Publishing Internships – Fall 2021 & Spring 2022

Princeton University Press (PUP) is pleased to offer publishing internships starting in Fall 2021 through Spring 2022 in several department areas, including, Digital Marketing, Editorial, Finance Operations, Paperbacks, Promotions, Special Sales & Grassroots Marketing, and Textbook Sales & Marketing

 

PUP is a strong advocate for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the university press community. Individuals who are members of groups underrepresented in academic publishing (which is, according to research by Lee & Low, historically a majority white, straight, cisgender, and nondisabled industry) are encouraged to apply.

 

In this program, students observe firsthand the inner workings of a major university press and learn about all aspects of the publishing industry. Interns will be paid $13 per hour. Note that the Fall 2021/Spring 2022 internships will begin remote, but we expect the Princeton, NJ office will reopen in late September 2021. Once the office reopens, the preference is that interested candidates need be able to work from the Press’s NJ office with flexibility on in-office days. Please include in application if 100% remote work is desired.

Scheduled work hours (total 15 to 20 hours per week) and the specific start and end date for PUP internships are flexible, depending on each intern’s respective academic schedule.

 

The perks of being a PUP intern!

·        Office and administrative experience that will introduce interns to the Press and to publishing in a concrete way.

·        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 intern’s appreciation and understanding of academic publishing.

·        Celebratory lunch at the end of the program with Press colleagues and a member of PUP’s senior management, as public health conditions permit.

 

·        Must be attending a two or four-year college or university or a recent college graduate.

·        Must be at least 18 years old.

·        Must possess basic familiarity and proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and be comfortable with internet research.

·        Must possess excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

·        Must be detail-oriented, organized, and attentive to established procedures.

·        Must be able to multitask and prioritize tasks.

·        Must be able to work well both independently and with others and have ability to synthesize feedback.

·        Enthusiasm for collaboration, and commitment to professional codes of conduct, located at https://press.princeton.edu/about/mission-values.

·        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 for networking and professional development. Flexibility with in-office days will be permitted.

 

To Apply:

We thank all applicants; however, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

 

Applications will only be accepted in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF formatting. Please submit to our recruiting website (URL listed below) a cover letter and resume and indicate which department(s) you are applying for an internship in the cover letter. We recommend that you look on the Princeton University Press website to find one of our books that feels meaningful to you. Mention the book in your cover letter and explain why you chose it.

 

INTERNSHIP DIRECT APPLY URL:

 

The digital marketing team is responsible for the creation and execution of a robust and targeted global marketing strategy.  We continually measure our progress with a close focus on reader analytics and their online journeys, campaign performance metrics and retargeting strategies. The position is an opportunity to become familiar with the world of content marketing, digital analytics and strategic marketing, and the latest marketing platforms, which are highly transferable skills in any industry.  Responsibilities include updating marketing plans with relevant campaign links, assisting in the organic growth of our social media channels, updating e-newsletter subscriber lists, providing administrative support to our new PUP Speaks program, and more. The intern reports to the designated manager on a day-to-day basis, depending on the day’s or week’s project. 

Editorial interns support editorial assistants, editorial associates, and assistant editors in performing office and administrative tasks involved in the signing, developing, and publishing of distinctive and outstanding books. Primary responsibilities include processing advance and fee payments; drafting and mailing form letters; ordering complimentary copies to send to readers and authors; drafting and compiling materials for dossiers for Editorial Board approval; and mailing manuscripts, page proofs, and books to authors, readers, and endorsers. Interns may also have opportunities to take on other tasks, such as reading and evaluating proposals under consideration for publication, filling out permissions logs and conducting permissions research, researching and contacting potential peer reviewers, or other special projects. The editorial intern reports to a designated editorial associate on a day-to-day basis and to the editorial manager for overall supervision.

 

The Press’s paperbacks program brings out the treasures of the backlist in an up-to-date and affordable format. The Paperbacks Internship provides an opportunity to become familiar with, and to participate in, the tasks which go into acquiring, producing, marketing, and publicizing paperback books for a major university press. The Paperbacks Intern reports to Paperbacks Manager on a day-to-day basis, and to the Head of Paperbacks Publishing for overall supervision and coordination. Specific responsibilities include evaluating author manuscripts and requested corrections; readying files for transmittal to production, for copyediting, and for typesetting; proofreading typeset interior pages and book covers; tracking and recording the book’s progress using our in-house database; researching the status of already-published book files; conducting research related to various books for marketing

The promotions department works with the media to generate coverage of PUP books through reviews, interviews, op-eds, and more. The position is an opportunity to become familiar with, and to participate in, the tasks which go into publicizing books for a major university press. Responsibilities include conducting research related to various books for marketing purposes, researching and updating contact information for media personnel in the database, fulfilling requests, tracking and organizing book reviews, and ensuring reviewers receive e-galleys of books and press releases in a timely manner. The intern reports to the promotions assistant and provides support to both the US and UK promotions team.

Sales intern works closely with members of the sales department to support our work in cultivating and maintaining customers across a range of audiences for Princeton books, learning about how we bring books to market and how we influence customer book-buying decisions. The position is an opportunity to participate in tasks which ensure that our books are available to people in bookstores; in specialty stores; online; and via print mail order catalogs; through a range of professional organizations, etc. Day-to-day work will involve research and then writing marketing and sales copy for outreach to customers and potential customers, creating marketing materials using MailChimp and other programs. 

 

The Textbook Marketing and Sales department carries out marketing and sales activities associated with the promotion of textbooks. The Textbook Marketing and Sales Intern will play a key role in communicating with faculty who consider adopting PUP textbooks. The intern will run surveys, collect feedback and enter feedback into a Marketing Management System. The intern will report on and share these survey results with key members of the Press. The intern will also support processing book requests, assist with faculty list research and complete all other duties as assigned or requested for the general support of the department. The Intern will have the opportunity to attend all related meetings and participate in Press-wide activities, including Internship events. The Textbook Marketing and Sales Intern reports to the Senior Textbook Promotion Manager.