Publishing Fellowship

Publishing Fellowship (US - Hybrid or Remote)

Interested in exploring a career in book publishing? 

Read on to learn about a unique 1-year paid Fellowship opportunity.

PUP’s Publishing Fellowship, an initiative launched in January of 2021 aimed at addressing a lack of diverse representation across the publishing industry, is collecting applications for fifth year fellows. The application is open from Friday, January 10th to Sunday, the 26th, and the fellowship will run from July 2025* to 30 June 2026 (*specific start date in July is negotiable). Selected applicants will be notified no later than 28 March 2025. 

The Publishing Fellowship is a full-time, salaried position, which includes benefits and a relocation stipend (if applicable). Fellows will be supervised and mentored by hosts in the Press’s Princeton, New Jersey office, and will have the option of working remotely (within the US) or in office, as PUP is a staff-choice hybrid organization (e.g. work location and flexible scheduling). The Press respects and trusts that staff can determine where and how they best function to perform their role. 

The world of books and ideas can truly thrive only when there is diversity and inclusivity of voices—at every stage of the publishing process. Recent changes in the representation of industry leadership, in trade and scholarly publishing alike, are inspiring. But statistics reported by The Publishers Association (UK) and the Lee & Low The Diversity Baseline Survey make acutely clear the need for ambitious and purposeful industry transformation. As the Lee & Low Survey notes, “Until we start to care about equity, we will not make progress, and any gains the industry makes will continue to not be statistically significant.” 

The Princeton University Press Fellowship, funded to run for five years, is designed for individuals with no prior publishing experience, who are from communities historically underrepresented within US publishing, which Lee & Low data shows to be a majority white, straight, cis gendered, and non-disabled industry. Applicants from a diversity of educational backgrounds are encouraged to apply; in keeping with the intention of creating opportunities with the fellowship, we are not accepting applicants with advanced degrees. 

US Fellowship Description for July 2025 - June 2026

The Publishing Fellow will support the Finance and Operations department on a yearlong initiative to review existing processes and implement new book printing strategies with the aim of optimizing the balance between inventory turnover, gross margins, and order fulfillment rates. Under the supervision of the Senior Manager of Business Systems Integration, the Fellow will join a team that is focused on providing the data and tools needed to support sales forecasting for individual titles, thus reducing future overstock from overprinting and minimizing the need for inventory destruction and remaindering. The initiative is also in direct support of Princeton University Press’s pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of “responsible consumption and production.”

Described in greater detail in this appendix, throughout this program the Fellow will partner on multiple concurrent projects that would require cross-departmental collaboration across Finance and several other Press departments: Editorial, Publishing Operations, Stock Planning, and Sales. The Fellow will serve as the primary communication link between the business areas and the project. 

The Fellow will be responsible for project coordination tasks, including scheduling meetings and setting agendas, taking minutes, and conducting 1:1 requirements interviews. As they become more familiar with Press tools and technology they will test workflows in our title-management system and may also support report building in PowerBI. The fellow will also be directly responsible for end-to-end project management of one of the number of projects listed within this program. They will support change management and be responsible for documenting new processes and assisting with the training and rollout of those processes. 

At the end of the fellowship, the expectation is that the Fellow will have an improved understanding of the factors that go into production and printing decisions and will be well positioned to take on an operations role at another press or apply those learnings to a position within book production, sales, supply chain, demand planning, project management, or inventory.

The perks of being a PUP Fellow!

• Full-time employment (37.5/hours a week) with equivalent annual compensation (current salary $45,000) for a PUP entry-level role with comprehensive benefits (e.g., medical, dental, vision, paid time off).
• Participation in an organization that is committed to learning, collaborating, and empowering staff, and mission driven impact.
• Immersive training in nonfiction publishing — trade, textbook, scholarly, digital, and audio, inclusive of publishing processes and systems.
• Empowerment of fellows with meaningful employment and industry education to successfully pursue careers in publishing. 
• Opportunities to learn from a variety of departments and meet with staff throughout the Press’s global teams (US, Europe, China).
• Professional development workshops to support the acquisition of skills useful to pursuing future careers in publishing, scholarly communications, academia, or other writing-related fields.
• Opportunity to attend meetings to gain insight into editorial, marketing, design, and sales-related decision-making processes. 
• Supervisors who act as mentors, providing support and advice, and who work to further the fellow’s appreciation and understanding of academic publishing.
• Mentoring and early career coaching, including job-search support (e.g., application material review, interview guidance). 
• Alumni cohort opportunity post-fellowship (e.g., involvement with fellowship selection for subsequent year fellows).
• A relocation stipend of up to $3000 will be provided at the appropriate time to help with moving expenses for fellows who choose to primarily work on-site from the Princeton, NJ office.
• Learn more about the PUP fellowship experience, ideas, and inspiration from the inaugural and current fellows at https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/ideas-and-inspiration-from-princeton-university-presss-inaugural-fellows and https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/ideas-and-inspiration-from-princeton-university-press-fellows.

Applicant Fellowship Requirements

• No prior publishing experience but prior professional experience welcomed.
• Must be at least 18 years old and a US citizen or permanent resident.
• Preference will be given to individuals who are lawfully eligible to work in the United States without employer sponsorship and have never worked in publishing. PUP strongly encourages applications from individuals who will contribute to increasing representation, and diversity of thought and experience within the publishing industry. This includes experienced professionals seeking a change in career and new to publishing.
• A minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent required. An undergraduate degree is not required.  Advanced degrees are not accepted given the intentions of the fellowship to create new opportunities. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (including Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visio basics).
• Ability to quickly learn new applications.
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to facilitate meetings and elicit requirements from stakeholders to prepare clear and concise documentation.
• Strong organizational skills, ability to multi-task, results-oriented and attention to detail.
• Comfortable interacting with a diversity of individuals, internally and externally, and by Zoom and in person (if applicable). 
• Natural curiosity and ability to ask questions in a learning environment, and challenging existing lines of thinking.
• Strong written and oral communication skills for professional email correspondence.