The West VirginiaUniversity Press has added four new members to its staff this semester. WVU students Eric Cummings, Rachel Fender, Nicole Napier and Melissa Nethken have received internships for the spring 2003 semester, creating the largest group the Press has hired. Their semester-long tenure provides the students with the opportunity to learn the business of book publishing while gaining hands-on experience in the field.

The first intern to receive an assignment is Rachel Fender, a senior English and Spanish major from Aberdeen, Md. She will be working alongside Danny Williams, editor of the Press , proofreading the Spanish translation of Gavin Gonzalezs”Pinnick Kinnick Hill,”a book chronicling the Spanish immigration to West Virginia for the zinc smelting industry in the town of Anmoore. The book will have a Spanish translation facing the original English on each page, because of its great interest to Spanish-speaking Americans, and will be released this spring.

“Pinnick Kinnick Hill”is one of seven projects (five books and two CDs) scheduled for spring publication. Including the six books on the horizon for this fall, the Press plans to produce a total of 13 new books and CDs �€five more than last year.

“When we launched our WVU Press revival, we put every effort into the production of John Cuthbert’s great �€~Early Art and Artists in West Virginia,and that book was the only completely new title we could manage,”said Pat Conner, director of the Press , in explaining its growth.”Now that we have a real staff and four interns, we are developing proper editorial and production procedures, and the sales of our books have made it possible for us to bring out a new work almost every month.”

Nicole Napier of Ellenboro is another new intern who will be working primarily in the editorial department assisting Williams with two of the other books coming out this spring:”Clash of Loyalties”by John W. Shaffer, which discusses the Civil War in BarbourCounty, and Emory Kemps new book”The Making of the Great Kanawha Valley Chemical Industry.”

In her interview for the internship, Napier said,”I hope my work at the Press will sharpen my computer and editing skills. It is the kind of experience that the classroom environment does not offer.”Napier, originally from Ellenboro in RitchieCounty, is a senior English major who plans to go to graduate school in English or law.

Melissa Nethken of Fairmont is also excited about the opportunity to work as an intern at the WVU Press and hopes to gain some skills that will help her in the future. She found out about the internship after having a class with Conner.

“I have always wondered what took place behind the doors of the WVU Press office, and now I am excited to find out exactly what it takes to make a book,”she said.

Nethken will be graduating in May with her bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy. She will be working in the marketing department assisting Geoff George with the publicity for the new titles. Initially she has been assigned to work on a direct mail campaign for the two new Appalachian CD projects:”The Cortez Reece Collection”and”The Henry Reed Collection.”

Eric Cummings of Morgantown was drawn to the internship because of some prior experience in publishing. He works as assistant editor of Calliope, WVU s literary journal, and is on the team for The Maddening Loop WVUs online literary journal. He is a senior English major with a focus in creative writing. Cummings hopes to gain a behind-the-scenes perspective of literature by working with the Press.

His knowledge of Latin made him a natural choice to assist Conner with the Press two new titles coming out this spring in his”Medieval European Studies”series:”Theorizing Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture,”edited by Karkov&Orton, and”Naked Before God,”edited by Wilcox&Withers.

The four interns were selected after showing interest in the program and going through an interview process. They will receive three hours of credit and a stipend upon successful completion of their internships. Applications are now being accepted for summer and fall.

For more information, contact the WVU Press at 304-293-8400 or visitwww.wvupress.com.