Internships

Free Spirit Publishing is the leading publisher of learning tools that support young people’s social-emotional health and educational needs. We help children and teens think for themselves, succeed in life, and make a difference in the world. Our publishing house is located in Golden Valley, Minnesota. We publish twenty to twenty-five books annually in the categories of Early Childhood, Bullying & Conflict Resolution, Gifted Education, Character Education & Service Learning, and Teacher Resources and Professional Development.

Free Spirit offers one unpaid publishing internship per season, which combines experiences in the editorial, sales, and marketing departments. Please see our website for additional details: www.freespirit.com/internships. An internship at Free Spirit will introduce you to all aspects of a small business and educational publishing. It will provide you with the opportunity to work directly with the owner of the company, department directors, and key staff. The Free Spirit internship will give you skills that can transfer to larger publishing houses and careers outside of publishing. Internship hours are flexible, averaging 10–15 hours per week. At the completion of the internship, interns receive a small stipend. CEU credits may be obtained through the internship.

We accept résumés year-round. However, please note in the application which internship season you are applying for and follow these application deadlines:

• Winter/Spring internships: Résumés accepted through December 31.
• Summer internships: Résumés accepted through May 15.
• Fall internships: Résumés accepted through August 15.

To apply for the internship program please send:

• A cover letter explaining why you’re applying for the internship, along with your preferred start date
• A résumé outlining your education and work experience
• A letter of recommendation from an academic advisor, college professor, or employer familiar with you and your work
• Additional documents: a writing sample 1–5 pages

Mail or email materials to Free Spirit Publishing Internship Program, Human Resources, 6325 Sandburg Road, Suite 100, Golden Valley, MN 55427; internships@freespirit.com.

Company/organization: Free Spirit Publishing
Location: Golden Valley, Minnesota

Title: Intern (Digital & Editorial) Department: Digital & Editorial Supervisor: Assoc. Digital Product Manager Summary: Assist Digital and Editorial teams with various projects while gaining hands-on experience in the publishing industry. Lerner Publishing Group is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Company/organization: Lerner Publishing Group
Location: Minneapolis

Assist Marketing team with various projects while gaining hands-on experience in the publishing industry.

Internships are paid on an hourly basis.

Lerner Publishing Group creates the highest-quality nonfiction and fiction content for children and young adults in a variety of subjects and formats. Based in Minneapolis since its founding in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is one of the nation’s largest independent children’s book publishers with fourteen imprints: Lerner Publications, Millbrook Press, Carolrhoda Books, Twenty-First Century Books, Graphic Universe™, Hungry Tomato™, Darby Creek, Kar-Ben Publishing, Carolrhoda Lab™, LernerClassroom, ediciones Lerner, First Avenue Editions, Lerner Digital™, and Zest Books™, as well as Lerner Publisher Services.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume via email to Joyce Hutchinson.

Lerner Publishing Group is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Company/organization: Lerner Publishing Group
Location: Minneapolis

At Red Bird Chapbooks, our mission is to connect aspiring and inspiring authors and artists to audiences through the book arts. We are a volunteer-operated nonprofit literary publisher based in Saint Paul, MN. We specialize in publishing hand-crafted chapbooks.

An internship with Red Bird will introduce you to all aspects of a small literary publisher and will provide you with skills that can easily transfer to larger publishers and other careers.

Intern responsibilities include:

• Reading, evaluating and reporting on fiction, nonfiction, poetry and hybrid manuscript possibilities
• Proofreading
• Sending out author correspondence (guidelines, manuscript acknowledgments, etc.)
• Assisting with the design, copywriting and production of content for newsletters, catalogs, and other promotional materials
• Coordinating mailings (proofs, press releases, etc.)
• Assisting with tracking, formatting and archiving of reviews and other media
• Researching and reporting on grant prospects
• Providing research and recommendations regarding special projects and initiatives
• Filing, copying, and other general administrative work
• Assisting editors and designers as needed
• Working on other projects as needed

Necessary Skills and Qualifications:

• Self-motivated, detail-oriented individual with strong written, verbal, and organizational skills
• Excellent computer skills with experience in Microsoft Office
• Ability to work independently and with others
• Dependability, flexibility, and ability to maintain confidentiality
  

Internships average 8 to 12 hours per week over the course of 4 months, and are typically available over three sessions:

• Fall internships run September through December.
• Spring internships run January through April.
• Summer internships run May through August.

