Internship Program
Boston Review is a prestigious, fast-growing, national magazine of politics, culture, and the arts. Interns work throughout the year on a variety of editorial and promotional projects and are essential to the magazine’s operation. Boston Review’s office is small and gives interns a unique opportunity to be involved in nearly every aspect of magazine publishing. Interns work hard and learn a great deal.
Boston Review welcomes interns from a wide range of backgrounds. Some interns have entered the program while graduate or undergraduate students. Many use the internship as an introduction to publishing after having completed their studies or having pursued a different career. Previous Boston Review interns have gone on to work and write for Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The Timesof London, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and other publications.
Prior work experience in publishing is less important than the applicant’s knowledge of Boston Review and the level of commitment and creativity that he or she can bring to the magazine. We offer twelve internship positions each year, four per term. Two of the four positions are full-time, and two require a minimum commitment of fifteen or twenty hours per week, depending on scheduling factors. All internships are unpaid, but may provide college credit depending on the policies of your college or university. Candidates are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with Boston Review before applying.
Editorial Internship (one full-time, one part-time)
The editorial internship program includes copyediting, fact-checking, proofreading, art research, and desktop publishing. Other responsibilities include screening submissions for publication, corresponding with authors, updating the magazine’s Web site, providing office support and customer service, and maintaining our databases of writers, subscribers, and other contacts. This is not a writing internship.
A note to applicants whose primary language is not English: Interns are vital to Boston Review's editorial procedure and must therefore be totally reliable when faced even with extensive and complex prose. As a result, we do not generally encourage applications from those whose primary language is not English. Keep in mind that native fluency is not sufficient for these internships; one must possess impeccable mastery of written English. If you are a candidate who falls into this category, but are confident in your abilities to do good work, please send a writing sample in addition to the materials indicated below.
Web Internship (one part-time or full-time)
Web interns help us develop and maintain our Web site. Responsibilities include posting new content, formatting archives, helping implement Web advertising and promotions strategies, and working with the editor and managing editor on Web-only content. Depending on skill level, these interns also assist with the layout and design of house ads and editorial copy. Familiarity with HTML/CSS, SQL, and PHP is valuable, but not necessary.
Marketing Internship (one part-time)
The ideal applicant for the marketing internship wants to learn the business of magazine publishing, including advertising, promotions, publicity, development, and business management. Responsibilities include managing subscriptions, preparing mailings and invoices, publicizing the magazine, some bookkeeping, and communicating with distributors and booksellers. We are a small office, and interns have the opportunity to become involved in many types of projects according to their particular interests. Experience with Macintosh computers, FileMaker Pro, and general office management is helpful but not necessary.
To submit an application for any internship, please send a hard copy of the following materials to:
Simon Waxman, Managing Editor
Boston Review
35 Medford Street, Suite 302
Somerville, MA 02143
1) A cover letter, no more than one page, explaining why you would like to participate in the Boston Review internship program. Please give us some sense of the ideas, issues, and debates that are most important to you. While stressing skills relevant to the type of internship you are applying for, please describe your proficiency in any languages other than English, your organizational and research background, and any specific areas of intellectual or academic concentration. Describe your computer proficiency, including Macintosh experience, experience with HTML/XML, MS Word, and Filemaker. Finally, let us know whether you are applying for a full- or part-time position. Bear in mind that there is greater competition for part-time positions.
2) Your résumé or c.v.
3) The names and phone numbers or email addresses of two references. Please specify their relationships to you. We prefer, but do not require, that at least one reference be a past or current employer.
4) A list of five of your favorite books, and a brief statement explaining why you like two of them.
5) A list of five publications you read regularly.
The terms of the internship listed are approximate and roughly parallel the university calendar. Applications must be postmarked by the following dates:
• Spring term (January–May): December 10.
• Summer term (June–end of August): April 10.
• Fall term (September–December): August 10.
Please understand that we cannot consider incomplete or late applications. If you have any questions that were not addressed here, you may send them to Simon Waxman (simon at bostonreview dot net).
BR Footnote:
Boston Review’s intern blog
Culture-the missing piece of effective Counterinsurgency Policy (01/26/10)
(01/18/10)
Reconsider after Reading (01/16/10)
Welcome to Pottersville (01/15/10)
Obligations in Afghanistan (01/9/10)
more
