An Intern's Experience by Kathrin Malzkorn

I have been an intern at Aurum Press for 3 weeks now, this being my last week. Today I would like to explain why I chose to be an Intern at Aurum. I am from Munich in Germany and am studying German and English Literature in my third year. Since it is obligatory in my studies to go abroad for six months, I came to London to gain some work experience in the English-speaking world. As a student of German and English it goes without saying that Literature and Publishing always attracted me and I would love to start a career in the hopes of eventually becoming an Editor. After already gaining some experience at Random House in Munich, I started working in London at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, a Literary Agency.

Now, after working mainly with fiction, I was keen on gaining insight into a non-fiction publishing house. I particularly dreamt of working in a place that publishes books I actually like and find interesting to read, because what fascinates me most about non-fiction publishing is the extraordinary possibility of bringing together a love of books and a love of what the book is about, may it be hiking or photography. Mainly attracted by the excellent biographies of Aurum Press – one of my favourites is ‘Conversations with Woody Allen’ – I soon discovered the broad range of books Aurum is publishing and what a challenge this diversity of books is for the editors here.

That is the reason why Aurum Press was, at least for me, the perfect place for an internship in publishing. During my time at Aurum I got to know the many processes involved in publishing and especially ways of promoting the final product. The highlight of every week is the editorial meeting. Discussions about new, creative and original ideas for books, marketing plans and publishing processes revealed how publishers work and which aspects play a role in their decisions. I loved the fact that the publishers really believe in the success of every book they publish. Their trust in a book or in an idea has been always the decisive factor whether books get published or not. This love and faith in their own books is visible in all of the publications at Aurum. If you learn as an intern how much work, effort and passion lies in each book, respect for the profession of publishing increases immensely. And the experience of being at Aurum has certainly increased my respect for publishing and my ultimate hopes for a publishing career.