Meet the SW Interns Part Two

We bring you the second in our Where Are They Now series which profiles some of our former interns. We ask them to look back at their internship/work experience with Spineless Wonders and tell us about any highlights and anything they found useful from the experience. We also asked about other internships they have undertaken.
Of course, we are curious about what happens to our interns, so we asked what they are doing now – workwise, in any further study or training as well as other interests outside of work. We asked what they were reading or writing. And finally we asked them to look towards the horizon and say where they see themselves in the future.

To read Part 1 of Meet the Interns, click here.

Aleesha Paz

When I began my internship, Spineless Wonders was about to release a new project called Slinkies e-Singles Under 30. My duties were related to all the stages of the project: assisting with the editing and proofreading, liaising with authors and editors involved, e-book layout design, digital conversions and uploading the e-books to the distributors website. I also had the chance to write the blurbs, compile metadata, and create Q&A interviews with the authors that appeared on the Spineless Wonders website.

At the time that I undertook the Master of Publishing, there was no unit that gave practical instruction in making an e-book. E-books are an integral part of the publishing industry and having knowledge and experience in this area is incredibly relevant. So the most invaluable part of the internship for me was the chance to work on the creation and distribution of e-books.

I have kept in touch with Spineless Wonders since ending the internship, occasionally meeting with Bronwyn Mehan, the publisher, to discuss acquisitions, tutorials, etc. Bronwyn was also able to recommend me for the job I currently have at the Copyright Agency. I work as a Content Manager Assistant, editing and formatting the Reading Australia website. The website is designed to encourage teachers to teach and celebrate Australian titles in classrooms. It has been a fantastic experience being able to work alongside talented colleagues, all with backgrounds in publishing, on a project of national importance. It has been a wonderful introduction to a field that I love.

The many hours I’ve spent proofreading teacher resources and essays on great Australian fiction has made me realise I’ve been missing out on Australia’s literary treasures. I’ve spent the last few months making my way through the Reading Australia list of titles. Recent favourites include Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and especially It’s Raining in Mango by Thea Astley.

I’m still trying to decide in which direction I want my career to go. In saying that, five years from now, I hope to still be working in publishing. It’s an incredibly exciting industry and I can’t imagine not being involved in it.

 Irina Markovsky

During my internship with Spineless Wonders I edited long form stories in January and February2015. I also helped sell books and welcome visitors at the launch of A Man Made Entirely of Bats by Patrick Lenton on 18 February 2015.

I interviewed two authors about their writing process and the experience of having their short stories, which were published by Spineless Wonders adapted to short films. The Q&A with Jon Steiner and Louise D’Arcy was published on the Spineless Wonders blog in December 2014.

Louise D’Arcy is the author of the short story Flat Daddy https://shortaustralianstories.com.au/short-story-to-short-film-louise-darcy/

Jon Steiner’s short stories are Gecko and Robber.

https://shortaustralianstories.com.au/short-story-to-short-film-jon-steiner/

I enjoyed my Spineless Wonders internship, learning something from each of the tasks I was involved in.

I realised I have to be more attentive; learn to express my thoughts in a more concise way. I picked up useful points relating to grammar through the experience of editing long form stories.

Previously I had an internship in the Press Office of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. It was in the lead up to the Archibald Prize announcement in 2010. It was exciting to see what is involved in the work of the Press Office and to be at the press conference when the winner of the Archibald that year, Sam Leach was announced among a large crowd of newspaper and magazine journalists and television reporters.

In 2014 I interned with the John McDonald, the Art Critic for Sydney Morning Herald and the film reviewer for the Australian Financial Review.

My tasks during this internship included:

-Transcribing interviews.
-Preparing visual materials for a lecture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in July 2014.
-A number of visits to museums and galleries for writing art reviews.
-I received feedback on reviews I wrote of the 19th Biennale of Sydney and William Kentridge exhibition titled SO, which was on at Annandale Galleries from early April to end of May 2014.

Currently I work as an Assistant to the Curator of Art Moment Gallery, 99 Curlewis St, Bondi Beach, Sydney, NSW, www.artmoment.com.au .

A recent exhibition was part of Sydney’s Art Month http://www.artmonthsydney.com.au/exhibitions/colourful-emotions/

I am in the Master of Art in Creative Writing at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). In two years I hope to finish my studies. My favourite book is Do Travel Writers Go to Hell by Thomas Kohnstamm.

I am currently reading The Best American Travel Writing 2015, an anthology edited by Andrew McCarthy and JasonWilson. Inspired by the above mentioned books, I hope that in five years, I will travel more, write about my travels and publish some of my writing.

Follow me on twitter @MomentinArt

Kathryn Moore

In 2014, I had the opportunity to work for Spineless Wonders as the editor of A Man Made Entirely of Bats, by Patrick Lenton. It’s a terrific little collection of absurdist microfiction with a superhero theme, so I couldn’t wait to get started. Being a fiction editor is such a joy. It never feels like work, just pure fun. Especially Patrick’s book.

Being Melbourne based, working on the project was a fabulous chance for me to make friends in the Sydney publishing scene. Which I did! It really is an industry where people are generous with their time and always happy to share their knowledge. Certainly, that’s what I found with Spineless Wonders. In turn, I hope to help others and share the expertise I have gained.

After the joy of editing Patrick’s book and my graduation from the Professional Writing and Editing course at RMIT, I have continued to offer my services as a freelance editor and proofreader. However, the main focus of 2015 is to finish and publish my Young Adult novel, Tabitha Steane is Offline. Tabitha really is a rebel without a cause—such an entertaining character to write! I can’t wait to unleash her into the world!

Once Tabby has been set free I’ll be returning my attention to a second novel, which has the plotline all ready to go. And I’m always available to edit your work if you need me! You can contact me through my website at katscopy.com