Diversify Publishing Fellowship (Princeton, NJ)
Princeton University Press (PUP) Diversify Publishing Fellowship, a new initiative aimed at addressing a lack of diverse representation across the publishing industry, is collecting applications January 4 to February 15, 2021. Selected applicants will be notified no later than March 8, 2021.
The Diversify Publishing Fellowship is funded to run for five years, with the initial term from July 6, 2021 – June 30, 2022. The two inaugural fellows will be based out of the Press’s Princeton, New Jersey office, and will serve as fellows for either the Production Editorial or Special Sales & Grassroots Marketing departments. The program will support the two fellows annually in full-time, salaried positions within the Press’s global publishing teams.
The world of books and ideas can truly thrive only when there is diversity and inclusivity of voices—at every stage of the publishing process. Recent changes in the representation of industry leadership, in trade and scholarly publishing alike, are inspiring. But statistics reported by The Publishers Association (UK) and the Lee & Low The Diversity Baseline Survey make acutely clear the need for ambitious and purposeful industry transformation. As the Lee & Low Survey notes, “Until we start to care about equity, we will not make progress, and any gains the industry makes will continue to not be statistically significant.”
The Princeton University Press Diversify Fellowship is designed for individuals with no prior publishing experience, who are from communities historically underrepresented within US publishing, which Lee & Low data shows to be a majority white, straight, cis gendered, and non-disabled industry. Applicants from a diversity of educational backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
The perks of being a PUP Diversify Fellow!
- Full-time employment (37.5/hours a week) with equivalent annual compensation for a PUP entry-level role with comprehensive benefits (e.g., medical, dental, vision, paid time off).
- An immersive training in nonfiction publishing — trade, textbook, scholarly, digital, and audio, inclusive of publishing processes and systems.
- Empowerment of fellows with meaningful employment and industry education to successfully pursue careers in publishing.
- Opportunities to learn from a variety of departments and meet with staff throughout the Press.
- Writing and professional development workshops to support the acquisition of skills useful to pursuing future careers in publishing, scholarly communications, academia, or other writing-related fields.
- Opportunity to attend meetings to gain insight into editorial, marketing, design, and sales-related decision-making processes.
- Supervisors who act as mentors, providing support and advice, and who work to further the fellow’s appreciation and understanding of academic publishing.
- Mentoring and early career coaching, including job-search support (e.g., application material review, interview guidance).
- Alumni cohort opportunity post-fellowship (e.g., involvement with fellowship selection for year 2 fellows)
Department Fellowship Descriptions for July 6, 2021 – June 30, 2022
Production Editorial
The Production department manages manuscripts through copyediting, typesetting and design, and proofreading. The Production Fellow works closely with Production Editors to support the production process. Fellows interact with the Production Editors, and with members of other departments, such as design, manufacturing, acquisitions, and sales and marketing. Responsibilities of the Production Fellow may include logging in art for new manuscripts, completing the design check on books, copyediting indexes, quality reviews of ebooks, and checking cover and jacket digital proofs as appropriate. Special projects may include updating style guidelines for inclusivity and diversifying the freelancer pool.
Special Sales & Grassroots Marketing
The Special Sales & Grassroots Marketing Fellow will work closely with members of the department team to assist in developing PUP’s First-Year Common Reading program. This will involve uncovering new audiences (including community colleges and other colleges and universities that provide higher-education opportunities to first-generation, low-income, and other underrepresented student populations). Through internet research and other methods, the Fellow will gather comprehensive data on existing common-reading programs in North American institutions of higher education. Based on this data, the Fellow will work with PUP’s Reference Marketing Manager to develop a business plan, create marketing materials for the program itself and for targeted Princeton titles, and carry out related outreach campaigns to potential program partners.
Applicant Requirements & Application Guidance
Applicant Fellowship Requirements
- No prior book publishing experience.
- Must be at least 18 years old and a US citizen or permanent resident.
- Preference will be given to individuals who are lawfully eligible to work in the United States without employer sponsorship and have never worked in publishing. PUP strongly encourages applications from individuals who will contribute to increasing representation and diversity of thought and experience within the publishing industry.
- A minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent required. An undergraduate degree is not required.
- Basic familiarity and proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and comfort with internet research.
- Ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks.
- Comfortable interacting with a diversity of individuals, internally and externally.
- Natural curiosity and ability to ask questions in a learning environment.
- While the Princeton, NJ office is currently closed due to the pandemic, once the office reopens interested candidates need be able to work from the Press’s NJ office. A relocation stipend of up to $3000 will be provided at the appropriate time to help with moving expenses.
Application Instructions
Applications must be submitted via PUP’s application website.
Completed applications must include written responses to the following questions:
- Tell us what you hope to learn about publishing and workplace experience in this fellowship? (replies can be as broad or specific as you’d like).
- Share with us a story, or book, or another form of narrative that has meaning to you, and why?
- Please tell us something you feel is important for your colleagues to know about you?
Submit written responses to the above questions via a WORD or PDF document by uploading to the application website.
While not required, applicants have the choice to upload additional materials to further support their candidacy for the fellowship (e.g., personal statement, resume, recommendation letters).
Questions or problems with applications may be sent to resumes@press.princeton.edu
The deadline for applications is Monday, February 15th at 11:59PM EST.
Selected applicants will be notified no later than March 8, 2021.
Due to application volume, only finalists will be contacted.