Major: English (creative writing emphasis)
Job: Editorial assistant at Henry Holt and Company

My work

I work with two editors. Besides reading submissions, I oversee a book from the moment it's acquired through and beyond its publication date. I meet with production, art, publicity, and marketing as the book takes shape. Perhaps the most fun part of the job is writing jacket copy and meeting with authors. One of my bosses has many fiction debuts on her list, and there's nothing more exciting than working with first-time novelists.

Kenyon connections in job search

I took the Columbia Publishing Course at Columbia University, and a Kenyon graduate who works there helped me get some fantastic interviews. I also had informational interviews with Kenyon grads who worked in publishing.

Key Kenyon experience

My senior honors thesis was a collection of microfiction (very, very short stories) based on pieces of trivia. I really enjoyed working on the thesis with David Lynn, editor of the Kenyon Review. I also enjoyed the honors seminar under the guidance of Jesse Matz. The seminar is a close-knit group; you read closely, you read thoroughly, and you read together. I can't imagine my Kenyon experience without that seminar. It's an opportunity to work with a community of readers—which is critical in the publishing world.

"Everyone knows this is a tough time to apply for a job, but the most positive people I met along my way were Kenyon grads and Ohioans who had moved to New York."

Skills gained at Kenyon that help you perform your job

I was a Kenyon Review intern for four years, and part of the job was reading unsolicited manuscripts. That was as educational as my coursework. Absolutely everything that has been imagined, and everything that could be, is documented in slush-pile submissions. You learn a little about everything when you read that much.

Loving the job

There's something fresh to read every day, and there's a real chance it could arrive in bookstores across the country. To see a book come to life is, to me, enchanting. The moment new galleys come in still gets me excited every time.

Job high point

I got to work on Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2009. She's an absolutely lovely woman and an extraordinary writer. Her book is a tremendous achievement.

Outside of my job

We have a little farmers' market in Jersey City, where I live, and I know the farmers there. It's a small connection to the emphasis on local food that we had at Kenyon. I'm grateful for the taste of farm-fresh eggs—I grew quite spoiled by them during my years in Gambier.