Written by Jim Gillespie, outreach assistant, Summer 2023
This internship was offered in partnership with the University of Florida Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere as part of the Center’s 2023 Public Humanities Internship Program for Graduate Students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
I’m writing this post after six weeks of work with the University Press of Florida through the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere at the University of Florida. I’m a fifth year PhD student in the Department of Philosophy, and was lucky enough to have been selected for the 2023 Public Humanities Internship with the Press.
Six weeks ago, when I was nervously waiting to begin work the following Monday, I admittedly was clueless about what actual work I would be doing on a daily basis, and—more broadly—what sort of work was actually done at a press. Other than the initial idea (the book pitch) and the final product itself (the published book), the inner workings of a press were so far outside my understanding that I was a blank slate. I applied to this internship partially out of a desire to learn more about the publication process, and I am happy to say that not only was this desire satisfied, but—like a truly filling meal—I came out fuller and appreciating more than I could have ever anticipated.
I have my own interest in publishing some work that falls under the description “creative nonfiction” or “literary nonfiction,” so being able to focus my efforts throughout my six weeks with the Press on titles in this genre was both illuminating and inspiring. As an example, part of my work involved researching creative nonfiction titles as comp titles for the Press’s own acquisitions. Seeing the breadth of these interesting titles inspired my own book while at the same time completing concrete research work for the Press. This was a microcosm of my whole experience: completing the required work served not only the particular goals of the internship but also my own goals of knowing more about these aspects of publication given my long-term aim of publishing a book. So, by researching these titles I was able to both perform the technical work for the internship and invest time in my own future. I think this is a unique feature of work—especially internship work—and the Press/Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere deserve significant credit for making this a reality.
I fully believe that this internship also helped me begin an exploration into nonacademic career paths. Not only did I learn how to perform specific tasks related to the Marketing Department at the Press (and what these tasks even were), but I learned about other dimensions of the publication world. I was able to connect to other departments (notably the Acquisitions Department!) and to the world of university press publication at large. I think this information is invaluable to my possible future: it both showed that this option is attractive and revealed that I feel that this work is important and rewarding. Just as the future work of my internship six weeks ago was hazy, my long-term future as an individual with a humanities PhD is foggy with indeterminacy and a likely overcast of uncertainty.
Even if my future lacks any relationship to the publication world, this experience was invaluable for its own sake. Insofar as my tasks contribute(d) to the publication of important, valuable, and unique books, this was inherently rewarding work, and the continued publication and reception of books like those forthcoming with the Press is important to my personal plans, so my contribution was a meaningful project. Moreover, I was lucky enough to work with amazing people. Both inside and outside of academia, my supervisor Rachel Doll is one of the greatest bosses / coordinators under whom I have worked. On top of the fact that she cared about the work we were doing and recognized its importance, Rachel cared about my individual wellbeing and whether I was gaining something from this experience. She helped me gain experience and learn about dimensions of publishing that were not immediately part of my assigned work (e.g., about acquisitions) by either putting me in touch with others in the Press (thank you, Stephanye Hunter!) or making me aware of resources outside the Press. In both the work I did and the people I met, this internship was an invaluable experience. Thank you to everyone involved for the opportunity.
Jim Gillespie is a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Florida.
The Florida Bookshelf 