Reflections from an IVP Intern

For the past couple of months, I have been interning at IVP. This blog is a little collection of reflections on the internship that will hopefully give insight to prospective interns and IVP readers.  

From my first meeting with Tom (The Editorial Director and my line manager), he has been committed to giving me a valuable experience at IVP and enabling me to gather a holistic understanding of publishing across different departments. Tom asked me about the areas I would be interested in, shaping the experience accordingly, and has regularly checked in with me to ensure I am happy with the work I am doing. While I have primarily spent my time with the Editorial team, I have also completed tasks in other areas such as writing a PR email about new releases for journalists, designing graphics for social media, writing blogs, and contributing to the Diffusion project with Fundraising. I have appreciated the openness of the IVP and SPCK teams towards me as an intern - everyone I have spoken to has been lovely, generous with their time, insights and willingness to explain processes and the many acronyms.  

One task I particularly enjoyed completing for the Editorial team was creating book reports. This involved reading a proposal form filled in by an author about their book, along with any sample chapters provided. I then would create a summary of the material and find existing comparable titles and give a few thoughts about whether the book would be a good publication for IVP. The books I have looked at have been varied and this was a great task for understanding more about the work of Editors, developing my own critical discernment, and also for growing my own faith through reading the wisdom of Christian writers.  

I have also been able to attend meetings across different stages of the publishing process which provided insight into how books are discussed, evaluated and prepared for publication. I am grateful for how I was encouraged to engage in these meetings and give opinions - though I have little experience in publishing, the team made it clear that my perspective was important and valued. It’s also been encouraging as a reader (especially being a young, non-white woman) to see how committed the Editorial team are to publishing books that will speak to an increasingly diverse audience, whilst uncompromisingly serving their mission. Contributing to discussions about how IVP can proactively equip and encourage Christians to seek greater equality and unity through diversity has been really exciting.  

A unique aspect of working at IVP has been being able to experience faith-driven publishing. I have witnessed how their work is led by God. and how, as a team, they are passionate about amplifying the voices that He is raising. I have found that IVP’s work is deeply important, and they go about it with genuine humility and care. As a Christian, it’s a privilege to experience this and to have played a small part in their work.  

Overall, working for IVP has been an invaluable experience for which I am very grateful. I am leaving having learnt about publishing, myself and about God. If you are considering interning, I would definitely encourage you to do so!   

If you'd like to find out more about a possible internship at IVP, then visit our jobs page at ivpbooks.com/jobs.