In this photo, Dr. Megan Sexton is standing in front of one of the entrances to Student Center East.In this occasional series, we ask Arts & Sciences instructors to discuss how they engage students in the great questions of our time.

Megan Sexton 

Senior Academic Professional & Editor

English

Literature and the City

 

Q. How would you describe this course?

A. I designed this course to introduce students to the publishing industry in New York City. Participants meet with editors, literary agents, and publishing executives associated with the nation’s leading publishing houses and literary agencies. The course is about providing our students with a career empowering opportunity.

The publishing industry still works on an apprenticeship model, with many employees starting as interns before applying to entry-level positions. It’s often tough to land an internship if you are unfamiliar with the application procedures and job requirements, as well as the logistics of relocating. By going to the offices of these publishers, students get an authentic feel for what it would be like to work there.

 

Q. What makes this course appealing to English students?

A. The hands-on experience of being immersed in the world of publishing and hearing the stories of how professionals broke into the field. Also, the experience of visiting New York and its cultural landmarks. For many, it’s their first trip to the city.

Some of my former students who received internships at publishing houses have landed jobs in the field. These alums working in publishing are now among the professionals we meet with virtually and in-person—we are creating a network of Panthers in the publishing industry!

 

Q. Why is this course important?

A. Change is happening in the publishing world, but there is still a lack of diversity in the workforce, so this is a critical time for the industry. Books and those who make and write them to need to represent all aspects of society.

The publishing world has been historically closed off. There hasn’t been an influx of job candidates from other parts of the country and communities. I felt sending Georgia State students to New York would be a win-win, and it has been. Even if students enroll in the program and they ultimately decide that publishing isn’t for them, they are happy to have had the opportunity to try it on.

 

Q. How can students take this course into the workforce?

A. Publishing offers a wide array of career paths to potential editors, marketers, and salespeople. We also meet with literary agents, another area of the publishing world that students often haven’t considered a career option. It’s been gratifying for me to introduce the students to the possibilities available to them.

As English majors, our students are expert communicators, and their skillsets are highly sought after by employers in the publishing world and other professions. I’ve had students find work as communication directors and social media managers. Even if students don’t decide to go into publishing, they can still translate their skills learned in this course into many different sectors.

 

Q. What got you interested in this subject?

A. I’m a poet myself and the editor of Five Points, the literary magazine published here at Georgia State. I found that many of my student interns enjoyed editorial work, and they often asked me how they might get a job in publishing. I took this as a call to action and decided to figure out a way to get our students to New York to learn firsthand from publishing experts how to launch a career in the field.

 

Q. What is the most interesting or unusual assignment in this course?

A. There’s an assignment where students have to analyze several issues of The New York Times Book Review. Many of them have not previously thought about the influence that book reviews may have on the success of a book or emerging trends in publishing. I think it’s fascinating for them to break down what goes into making a book and all the many factors that contribute to its ultimate reception by readers.

– Photo by Melanie Fan. 



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