New editorial intern

Naama Amram joined Fremantle Press as an editorial intern on 24 May 2010 after securing one of four internships offered nationally by the Australian Publishing Association’s Internship Program.

CEO, Jane Fraser, said Fremantle Press received a large number of applications from around the world but Naama was the stand-out candidate with the right attributes to make a very fine editor.

“She was also shortlisted for editorial internships in the Eastern States but chose to work for Fremantle Press – we’re thrilled to have her,” said Fraser.

Naama will work alongside Fremantle Press publishers to guide manuscripts through the production process. Before joining the Press she worked as a freelance editor.

More about Naama:

How are you enjoying working in-house thus far?
The shift to in-house work is really giving me insight into editing in context: I’m learning how editing at its various stages fits in with other production aspects like design, printing and marketing.

What are you working on?
At the moment I am working with publisher Georgia Richter on a crime novel called Chinese Whispers as well as a strong collection of Kinsella and Drewe poetry and prose called Sand. I’m also working with the non-fiction publisher and CEO, Jane Fraser, on both a local history title and a beautiful gardening picture book called Coast to Country. The diversity is fantastic – I’m really enjoying the range of projects I get to work on throughout the day.

You also work with dotdotdash – what are the kinds of things you do, what have you got coming up in the next edition?
Outside of work I’m involved with a few other literary projects. I volunteer with dotdotdash magazine where I work alongside some of the wittiest and kindest people I know. We are now producing the fourth issue called ‘Antimatter’. It’s our speculative fiction issue, so I chose to interview Western Australian sci-fi writer K.A. Bedford. I proofread Adrian’s novel Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait in 2009 while freelancing for Fremantle Press, so it was interesting for me to hear about his experience of the writing process itself. There is also poetry, prose, CNF, flash fiction and lots of visual art in this issue.

What didn’t you mention in your interview for this job?
The interview felt more like an interesting conversation about how the APA, the Press and the Intern will collaborate and really seeing whether there is a match in our interests. And there was! One thing I didn’t mention at the interview though was that I’m naturally a night-owl: I struggle with early mornings big-time.

What is your favourite book (the one you return to and re-read when you are sick, down, bored or have a spare Sunday) and why?
Many of the books I go back to when I’m sick or up late for no good reason are in Hebrew. I love Etgar Keret’s short stories collections for their magic realist qualities, and Gail Hareven’s The Confessions of Noa Weber for its complex gendered scope. I try to read contemporary Israeli novels fairly regularly and I’ve also just completed a NAATI translating and interpreting course. I feel that developing my skills as a literary translator would also support my development as an editor. For comfort reading, I also find myself going back to young adult literature a la Anne of Green Gables.