There isn’t a better place to start a publishing career than New York City.

Samantha Howard, a 2010 Grand Valley State University graduate, has
been in New York since spring interning for the publishing company
W.W. Norton & Co.

“I moved to New York on May 1st, said Samantha Howard, “it’s such an
amazing place.”

Howard left GVSU with a double major in English and Gender Studies.
Both majors will support her in her new position.

“I mostly read manuscripts and write reports on them when I’m
finished”, Howard said. “I also spend a lot of time mailing advanced
copies of books to interested parties in hopes that they will say
something nice about it in the media or something of that nature.”

Founded in 1923, W.W. Norton & Co. is the oldest and largest employee
owned book publisher in the United States. Their specialty is academic
collections, especially in the English area, although they also
release bestselling novels.

“I’m living in Brooklyn and I’m much happier here than I would be in
Manhattan”, Howard said. “Manhattan is busy all of the time, whereas
Brooklyn is a little more toned down, which is better for me.”

Although Howard has adjusted to the city, the Marshall native said she
isn’t ready to forget about Michigan.

“I don’t know if I could stay here forever,” Howard said. “Believe it
or not, I miss Michigan very much.”

Howard suggest that students looking to work in the publishing field
take advantage of the programs GVSU has in place such as the Writing
Center. While attending GVSU, Howard was a lead consultant in the Fred
Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors.

She also said that her English degree isn’t the only major that has
helped her in New York.

“Gender studies has already come into play,” Howard said. “”My boss
tries to make sure that I read the gender related manuscripts that
come in since I am one of the few people in the office that have that
educational background.”

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