer ads
- Contributing to the Press blog
- Interviewing authors and writing author profiles
- Overseeing book displays on campus
- Attending scholarly conferences
- Maintaining the Press library
- Updating various databases (readers, authors, etc.)
- Researching new developments in publishing, including electronic publishing
- Clerical and organizational responsibilities
- Learn about the history of scholarly publishing and the cultural change represented by electronic publishing
- Contribute towards a new student-run, student-centered critical journal in the humanities under the auspices of the Bucknell Press and the new Bucknell Humanities Center
Since the internship offers course credit, you will be expected to complete a substantial academic or creative project for evaluation during the year (e.g., editing the journal mentioned above). These projects will be consistent with your regular undertakings, but it will give you the opportunity to produce an original study or essay, or to make a particular editorial or design contribution, that engages with important and interesting issues in scholarly publishing. There is much flexibility here and we look for initiative from our interns.
The Press seeks enterprising, flexible and committed students able to work to deadlines in a small office. Interested students are requested to submit a letter of application, resume, two letters of recommendation from professors and/or previous employers (at Bucknell or elsewhere), and an academic transcript. Submit application in either hard copy or electronically by Thursday, March 10, 2016 to: Pamelia Dailey Editorial Associate Bucknell University Press 6 Taylor Hall (570) 577-3674
Bucknell University Press also offers non-credit summer internships. Information and deadlines for those opportunities will be posted at a later date. For more information about Bucknell University Press visit www.bucknell.edu/universitypress or email us at universitypress@bucknell.edu.