The Book Publishing Future Is So Bright …

Our Summer Interns Have to Wear Shades

KENSINGTON, MD — Atticus Books, an independent press dedicated to discovering new writers, has announced its summer internship selections for 2010.

College graduates Stephanie Castellano of Takoma Park, Md., and Libby Kuzma of Kensington, Md., were awarded the two part-time slots and began their shared roles and responsibilities of the editorial/marketing assistant position on Monday.

“The selection process among dozens of candidates proved to be an arduous task since the caliber of applicants was simply stellar,” said Dan Cafaro, founder and publisher of Atticus Books. “Seriously, this next generation of publishing professionals is bringing talent, passion and a reassuring love of literature to the table, and this can only be seen as a positive sign for the industry. Anyone who thinks the future of books is bleak should think again.”

Stephanie Castellano is a Florida native, new to the Washington, D.C., area. She graduated from Florida State University (FSU) in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. While at FSU, she had the opportunity to spend a summer abroad in Cairns, Australia, studying Australian literature and culture. Stephanie says she has considered publishing as a career ever since someone called her “bookish” at age eight. In the fall of 2008, she worked as an over-eager editorial intern for Tallahassee Magazine.

Past hobbies include horseback riding and anything having to do with horses (and that includes cleaning saddles and bits and mucking stalls). Current hobbies include hiking, starting a vinyl records collection, and learning more about craft beers and home brewing. Lifelong hobbies include reading (of course) and traveling — especially to places that tend to fly under the tourism radar.

Freshly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Dallas, Libby Kuzma cannot wait to get started finding her way around the publishing business. Her enthusiasm and love for literature drew her to Atticus Books, and it doesn’t hurt, she says, that she can walk to work, given her non-possession of a car.

Libby is excited about the opportunity to actually employ the myriad skills she has developed the past several years in new ways, relevant to this new arena. Despite Emily Dickinson’s claim that “If fame belonged to me, I could not escape her—if she did not, the longest day would pass me on the chase…My barefoot rank is better,” Libby says she looks forward to playing a role in breaking talented authors out of that barefoot rank in an attempt to enrich our literary tradition and, perhaps, eventually find a job that will pay her to do so.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Atticus Books is an independent press dedicated to discovering new writers and advancing the state of literature one distinct voice at a time.

Atticus Books has three titles of fiction planned for 2010 release including Fight for Your Long Day by Alex Kudera; Daring to Eat a Peach by Joseph Zeppetello; and The Absent Traveler: A Novella & Other Stories by Randall DeVallance.

Atticus Books specializes in genre-busting literary fiction, creative non-fiction prose, and compelling narratives that feature memorable main characters.  Atticus also regularly posts original short stories, poems, literary essays and creative non-fiction on its website.