PUP Publishing Fellowship (US - Hybrid or Remote, July 2023 to June 2024)
Princeton University Press (PUP) Publishing Fellowship, an initiative launched in January of 2021 aimed at addressing a lack of diverse representation across the publishing industry, is collecting applications for third year fellows. The application is open from January 9 to January 29, 2023, and the fellowship will run from July 17, 2023 to June 28, 2024. Selected applicants will be notified no later than March 21, 2023.
The Publishing Fellowship is a full-time, salaried position, which includes benefits and a relocation stipend (if applicable). Fellows will be supervised and mentored by hosts in the Press’s Princeton, New Jersey office, and will have the option of working remotely (within the US) or in office (vaccine mandates currently in place per University safety protocols), as PUP is a staff-choice hybrid organization. The US fellow will collaborate with the Digital Production team to support the Press’ ebook program.
The world of books and ideas can truly thrive only when there is diversity and inclusivity of voices—at every stage of the publishing process. Recent changes in the representation of industry leadership, in trade and scholarly publishing alike, are inspiring. But statistics reported by The Publishers Association (UK) and the Lee & Low The Diversity Baseline Survey make acutely clear the need for ambitious and purposeful industry transformation. As the Lee & Low Survey notes, “Until we start to care about equity, we will not make progress, and any gains the industry makes will continue to not be statistically significant.”
The Princeton University Press Fellowship, funded to run for five years, is designed for individuals with no prior publishing experience, who are from communities historically underrepresented within US publishing, which Lee & Low data shows to be a majority white, straight, cis gendered, and non-disabled industry. Applicants from a diversity of educational backgrounds are encouraged to apply; in keeping with the intentions of creating opportunities with the fellowship, we are not accepting applicants with advanced degrees.
US Fellowship Description for July 17, 2023 to June 28, 2024
The Digital Production Fellow will work under the guidance and mentorship of the Digital Production Manager and be a member of the Publishing Operations team. The PUP Fellow for Digital Production will assist with the production of frontlist and backlist ebook Editions and with ensuring that the established standards for the Press’s digital production workflow are followed. With the supervision of the Digital Production Manager, this position will work closely with Production Editorial, Production Manufacturing, and Digital Publishing as well as outside conversion vendors to produce high quality ebooks. The PUP Fellow will collaborate on special projects focusing on supporting Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives to advance creating and ensuring the Accessibility of Press digital content.
The perks of being a PUP Fellow!
· Full-time employment (37.5/hours a week) with equivalent annual compensation (current salary $42,000) for a PUP entry-level role with comprehensive benefits (e.g., medical, dental, vision, paid time off).
· Participation in an organization that is committed to learning, collaborating, and empowering staff, and mission driven impact.
· An immersive training in nonfiction publishing — trade, textbook, scholarly, digital, and audio, inclusive of publishing processes and systems.
· Empowerment of fellows with meaningful employment and industry education to successfully pursue careers in publishing.
· Opportunities to learn from a variety of departments and meet with staff throughout the Press’s global teams (US, Europe, China)
· 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 fellow’s appreciation and understanding of academic publishing.
· Mentoring and early career coaching, including job-search support (e.g., application material review, interview guidance).
· Alumni cohort opportunity post-fellowship (e.g., involvement with fellowship selection for subsequent year fellows)
· A relocation stipend of up to $3000 will be provided at the appropriate time to help with moving expenses for fellows who choose to be on-site.
· Learn more about the PUP fellowship experience, ideas, and inspiration from the inaugural and current fellows at https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/ideas-and-inspiration-from-princeton-university-presss-inaugural-fellows and https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/ideas-and-inspiration-from-princeton-university-press-fellows
Applicant Fellowship Requirements
· No prior publishing experience.
· Must be at least 18 years old and a US citizen or permanent resident.
· Preference will be given to individuals who are lawfully eligible to work in the United States without employer sponsorship and have never worked in publishing. PUP strongly encourages applications from individuals who will contribute to increasing representation, and diversity of thought and experience within the publishing industry.
· A minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent required. An undergraduate degree is not required. Advanced degrees are not accepted given the intentions of the fellowship to create new opportunities.
· Basic familiarity and proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and comfort with internet research.
· Strong organizational skills and the ability to multi-task and prioritize tasks
· Comfortable interacting with a diversity of individuals, internally and externally, and by Zoom and in person (if applicable)
· Natural curiosity and ability to ask questions in a learning environment
· Excellent writing skills and strong editorial judgement, the ability to multi-task, and be detail-oriented.
· Strong written and oral communication skills for professional email correspondence
Application Instructions
Applications will only be accepted via PUP’s application website at:
To complete an application, include written responses to the following questions:
· Tell us what you hope to learn about publishing and workplace experience in this fellowship? (replies can be as broad or specific as you’d like).
· Share with us a story, or book, or another form of narrative that has meaning to you, and why?
· Please tell us something you feel is important for your colleagues to know about you?
Submit written responses to the above questions via a WORD or PDF document by uploading to the application website. Note that the question responses are the only requirement to submit an application. Please do not submit additional documents (e.g. personal statement, resume, recommendation letters).
Questions or problems with applications may be sent to resumes@press.princeton.edu
The deadline for applications is Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 11:59PM EST.
Selected applicants will be notified no later than March 21, 2023.
Due to application volume, only finalists will be contacted. For more information on Princeton University Press, visit http://press.princeton.edu/.