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MIT Press Fall 2019 Internships

Fall 2019 Internship Positions Available


The MIT Press seeks enthusiastic fall interns in various departments. 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.

Internships are available in Books Acquisitions, Books Editorial, Books Production, Books Publicity, Digital Production, Journals Production, and Professional Books Publicity & Marketing. These are paid, part-time internships from September through December. Hours will be negotiated, but candidates should be able to commit at least 10 hours per week, unless otherwise noted.

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.



Departmental Openings


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 person will be responsible for tasks including manuscript formatting and preparation, placing book orders, identifying potential peer reviewers, preparing tip sheets, filing, and a variety of other tasks. The acquisitions intern may also undertake longer-term projects such as researching grant funding opportunities or looking into permissions issues. Preference will be given to applicants who are able to attend the Tuesday morning publishing committee meetings (10 am to noon). The internship is 10 hours per week.

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 are now using at the MIT Press. College graduates and graduate students with copy editing experience and familiarity with the Chicago Manual of Style are strongly preferred. The internship is up to 10 hours per week.

Books Production: The Books Production intern will learn the process of book production and manufacturing by helping with daily production tasks. The intern will gain exposure to tasks related to both frontlist and backlist workflows. Weekly work will include preparing book launch folders, sending castoff materials to compositors and entering information into our title database, helping to prepare cover and text PDFs and metadata for upload to Print-On-Demand programs, assisting with reprint corrections, placing reprint orders, and helping with departmental special projects that come up during the semester. In order to give a rounded knowledge of the department, interns are invited to shadow members of the department and, if timing allows, attend a printing and manufacturing plant tour or Bookbuilders of Boston event(s). The internship is 10 hours per week.

Books Publicity: Books Publicity interns will learn about marketing and promoting books to the media. Their primary responsibilities include scanning and distributing book reviews, maintaining and updating the reviews database, assisting with galley and press release mailings, working with the MIT Press blog, researching journals and other media, inputting reviewer requests, and other general assistance. Office and/or publishing experience, as well as familiarity with Filemaker or other database software, is a plus, but not required.

Digital Production: The Digital Production intern will learn the process of ebook creation and distribution within a university press. This internship offers exposure to both frontlist and backlist digital workflows, and will provide experience in the creation of fixed-format ebooks, ebook QA, file and metadata distribution, corresponding with internal/external compositors, and entering/updating information in our title management system. The intern will also play an important role in maintaining our digital assets, performing tasks such as archive organization and auditing, uploading new assets, and collecting and vetting files to prepare older titles for inclusion in print-on-demand platforms. They will assist with other digital projects that may come up during the semester as needed. Candidates should have strong organizational and communication skills and a keen interest in learning more about digital publishing. Familiarity working with Acrobat and ePub is a plus, but not required. The internship is 10 hours per week.

Journals Production: The Journals Production intern will learn the process of academic journal production in print and electronic formats. Across a variety of disciplines, the intern will prepare manuscripts for copyediting and composition, work with editors, freelancers, and vendors; review pages; and assemble journal components for printing and online publishing. Digital publishing and Open Access are a particular highlight of the journals program and the intern will have the opportunity to learn all facets of production. The intern will also be involved in special ongoing projects. The internship is 10 hours per week.

Professional Books Publicity and Marketing: This marketing and publicity intern will have the opportunity to be involved in many areas of professional books promotion. Daily tasks may include conducting ongoing marketing research; reviewing marketing analytics and advising on buyer behavior; creating and executing social ads on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other digital marketing channels; editing and optimizing digital ads, reporting on performance of digital ads; assisting with seasonal planning; researching potential media for various audiences; attending marketing department functions and meetings; and assisting the books marketing staff on a variety of other projects. Candidates should be familiar with MS Office and have strong proofreading, writing, communications, and internet research skills. Previous marketing experience and familiarity with Filemaker a plus, but not required. The internship is 10 hours per week.

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For more information on other internships and current job openings, please see our careers website at: http://mitpress.mit.edu/jobs

The MIT Press welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds. Candidates who have significant personal experience or engagement with low-income communities or communities that are underrepresented in scholarly publishing are strongly encouraged to apply.

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.



How to Apply:


If you have any questions, please email mitntern@mit.edu and include ‘MITP Fall Internship’ in the subject. Please do not submit applications via email.