Internship
Taryn Fagerness Agency offers a remote internship twice a year. This internship is a six-month-long, unpaid internship which will require reading one book a week and 10-15 hours a week of work. The application window for the current internship position is CLOSED. The next internship starts in June 2024. Please contact us via the website contact form in May 2024 if interested.
The internship offers an exciting, hands-on opportunity to learn about the worlds of both domestic and foreign book publishing and life at a very busy boutique literary agency. Taryn Fagerness Agency provides interns with opportunities to strategize selling books to foreign markets, interact with foreign co-agents, create reader reports and sales materials, and much more. Many of the Agency’s interns have gone on to secure positions in publishing after the internship.
Qualifications:
-- Some college education
-- Avid book reader with some experience reading YA, middle grade, children's books. Interest in romance is a plus!
-- Excellent writing skills
-- Excellent critical thinking skills
-- Excellent small problem solving skills
-- Experience writing friendly, professional emails
-- Insanely amazing attention to detail and a commitment to consistency
-- A professional, outgoing, intelligent, opinionated personality
-- A self-starter who gets things done and doesn’t require constant supervision
-- A computer with video chat capabilities
Meet intern Alyssa Meireles: Alyssa Meireles holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Literature, a testament to her deep passion for the world of books. Her lifelong obsession with literature has naturally steered her towards a career in the publishing industry. When she’s not reading, Alyssa can usually be found walking her dog Zedd, baking, or playing Dungeons & Dragons. Eager to expand her knowledge and gain hands-on experience, Alyssa is thrilled about the prospect of learning more about the role of foreign rights agents from Taryn.
“This internship was a life-changing experience! Taryn is a patient teacher who is open about the realities of publishing and enthusiastic about her work. Her guidance was direct, positive, and growth-centered. It was incredible to interact with foreign co-agents, collect sales materials, and read books before they went public. Taryn shared so much valuable information about how subsidiary rights work and how to determine the potential of a project. In my six months at TFA, I learned so much, and I am certain that this knowledge will be crucial throughout my career. I am so incredibly grateful to Taryn!” – former intern Linessa Wheeler
“This internship was an incredible opportunity to learn more about the book publishing industry! As a remote intern for six months, I feel like I’ve learned so much, and Taryn was kind and supportive throughout. She taught me the ins and outs of working in foreign rights and always encouraged me to reach out if I had any questions or concerns. Every week, I looked forward to my weekly assignments, wondering what genre of book I would read that week or what special projects I would work on. This internship gave me hands-on experience by directly pitching books via email to foreign co-agents all over the world. I also found it really cool to read books before they are even published! This was a wonderful opportunity, and I feel incredibly thankful to have interned at Taryn Fagerness Agency. Although I’m sad to see the internship end, I’m excited to use all the skills I’ve learned moving forward in my career.” – former intern Samantha Havela
“I absolutely loved delving into the world of foreign rights with Taryn! This internship is such a valuable opportunity that includes a lot of hands-on experience, particularly getting to correspond directly with foreign co-agents. The longer length of the internship also really allowed me to see the full process of selling foreign rights, and helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the work and improve my skills. It was amazing to be so involved in the practical aspects and truly see the significance of my contributions! Taryn knows so much about the industry that it was wonderful to get to have a close working relationship with her and hear all of her unique insight. I learned a great deal about the foreign market from this internship and had such a great experience. I am extremely grateful to Taryn for this opportunity and very sad to see it end!” – former intern Zora Driscoll
“I really enjoyed this internship with Taryn! Time just flew by; the six months I was with her were over in an instant, in large part because of how great it was to work with her. This experience definitely taught me more about the publishing world and even, wonderfully, led me to getting a job as a literary agent assistant by its end! It was a great transition into my new job and allowed me to gain a better perspective on the many jobs within publishing. Even though this was a remote internship, I never felt disconnected from Taryn; she was always very flexible and encouraged me to ask her questions when I had them. I owe so much to Taryn and her expertise; she was so supportive throughout this entire experience and is arguably the reason I was able to break into this industry! I’m so grateful to her and feel so lucky to have had this experience.” – former intern Laura Hatanaka
“There were a lot of wonderful opportunities in this internship; from seeing the insides of publishing, to talking with agents around the world, and even getting quite a bit of hands on experience in the industry. However, I found the most beneficial aspect to be the close working relationship with Taryn. Since I was a remote intern, I spoke to her on the phone frequently, as well as email, and she would always take the time to give me insight into the industry, and walk me through the process of her current projects, and what she wanted me to work on that week. Taryn’s expertise and kindness during this internship resulted in me having a greater insight into the industry, and the incredible people who work in it. Thank you for everything, Taryn!” – former intern Maddie Meylor
