Excerpts Publishing
Intern with us in Portland, OR
Work with our book marketing dream team in our not-so-secret-anymore Portland office (frequency of office dog snuggles: high)
Did you know that Catapult has a not-so-top-secret-anymore satellite office in Portland, Oregon? We do, and you can intern with us! Our intrepid Oregon staff is looking for two well-read, detail-oriented, highly organized individuals with the communication and system-building skills to support our book marketing initiatives at Catapult / Counterpoint / Soft Skull .
Two paid, six-month positions are available starting in October 2019 .
You’ll get to work with our Portland Dream Team: Jennifer Abel Kovitz (Vice President and Associate Publisher, Sales and Marketing), Dustin Kurtz (Social Media Editor), Katie Boland (Events Coordinator), and Hope Levy (Marketing and Publicity Assistant).
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, people with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQI+ people are strongly encouraged to apply.
We are seeking to fill both a full-time internship and a part-time internship:
Full-time marketing and sales intern (October 2019–March 2020)
Part-time marketing and sales intern (October 2019–March 2020)
We’re keen to find interns with a passion for the sales and marketing side of book publishing. Both positions are likely to include data entry, basic HTML coding, market research, copywriting, basic design, mailing, events support, social media support, and more!
The ideal candidates will be exceptionally detail-oriented, organized, open to constructive feedback, efficient, clear communicators, interested in learning the business of publishing, self-managed, able to work well in a fast-paced environment, passionate about the literary world, knowledgeable about media outlets (diverse and niche interest knowledge is a plus), and comfortable learning new software and systems. Interns must be familiar with Google Drive.
We expect a lot of our interns, and in turn, expect a lot from ourselves in creating a truly beneficial internship experience—one that will provide real and marketable career skills. Our interns are paid, and they are also exposed to an exciting and broad community of exceptionally talented, motivated, and creative people. Former intern and metadata goddess/comp title wizard, Melina Hughes had this to say about the Portland internship:
“Interning with Catapult gave me hands-on experience in traditional and creative marketing. It is an incredibly dynamic job that never fails to be both educational and rewarding. The Catapult team is made up of the brightest and most innovative publishing professionals. Catapult is truly the best internship I have experienced.”
How to apply:
Please send a resume, brief cover letter, and a list of three books you’ve recently read and loved (with a few sentences about why you loved each of them), to Dory Athey, Marketing and Special Sales Manager, at dory.athey@catapult.co by 10am on Wednesday, July 24th with “Fall/Winter Internship Application” in the subject line. Please also note whether you’d prefer to be considered for the part-time or full-time position (or both) in the subject line. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions (dory.athey@catapult.co ).
Internship Applicant FAQ:
Does this internship include work with the Catapult magazine team?
No. The Portland office houses the book marketing team, which works across our three imprints: Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press. Former interns who have a demonstrated interest and aptitude for editorial work have occasionally been able to work with the magazine team—this is an infrequent occurrence and depends on the respective workloads of the magazine team and the book marketing team. That said, we love informational interviews! The magazine team is very generous with their time and knowledge and are often happy to set up video meetings with our interns to discuss editorial work, the running of a daily online magazine, and the ins and outs of Catapult.co.
Can this internship be done remotely?
Nope! We really want you in the office with us.
What kind of work can marketing and sales interns expect to be doing?
Both positions are likely to include data entry, basic HTML coding, market research, copywriting, basic design, mailing, events support, social media support, and more! This is not an internship for the spreadsheet-averse. But I promise: we’re fun nerds. Cool nerds! Really.
About Us:
Catapult , Counterpoint , and Soft Skull Press have distinct editorial teams but share marketing, publicity, design, and production resources. Our Catapult list offers a space for risk-taking writers from all over the world to collide and be in conversation, bringing you literary fiction and artful narrative nonfiction from voices, emerging and established, that honor the craft of writing and broaden the literary landscape in America and beyond, serving the needs of a diverse and serious literary readership. Counterpoint’s list covers a wide array of genres—fiction (both story collections and novels) and nonfiction (both narrative and subject-driven), all of which collectively focus on current affairs and politics, counterculture, history, the environment, memoir, literary biography, religion, and philosophy. Soft Skull Press publishes books of every genre that engage art, culture, and current events in new and radical ways. All three imprints are committed to publishing diverse voices and literature in translation.
