English & Creative Writing Internship Opportunities
For additional internship opportunities, contact the Berry Career Institute.
Independent Publisher's Group
Description: Working with a publisher that handles book publishing for several smaller presses. Students will work in several departments, both shadowing and taking an active role in the work of the company. For example, interns might help write press releases, edit documents and books, etc.
Timing: The internship can be done over one block during the school year or over a couple of months during the summer.
Location: Chicago
Paid
Application: Talk to your advisor first to get sponsorship. Then: Submit a resume and cover letter to John McGlothin (jmcglothin@ipgbook.com), who recommends thoroughly perusing the company's website www.ipgbook.com before applying. Follow the "About IPG" link on the company's homepage for more information about IPG, and browse the company's lists of books.
Graywolf Press
Description: Graywolf Press offers ongoing unpaid internships designed to expose qualified applicants to editorial and marketing work and other aspects of the publishing industry. Graywolf is a small, nonprofit literary press dedicated to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative contemporary literature essential to a vital and diverse culture. This is a highly competitive internship. Students may want to apply for a Cornell Fellowship in Liberal Arts to cover expenses while living in St. Paul.
Timing:
Winter/Spring: resumes accepted between September 1 and November 15 of the previous year.
Summer: resumes accepted between February 1 and April 1. (Please note: since summer internships are particularly competitive, consider applying for a winter/spring or fall internship.)
Fall: resumes accepted between June 1 and July 15.
Location: St. Paul, MN
Application: Talk to your advisor first to get sponsorship. Then: Send a resume and cover letter to: Erin Kottke, Graywolf Press, 2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, St. Paul MN 55114. The Press will not accept emailed applications. Consult the Graywolf Press website for more information.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Description: This is a highly competitive internship working with a news source that appears daily electronically and weekly in print. It covers news issues related to higher education. The interns' primary responsibilities are reporting and writing brief features for the "Short Subjects" section. Other opportunities include writing short features for the various sections of the paper and doing research for special projects. Interns who prove themselves as reporters and writers might be asked to write full-length features. See www.chronicle.com.
Timing: Summer, usually with a February deadline. The deadline will appear, when available, on the Chronicle's employment listings online.
Location: Washington D.C.
Paid
Application: This internship is limited to students who have experience writing for publication. Talk to your advisor first to get sponsorship. Then: Submit a cover letter, resume, and five impressive clips to: Jennifer Ruark, Associate Managing Editor, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1255 23 rd Street, N.W., Washington D. C. 20037. The contact person specifies: No phone calls.
African-American Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa
Description: A variety of opportunities, including:
History/Museum & Archival Work:
Historical research; museum collections management; archival work; oral history; museum exhibit design, fabrication and installation for temporary exhibits. The Museum is in high gear creating its first permanent exhibit and working with donors of historical artifacts for its collection. It will also have a reference library specializing in African-American history with emphasis on Iowa.
Marketing/Public Relations:
The quarterly newsletter, “The Iowa Griot.” All aspects of marketing and promotion for Museum special events, fund-raisers and educational programs. Opportunities to meet with local marketing/tourism groups such as the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Education and Educational Programming:
Interns will have the opportunity to brainstorm, create and implement their own original projects and program ideas. Annual events such as Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Black History Month, Juneteenth and Kwanzaa offer many educational opportunities to the public.
Timing: Year round
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Application: Talk to your advisor first. Then visit the African American Museum of Iowa's website for more details.
Herbert Hoover Museum
Description: Working in The Hoover Library. This internship will provide an opportunity to learn a wide range of basic archival skills: arrangement and description, preservation, reference and outreach. In addition to the hands-on, practical experience, students will also arrange a short course of readings in archival theory and practice. The expectation is that the intern will commit 100-120 hours to the Hoover Library.
Timing: Summer. Applications due April 1.
Location: West Branch, Iowa
Application: Contact your advisor first to request sponsorship. Then: Submit a cover letter and resume to: Matthew Schaefer, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum, 210 Parkside Drive-Box 488 West Branch, IA 52358. Email: matthew.schaefer@nara.gov
Students may also design and pursue their own internship opportunities. If you haven't found what you're looking for: contact the faculty in English or the Berry Career Institute.
For help designing your resume, cover letter, and other elements of your application, contact the Berry Career Institute.