Undergraduate
Publications Unit Production Internship
Internship Type: Publishing
6 credit hour for-credit internship (via ENG 398)
Internship Director: Steve Halle
Internships are offered fall-spring, spring-summer, or summer-fall
Internship Description
During the two-semester internship, Publishing Studies students will fulfill the practical requirement of the major by receiving a breadth of hands-on experience in editing, desktop publishing, typesetting, marketing, and distribution in support of affiliated literary and scholarly journals, newsletters, and a small fiction press, including Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora, SRPR (Spoon River Poetry Review), the Sinclair Lewis Society Newsletter, the IATE Newsletter, the Illinois English Bulletin, Theatre History Studies, Theatre Symposium, and FC2 (Fiction Collective 2).
In addition to hands-on mentoring from Publications Unit staff in professional publishing, interns will also participate in a weekly staff roundtable, during which time they will discuss directed readings on the field of contemporary publishing, current trends in small press and independent publishing, and participate in professional development activities. Interns will also participate in Professional Speaker Series and PUB.UNIT Presents events, featuring publishing professionals and authors, and complete research projects leading to an end-of-semester presentation at the Publications Unit.
Weekly Time Commitments and Workload
- Instruction and hands-on work in proofreading, editing, production, design and layout, marketing, advertising, permissions, graphic work, archiving, database management/data entry, or bulk distribution/mailing: 8 hours/week
- Directed Readings: 1 hour/week
- Roundtable Staff Meeting: 1 hour/week
Requirements
- Must be an upper-level student in the Publishing Studies Sequence of the major in good standing
- Prospective Interns are required to complete the following courses before applying at the Publications Unit: ENG 254, ENG 253
- Prospective Interns are strongly encouraged to complete the following courses before applying at the Publications Unit: ENG 249, ENG 349, ENG 227, ENG 358, ENG 350, ENG 353
- Prospective Interns may apply by contacting PublicationsUnit@illinoisstate.edu
- Prospective Interns will complete a professional interview (with resume and optional portfolio), proofreading exercise, and layout exercise
Bloomington Junior High School Seventh Grade Poetry Club Internship
Internship Type: Community Outreach and Service Learning
3 credit hour for-credit internship
Internship Director: Steve Halle
Internships are offered fall-spring, spring-summer, or summer-fall
Internship Description
During the one-semester internship in the fall or spring, the intern will be responsible for co-coordinating the Bloomington Junior High School Seventh Grade Poetry Club in Bloomington, Illinois with Steve Halle, director of the Publications Unit, and BJHS teachers. The intern will research, conceptualize, write, and deliver weekly workshops in poetry writing, poetry performance, and/or bookmaking for seventh graders involved in the club during the BJHS lunch period (thirty-minute period, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., specific time TBA) at Bloomington Junior High School in Bloomington, Illinois.
In addition to working with students and faculty mentors at BJHS, the intern will also compile, type, and edit student writing, and seek out contests and publishing opportunities for seventh graders in all genres of writing. The intern will also collaborate on community organizing and cohosting public events related to Poetry Club and may be involved in proposal writing related to grants and fundraising activities.
Weekly Time Commitments and Workload
- Planning and preparation for workshop: 3.5 hours/week (includes assigned readings, writing out exercises, preparing materials)
- Workshop facilitation: 1.5 hour/week (includes facilitating workshop and travel to and from BJHS site)
- Administrative work: 5 hours/week (includes meeting with internship director, journaling about activity effectiveness, typing and editing student work, seeking publications and award opportunities, creating a database and calendar of publishing and award opportunities, event planning, community organizing, and proposal writing, based on weekly needs)
Requirements
- Interns should have completed either English 227 and 247.01 OR English 254 and 227 and in most cases will be either Publishing Studies or Creative Writing majors. Interested students in other areas of the department will be considered if they have an appropriate creative writing/publishing background.
- Prospective Interns are required to complete the following courses before applying at the Publications Unit: ENG 254, ENG 253
- Intern prospects should have an interest in poetry writing, teaching, community organizing, and working in nonprofit educational endeavors.
- Intern prospects can apply by contacting Steve Halle by phone 309-438-7481 or email cshalle@illinoisstate.edu to set up a formal interview.
- Intern prospects need to interview for the position by August 1 for a fall internship or December 1 for a spring internship and will be hired on a rolling basis.
- Interns must be able to travel to BJHS on their own.
Evaluation and Output
- Compilation of revised writing activities at the end of the semester
- Reflective journal entry after each activity that documents effectiveness
- Database and calendar of publishing and award opportunities for young writers