Applications for Spring 2024
The MIT Press seeks enthusiastic interns in various departments, to start January 2024. These paid internships are a chance for people who love books and journals to learn about publishing and see how a busy university press functions. Successful interns will make valuable contacts and gain experience at one of the nation’s largest university presses.
Interns will be paid $15.50/hour and candidates should be able to commit to 12 hours per week. Interns typically start in January and continue through May; exact start and end dates are flexible depending on each intern’s schedule.
MIT Press internships are remote (unless otherwise noted) candidates must have U.S. work authorization but may be located anywhere in the U.S. Access to a computer is required for the internship. The MIT Press can send laptops for use during the duration of the internship, as needed.
Applications must be submitted by December 7, 2023. Your application must include a resume and a cover letter. In your cover letter, please provide information about what department internships appeal to you most and make sure to tell us why you’re interested in an internship at the MIT Press.
If you have any questions, please email mitp-internships@mit.edu and include ‘MITP Spring 2024 Internship’ in the subject. Please do not submit applications via email.
General Requirements: The ideal intern candidates will have a strong desire to learn about publishing, basic computer skills, excellent communication and organizational skills, the ability to work well individually and as a member of a group, an eye for detail, good judgment, a positive attitude, and a willingness to take initiative.
Internships are available in the departments listed below:
Books Acquisitions: The Books Acquisitions intern will work in the department responsible for contracting, receiving, and assessing both book proposals and manuscripts for potential publication. This intern will be responsible for tasks such as general manuscript preparation, placing orders with our warehouse, general data entry into our database, possible long-term projects which might include researching permissions or looking into grant funding opportunities, and a variety of other tasks. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about scholarly publishing in a collaborative environment.
Books Editorial: The Books Editorial internship will provide experience with a variety of editorial tasks, including checking page proofs, editing indexes, proofreading jacket copy, reviewing prepress proofs, and handling corrections for reprints. The intern will also learn about the editorial technology that we use at the MIT Press. This is an opportunity for college graduates or graduate students who know the basics of copyediting and proofreading to get practical experience in the field, so applicants who have copyediting experience (e.g., school newspaper, literary journal, tutoring at a writing center) and familiarity with the Chicago Manual of Style are strongly preferred.
Books Publicity: Books publicity interns will learn about promoting books to the media. Their primary responsibilities include logging book reviews and quotes, assisting with galley and finished book mailings, researching media for books, helping to create press materials such as pitch emails and press releases and researching excerpts, monitoring and responding to emails in the Press’s general publicity inbox, taking notes in meetings with authors and media contacts, and other general assistance. Office and/or publishing experience, as well as familiarity with FileMaker, Cision, and/or other database software, is a plus but not required.
Marketing: The Marketing Intern will be working in multiple capacities throughout our marketing department, learning across areas including author communications, book campaigns, review outreach, audience research, and content marketing (planning, writing, and execution). Responsibilities may include building publication review lists for professional titles, outreach to grassroots organizations for book campaigns, communication with professional authors, brainstorming creative ideas for professional book campaigns, contributing to our marketing content calendar, writing and editing blog and email content, and more. The ideal candidate will be able to juggle multiple projects at once and should have some understanding of marketing concepts, strong communication and writing skills, and the ability to adapt to new systems quickly and with agility.
How to apply:
All applications must be submitted through JotForm at the following link:
https://form.jotform.com/233034721297151
For more information on other job opportunities at the Press, please see our careers website at: http://mitpress.mit.edu/jobs
MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.