Meet Our Spring 2021 Interns!

If you’ve ever met one of our wonderful F(r)iction staffers, you’ll quickly learn that almost every one of them was once an intern in our Publishing Internship Program.

This program is run by our parent nonprofit organization, Brink Literacy Project. While our publishing internships are a great way to get a crash course in the literary industry, they can often provide a path to what can become a long and rewarding professional relationship. For more information, please visit the internship page on the Brink website.

Erin Clements

she/her

What is your favorite place to read? 

My favorite place to read is definitely my bed. My bed is home to my (book-themed!) weighted blanket, the best pillows in the universe, and my favorite reading light, so it’s the perfect place to curl up with a good book. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it? 

My key would be an old-fashioned, tarnished silver skeleton key with an ornate, vaguely heart-shaped handle. It would have a mysterious and somewhat foreboding aura to it, and I would always keep it on my person in the hopes that I would eventually find what it opens. It certainly helps that the key supernaturally heats up whenever it is near the object it opens . . .  

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual. 

I don’t drink coffee, but I’m a caffeine fiend, mostly through Pepsi. Since that isn’t really a beverage ritual, I’ll instead describe my favorite drink that actually requires effort: Italian cream soda. For some reason, adding a dash of cream and some flavored syrup to the otherwise bland and boring club soda to create something delicious instead is a weirdly soothing ritual. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language? 

My favorite English word is “sonder” both because of what it represents and how it came to be. Sonder is a noun that describes the realization that random passersby have lives that are just as complex as your own. In other words, it’s the realization that everyone around you is a whole person with a story, struggles, love, loss, and triumph that you will never fully understand—a concept I have been fascinated by for a very long time. But I also love the way the word sonder came to be: it was first used in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, and now appears on online, community-sourced pages like Wiktionary and Urban Dictionary, but it does not currently appear in any traditional dictionaries. There is plenty of online discourse on whether or not it counts as a word, which I feel just epitomizes why sonder is so fascinating: even when simply discussing the context and origins of a word that may or may not exist, people are incredibly reluctant to see outside of their own experience to attempt to see through the eyes of another. 

On the other hand, my favorite word in another language is batata which means potato in several languages, including Portuguese. 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why? 

My album of choice has to be All Time Low’s 2007 album So Wrong, It’s Right. I think it might be the only full-length album I can regularly listen to without skipping a single song, and it has a variety of kinds of songs to keep things interesting. My book of choice is definitely Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I fell in love with Kaz Brekker and his merry band of traumatized misfits from the first page. Kaz is one of the very, very few well written disabled characters in the literary world, and as a disabled person, that means he has earned a special place in my heart. 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be? 

If I could change one thing about the literary industry, it would be the systemic barriers that prevent it from being a more diverse industry. I believe that increased diversity in the literary industry would allow diverse stories to be told with greater regularity and accuracy, and as a member of a marginalized group, that is vitally important to me—so much so that I did my bachelor’s thesis on how to tear down those systemic barriers, and I’m excited to be able to continue that work as a Brink intern! 

Ella Fox-Martens

she/her

What is your favorite place to read?  

My bed! I’m quite bad about this because it always leads to me falling straight asleep. But there’s nothing better than propping yourself up on some cushions and covering yourself with a blanket with a thick book in hand. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it? 

It looks like a hotel room key, and it takes me straight to a nice fancy quiet room with a great view of the Thames, and an expansive room-service menu. Stacked with books, too, naturally. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.   

I usually make a soy latte for myself in the mornings, quickly followed by another one. Sometimes I am naughty and order a caramel macchiato from Starbucks. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?  

In English, I think my favorite word would be “transient,” but I love the Catalan word for “far from” which is lluny.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

I would take The National’s I Am Easy To Find, because I think it’s the most perfect album of all time, and I would bring Robert Hass’s Apple Trees at Olema because the poems give me something new every time I read them. 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?  

The prioritization of commercial potential over genuine quality. It’s inescapable, and I understand the reasons behind it, but when publishers judge manuscripts by what they think will sell rather than literary merit, the whole industry suffers. 

Esther Hsu

they/them

What is your favorite place to read?   

I love sinking into a comfy beanbag next to a window. That way, when it rains, the pitter-patter of rain against the glass lulls me into a good story; when it’s sunny, the warmth of natural sunlight feels so homey. And when it’s cloudy . . . well, let’s just hope it’s not. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it? 

Definitely a key-blade from Kingdom Hearts, either Riku’s Mirage Split or Roxas/Xion’s Two Become One. It’d unlock a mysterious door into the KH world, where I can experience the events of the series first-hand and (finally) understand the story.  

