Internship Opportunities
Students can now obtain course credit for approved unpaid internships relevant to the fields of literary study, creative writing, and publishing. Students do not need to be English majors. Internships and research apprenticeships do not fulfill course requirements for the English major or minor. For more information, please contact Dr. Taryn Okuma.
Additionally, the English Department has formalized two positions with CUA Press and the Association of Literary Critics, Writers, and Scholars that are open to qualified Catholic U. undergraduates:
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS seeks an undergraduate intern to help Press with all aspects of the publishing process. The successful candidate will develop the skills necessary to begin a successful and vibrant career in scholarly publishing. The student will assist in the preparation of manuscripts for scholarly approval as well as publication; become familiar with Chicago Manual of Style through the close editing of documents; and learn about the publishing market through research for targeted marketing campaigns and interactions with scholarly journals. Specific responsibilities will be set before the start of the internship based on applicant qualifications and the needs of the Press at the time. The student will assist in selecting which manuscripts should be rejected and which pursued further towards publication; assist in the selection of potential peer reviewers and shepherding the peer-review process; work with acquisitions editors to compile dockets that are submitted to the Press's editorial committee for consideration; and work with authors to ready manuscripts for the copy editing process. As such, the successful applicant will work hands-on with the major works of field-defining intellectuals; understand more fully the process of converting a dissertation into a book manuscript; and help these important manuscripts to reach a trade audience or find success as a text for the classroom. Students who are interested in social media and marketing are also encouraged to apply to assist with managing the Press’s social media accounts, ad design, and/or catalog copy. The Press publishes approximately 40 new books each year, primarily in theology, philosophy, and history, but candidates from any school of the university will be considered. Knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel is required. This is an unpaid internship offered for course credit and, as such, applicants must also be able to enroll in ENG 493: Research Apprenticeship for the semester of the internship. To apply, please contact Dr. Taryn Okuma for more information.
THE ASSOCIATION OF LITERARY SCHOLARS, CRITICS, AND WRITERS (ALSCW) seeks an undergraduate intern to assist with event planning and promotion, as well as office duties for Literary Matters, the online journal of the ALSCW. The intern will also read and discuss a submission each week with Ryan Wilson (Editor-in-Chief, Literary Matters) or Ernest Suarez (Editor, “Hot Rocks: Song and Verse”) as an introduction to the work of professional editing. Specific duties will be agreed upon before the start of the internship, based on the qualifications of the applicant and the needs of the ALSCW at the time. The intern will report directly to Dr. Ernest Suarez, Executive Director of the ALSCW.
The ALSCW seeks to promote excellence in literary criticism and scholarship, and works to ensure that literature thrives in both scholarly and creative environments. We encourage the reading and writing of literature, criticism, and scholarship, as well as wide-ranging discussions among those committed to the reading and study of literary works.
Since 2016, Literary Matters has published U.S. Poets Laureate along with winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, The National Book Award, The National Book Critics Circle Award, The Bollingen Prize, The MacArthur “Genius” Grant, The Ruth Lilly Prize, The Poets’ Prize, and other premier national prizes, as well as promising writers early in their career and prominent writers at mid-career.
Candidates should possess strong organizational, writing, and research skills and be comfortable working with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. Particular attention will be paid to candidates with a demonstrated interest in literature, the humanities, and creative writing. This is an unpaid internship offered for course credit and, as such, applicants must also be able to enroll in ENG 493: Research Apprenticeship for the semester of the internship. To apply, please contact Dr. Taryn Okuma.
Join the staff of the new literary magazine!
Beginning this fall, the English department will be publishing a new online magazine for literature and the arts, advised by a faculty editorial committee and run by undergraduate students. The call for submissions will be announced later this semester and students who wish to join the staff will need to enroll in ENG 220: "Literary Magazine Production" this fall. To enroll, students can apply via this online form. The work of the class will include the practical work of planning and publishing the online magazine, producing publication-quality creative work as writing assignments, engaging in class writing workshops and editing sessions, and planning and executing events related to the magazine. In addition, students will meet with a variety of professionals who work in the fields of creative writing and publishing.