Applications being accepted for MSU Press editorial assistantship

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This graduate research assistantship position entails 20 hours per week for the 2022-2023 academic year, assisting the acquisitions editors and journals manager at MSU Press. It offers hands-on experience in managing book projects and journals issues from prospect research through peer review and finalizing manuscripts for production and printing, along with involvement in other press processes as needed. MSU Press publishes 40 books annually in communication and rhetoric, sociology, anthropology, Native American studies, higher education, African literature and film, and African, European, and US history. The press also publishes 15 academic and literary journals.

The editorial assistant will work primarily in the acquisitions and journals departments. Tasks include:

  • Assisting with prospect research and evaluating proposals and manuscripts;
  • Corresponding with authors, series editors, and journal editors;
  • Managing the peer-review process;
  • Preparing editorial board packets;
  • Vetting manuscripts prior to transfer to production;
  • Transferring manuscripts to production;
  • Proofreading typeset book and article manuscripts;
  • Assisting with production and marketing tasks as needed; and
  • Other office work as assigned.

The editorial assistant will attend regular meetings with the acquisitions editors, the editorial, design, and production team, and the marketing staff. The editorial assistant will work at the press for 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, on a regular schedule to be determined. No evening or weekend work and no travel are required.

Required qualifications:
• Currently enrolled in a PhD program at MSU and maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA, preferably one related to the areas we publish in; and
• Competent with MS Office programs and internet research.

Experience in publishing a plus but not required.

Graduate assistantships include a bi-weekly stipend, tuition waiver in the amount of 9 credits for fall and spring semesters, and health insurance. Prior to the appointment, a criminal background check is required.

To apply, please submit a resume, letter of interest, and an endorsement from your department chair and/or major professor (email is fine) to Catherine Cocks, MSU Press assistant director and editor-in-chief, camcat@msu.edu, by March 31, 2022.