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.   

Matcha latte with soymilk, shaken in a cocktail shaker and set to rest in the fridge for a few minutes (so that the foam settles).

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language? 

English: petrichor, the smell of and after rain is so refreshing . . . but only if I’m not in the rain 

Japanese: 木漏れ日(komorebi), a word to describe how sunlight filters through tree leaves and scatters specks of light on the ground.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

Book: the Avatar: The Last Airbender comic. If I’m going to be living with the elements, I want to at least be able to fantasize about controlling them, too. 

Album: Depapepe’s One because who wouldn’t like some upbeat guitar music in the face of potential death? 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?

I would diversify the stories found within the literary industry. Many publishers tend to focus on a singular narrative, and while the publishing industry is slowly changing to include more diverse voices, there’s still more work that needs to be done. There are still so many voices that the publishing industry doesn’t hear from, and a big part of that is because of the economic privilege that pervades this industry. 

Emma Johnson-Rivard

she/her

What is your favorite place to read?   

In bed, curled up with my dog and cat. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it? 

An old-fashioned skeleton key with a big ring. I pick it up, clean it up. Put it in my pocket and then decide whether I want to put it on my bookshelf or do something else with it. Presumably, the original owner is long gone. I then either leave it on my bookshelf with my other curios or turn it into an art project. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.    

Hot with milk and no sugar. 

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

“Solitude” in English, it’s one of those words where the shape seems to emphasize the meaning. Sombra in Spanish, meaning shadow. It just rolls right off the tongue. 

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

This might be against the rules, but I don’t really listen to entire albums and would pick a mixtape instead. I’d pick a mix of artists, including The Siege, MISSIO, AViVA, Five Finger Death Punch, and Blue Stahli. As for books, I’d go with The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan. It’s one of my favorite horror stories and has greatly influenced my own sense of craft. I’ve read it multiple times by now and always feel like I come away with something new. 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be?  

I’d like it to be more accessible to new voices, both from authors and also on the management and industry side. I feel like it’s hard to know where to start when it comes to breaking in and many publishing houses still follow traditional rules because that’s how things have always been done and change is hard. 

Aisling O’Mahony

she/her

What is your favorite place to read?   

My favorite place to read is in bed, snuggled under the covers, the first thing when I wake up and the last thing before I go to bed. The best way to start and end the day. 

You’re walking down the street and suddenly spot a key on the ground! What does it look like? What do you do with it? 

The key is silver, ornate and old-fashioned, with a ragged piece of twine tied to it. It seems too small to fit any door. I put it in my pocket almost absentmindedly and make my way home. It’s only when I get to my room that I start to notice something strange is going on because I’m pretty sure that chest at the end of my bed wasn’t there before. It’s made of dark oak wood, carved with intricate words in some unusual, unknown language and when I try to move it it’s far too heavy. With a slight feeling of trepidation, I pull out the key. It fits the lock perfectly and I’m almost too nervous to open it, but I steel my nerves. I open the lid and inside is the greatest treasure an intern could hope for . . . a never-ending supply of pens. 

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.    

I don’t drink coffee, though weirdly I love coffee cake. My favorite beverage ritual is a cup of milky tea after dinner, with some orange chocolate to dip into it.   

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?   

My favorite English word is “petrichor,” which is the smell of earth after it rains. I love the popping p sound and the meaning of the word itself. Also, it makes me think of Doctor Who, which any Whovians should understand. My favorite word in Irish is fadó meaning long ago. It can be used as a sort of replacement for “once upon a time.” Though I also love the Irish word amainiris meaning the second day after tomorrow, which just seems like a wonderfully superfluous word.  

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?   

For the book, I should really choose something practical like How to Build a Raft for Dummies or How to Survive on a Deserted Island (which is an actual book!). In reality, I’d choose Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Honestly, I could reread that book every day, it’s so wholesome, hilarious, and sweet. It depicts the version of 2020 that we should have gotten instead and it would definitely lift my spirits after being stranded on a deserted island. The album I would choose is anything by Regina Spektor, as long as it has the song Genius Next Door on it. Her voice is gorgeous and all her songs have unusual, quirky melodies and fantastic lyrics that are like listening to a short story. 

If you could change one thing about the literary industry, what would it be? 

There’s a definite lack of diversity within the industry that needs to be rectified. Though some good steps have been taken to address this, there’s a lot more that still needs to be done to create greater diversity within the publishing workforce and the books that are being published.