Internships are unpaid, but we can work with schools to arrange academic credit. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Sarah Hayes at shayes@redbirdchapbooks.com.

Company/organization: Red Bird Chapbooks
Location: St. Paul

Coffee House Press is a nationally known and renowned nonprofit publishing house located in Northeast Minneapolis. We publish annually sixteen to twenty books: novels, short stories, poetry, and literary essays.

An internship at Coffee House Press will introduce you to all aspects of a small literary publisher, and will give you skills that can also easily transfer to larger publishing houses and other careers, both in the arts and elsewhere.

For more information about internship opportunities at Coffee House Press, please go to www.coffeehousepress.org.

Company/organization: Coffee House Press
Location: Minneapolis

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. The typical internship requires a commitment of fifteen to twenty-five hours per week for a period of four months. The internship must be scheduled during operating hours, from 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and usually operates around the academic calendar.

For more information about internship opportunities at Graywolf Press, please go to www.graywolfpress.org.

Company/organization: Graywolf Press
Location: Minneapolis

Are you interested in publishing? Milkweed Editions provides ongoing unpaid internship opportunities designed to meet the needs of the press, while giving interns the chance to learn about various aspects of work in a nonprofit publishing house. Internships are available in our offices in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Milkweed Editions provides a wonderful opportunity for hands-on experience in the publishing field. Interns acquire valuable knowledge of the operation of a small, nonprofit literary press, and of the publishing process as a whole.

Application Deadlines:

• March 15: Summer session
• July 15: Fall session
• November 15: Spring session

For more information, please visit http://milkweed.org/about-us/internships-jobs/internship-description/

Company/organization: Milkweed Editions
Location: Minneapolis

Redleaf Press, a nationally known publisher of books for early childhood professionals located in St. Paul, Minnesota, is accepting applications for unpaid internship positions during the fall and spring semesters and for summer. The publishing internship program is designed to expose participants to all areas of book publishing, but with an emphasis on editorial, production, and design.

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Qualified candidates will be a junior or senior enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree program in English, journalism, liberal arts, early childhood education, or a related field. Strong writing, communication, organizational, and time-management skills are necessary. The ability to act professionally in a professional environment is required, as is the ability to multitask and to meet deadlines. Excellent computer skills, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, are desired. Familiarity with the Macintosh platform is a plus.

Essential Job Functions

1. Assist in the development of the annual publishing lists by logging, reading, and evaluating selected project proposals and manuscripts; create summaries for the acquisitions/development editor for unsolicited proposals and manuscripts.
2. Opportunities to assist in proofreading and fact-checking manuscripts.
3. Help identify potential authors by researching journals, online articles, and conference programs based on direction from acquisitions/development editor and editor-in-chief.
4. Contact academic and peer reviewers to review materials; process feedback.
5. Assist in the preparation of final manuscripts for transmittal to production.
6. Provide quality checks on epub files.
7. Participate in interior design and cover design reviews.
8. Provide editorial administrative support, including generating new boilerplate contracts and agreements for freelance writers, freelance editors, and authors; maintaining files and records; updating databases and doing general word processing; corresponding as directed; making travel arrangements, and requisitioning payments for advances and other related expenses.

To apply, submit the following electronically:

• a cover letter explaining your interest in the internship and your career goals
• a résumé outlining your education and work experience
• a writing sample
• a letter of recommendation from an academic advisor, college professor, or employer familiar with you and your work

Send materials to internships@redleafpress.org.

Company/organization: Redleaf Press
Location: St. Paul