“I’ve learned so much throughout my internship with the Taryn Fagerness Agency. Taryn is a phenomenal mentor who is so openly passionate not only about her work, but about sharing what she’s learned throughout her career with others. She enthusiastically teaches about the foreign market and the publishing industry, tailoring the internship to each different intern’s needs and interests. I’ve learned a wide variety of skills and this experience has instilled me with the confidence to pursue a career in the publishing industry. The length of the internship means that, to an extent, you can see the full circle of the industry. It’s so satisfying to collect blurbs on books you read and wrote pitches for months before or to see international copies of books you looked over deals for. I’m incredibly grateful that my formal introduction to this industry was in the form of such a fun, engaging, and thoroughly educational internship.” – former intern Nicole Craswell
“Interning with Taryn was absolutely amazing, and I would 100% do it again! Since this internship was an entire year, it didn’t feel like this was just something to fill a spot on my resume. It felt like an apprenticeship. Especially because Taryn took the time to make sure she was teaching me about the different aspects of foreign rights, and she always answered all my questions. I know so much more about foreign and domestic publishing, contracts, rights, and royalties, and after a year here I feel confident about pursuing a career in publishing. This is definitely a rare opportunity to learn about publishing and I feel extremely lucky to have interned here!” – former intern Britt Siess
"This was hands-down the best internship I’ve had! Previously I’d held quarterly internship positions, where it felt like as soon as I was getting the hang of things, the ten weeks were up and I was done before I knew it. Not so with Taryn. Because I spent so much time here, I was able to build on existing skills and learn new tasks. There is so much to do and learn within this internship. Whether I was helping Taryn pitch a book to a foreign territory or working with royalties and contracts, I always felt like I was learning something new. Taryn is an awesome boss, and I’m leaving this internship feeling confident in my knowledge of foreign publishing, all thanks to her.” – former intern Erin Hoffman
“This internship was absolutely fabulous! I came into the experience simply wanting to gain a better understanding of the publishing industry and I came away with that and so much more. I truly feel as though my time at TFA has given me the experience and the skills I need to pursue a successful career in the future. And it’s such a cool industry to gain experience in! I loved walking into Barnes & Noble and seeing books that I had looked up praise blurbs for the day before. But most importantly, I loved working with Taryn! She is nothing short of fantastic, and her outstanding patience and her insight to this industry made my experience that much more rewarding.” – former intern Lauren Smith
“My experience at TFA was fantastic! Taryn was a wonderful mentor. She is positive, professional, and always willing to answer questions. She also possesses a huge amount of knowledge that she generously, and often humorously, shares. Under Taryn’s wing I was able to vastly improve my writing, marketing, and general business skills, and really get a feel for this exciting industry. And, on top of everything else, I also got to read some fabulous books! Overall, this was a great introduction to the world of agenting and foreign rights. I have a feeling that the skills I’ve acquired at TFA will be invaluable in the future!” – former intern Clare Hutchinson
“An absolutely exceptional internship! I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to intern at TFA, and to have worked with Taryn. When it comes to foreign rights, to knowing what will sell in any given region throughout the world, she’s the best! Just listening to her insights will teach you a great deal about foreign rights and the publishing world!” – former intern Stephanie Padilla
“I’m sitting here at my new desk at the University of Wisconsin Press and I’m realizing just how unbelievably important my internship at TFA was to my understanding of the publishing world. Holy cow. Thank you, thank you!” – former intern Elena Spagnolie
“While working as an intern at the Taryn Fagerness Agency I was fortunate enough to learn the basics of subsidiary rights, a complicated yet essential part of publishing that a limited number of professionals are familiar with. I had hands on experience with foreign rights and film rights materials and contact with agents, scouts, foreign co-agents, and foreign publishers (something which few other internships offer.) Not only did I receive a crash course in subsidiary rights, I also learned a great deal about agenting and the publishing industry as a whole. One of the greatest benefits of an internship with the Taryn Fagerness Agency is that you get to read remarkable manuscripts in nearly every genre. Not only did I develop better marketing, writing, and business skills with Taryn’s aid, I also gained a well-rounded education in publishing that will benefit me long into the future.” – former intern Taryn McCallan
“My internship with Taryn Fagerness Agency was a fantastic learning experience. As a Foreign Rights Intern I had a great window into various aspects of the publishing industry, as at any given moment you may be dealing with domestic agents (e.g. assessing the foreign potential of a project), foreign co-agents (e.g. pitching a title), or reviewing a contract from a publisher. Also, thanks to TFA’s terrific clients I had the opportunity to read many exciting projects that enriched my idea of what makes a great story. Most importantly, Taryn’s shared insights allowed me to come away with a strong sense of what makes a story sell and what makes a story sell in the foreign market (and the knowledge that these can be two very different things!). An invaluable experience!” – former intern Sara Sciuto