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Jobs & Opportunities

Development Assistant

Position: Development Assistant
Employee Type: Full-time, Salaried, Exempt
Reports To: Director of Development
Work Schedule: Monday—Friday, 10:30am—6:30pm; weekend and evening hours occasionally required; primarily in-person with some hybrid flexibility
Salary: $43,000

Overview

The Center for Fiction has been an anchor of the New York City literary scene for more than 200 years. Founded in 1821 as the Mercantile Library Association of New York, The Center is the only organization in the United States devoted solely to the art of fiction. We unite readers and writers of all ages and backgrounds in a diverse community with a shared passion for fiction. Our work centers on public performances, educational programming, fellowships, and awards which further the continued creation and enjoyment of fiction in a collaborative environment, and assure a strong future for storytelling across boundaries of identity and experience.

The Development Assistant will support the Director of Development in raising essential funds to help run The Center for Fiction’s programs. This position requires strong organization skills, excellent written and oral communication, a high level of attention to detail, and an ability to prioritize and navigate nuanced responsibilities. The Development Assistant supports all aspects of the daily operations of the Development program, including grant writing and administration, database management and acknowledgement letters, administrative assistance for fundraising events, donor management, and materials for potential donors and funders.

This is a full-time position based in New York City reporting to the Director of Development. The benefits package includes health insurance/dental, 401(K) employer-sponsored plan, and paid time off.

Primary Responsibilities
  • Provides administrative support to the Director of Development and for development activities of the Executive Director
  • Drafts grant and sponsorship funding proposals and reports
  • Assists with administrative duties related to donor engagement
  • Other duties as assigned by the Director of Development and Executive Director
Grant Support
  • Manages grant submissions and deadlines, and maintains the tracking system for grant proposals and reports
  • Drafts, edits, and submits government, foundation, and corporate reports and proposals in partnership with contract Grant Writer
  • Collaborates with the Director of Development to create program and organization budgets for funding proposals
  • Maintains clear, accurate foundation, corporate, government, and individual donor files in shared drive
  • Works with Program Directors to gather information relevant to grant writing, including testimonials, outreach to potential partners, and providing copy for grant and sponsorship deliverables
Development Operations
  • Updates and maintains clean donor database records, ensuring accuracy and completeness
  • Generates and maintains development reports to provide regular updates and support ongoing assessment and data analysis
  • Drafts acknowledgement letters and coordinates mailings
  • Oversees implementation of new CRM and migration of data between platforms
  • Assists with other duties as assigned by the Director of Development
Donor Communications
  • In partnership with Director of Development, drafts and prepares donor communications and development collateral and materials
  • Drafts and sends routine donor correspondence and follow-up on behalf of department
  • Collaborates with Senior Manager of Marketing and Community Engagement and Art Director to coordinate fundraising appeal mailings, including end-of-year appeal letters, campaigns, and event invitations
  • Assembles book mailings, donor kits for events, and presentations for individuals
  • Manages the collection and storage of program stories and impact data for development communications
Events
  • Supports fundraising events and annual benefit by performing administrative duties including committee meetings notes, response tracking, and invoicing
  • Helps prepare for and assists at benefit and events
  • Assists with award selection and follow-up
  • Prepares scripts and written material for program, honorees and special guests
Ideal Candidate
  • Values diversity of thought, backgrounds and perspectives
  • Commitment to the experiences of those from historically marginalized groups, as well as an understanding of the challenges facing Black, Indigenous, People of Color
  • Excellent interpersonal and team skills, extremely collegial
  • Demonstrated resourcefulness and good judgment
  • Hands-on, leads by example
  • Ability to multitask while maintaining vigilant attention to details
  • Integrity/ethics beyond reproach
  • Constantly looking to learn, grow, and apply best practices
  • Aptitude for increased responsibilities as department grows
  • Connection to The Center for Fiction’s mission
Qualifications

This is an entry-level position that would be ideal for someone interested in a career in nonprofit management or fundraising, literature or the arts. The ideal candidate places a high value on relationship building, has strong communication skills, and is resourceful.

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to engage effectively with a wide range of people
  • Strong prioritization skills and ability to multitask
  • Exceptional program, project, and time management skills: highly organized, detail focused, and results-driven
  • Adaptive to in-the-moment, high-priority and time-sensitive tasks and requests; ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment where priorities may shift in real time
  • Experience supporting small and large-scale events
  • An effective partner and collaborative colleague within and across departments
  • Strong customer service skills
To Apply

Send a cover letter and a resume as a single PDF by email to [email protected]. Please also include your cover letter in the body of the email.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis beginning Friday, April 5. Position open until filled.

We have a deep commitment to equity and diversity, stemming from our goal of expanding access to literature, and our current commitment to amplify under-represented voices and diversify our staff. Individuals from these communities are encouraged to apply. As an Equal Opportunity Employer we respect and value diversity and inclusion, and engage employees without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, military status, domestic violence status, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Spring/Summer Event Production Internship (Unpaid Internship)

The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit literary organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction. In February 2019, we opened the doors to our new building in Downtown Brooklyn, creating a home for NYC’s literary community. We’re known for our special literary events, including our innovative panels, performances, lectures, and conversations, and we need interns to help them run smoothly. We are seeking students who are passionate about the literary world and who want to participate as a team to ensure the programs here are of the highest possible quality for all involved.

This is a great opportunity to practice literary citizenship, learn more about the literary world, and to get hands-on experience that could translate to work in publishing, arts programming, and independent bookstores. This position directly reports to the Senior Director of Public Programming (Melanie McNair) and Event Production Coordinator (Eliana Cohen-Orth) and collaborates with other members of the Center for Fiction team.

The Center for Fiction plans to host primarily in-person events, with the potential for a few virtual events.

Duties include:

  • Interfacing with audience members to check them in and answer questions about events
  • Setting up and breaking down the multipurpose event space for the unique needs of each night of programming
  • Helping to host authors and guests before and after the formal presentation (welcoming them, facilitating book signing, etc.)
  • Providing audio/visual support, as needed

This is a non-paying internship, but benefits include:

  • An opportunity to meet and interact with great writers, editors, performers, artists, and other professionals
  • Free Center for Fiction Membership (complete with all membership perks and discounts)
  • One free CFF boot camp writing workshop with a highly regarded professional author
  • A letter of recommendation after meeting goals and expectations for the season
  • 35% discount at bookstore and cafe for the duration of internship
  • We are also willing to work with your school if there is an opportunity to do the internship for credit.

Learning Objectives:

  • By working closely with a leading literary organization and interacting with numerous authors, editors, publishers, and more, gain a deep understanding of the literary world
  • Through watching a variety of high-quality conversations with authors, learn numerous perspectives on the craft of writing
  • Through hands on experience, develop skills in event production and front of house management

Previous interns have gone on to internships and full time positions with publishers.

The internship will run from April 29th through through July 31st. Most public events are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, with occasional daytime, Friday, Monday, and Saturday events. In-person event shifts usually run from 5 pm until 9 pm. Interns will generally attend an average of 2 events (or 8-10 hours) each week,

To apply, please submit your résumé and cover letter with your interest and any relevant experience at https://tinyurl.com/cffintern24.

Applications are due April 15th at noon. Interviews will take place the weeks of April 15th and potentially April 22nd.

In your cover letter, please tell us about:
Your interest in this internship and in literary events
Any relevant experience (particularly any public facing or customer service experience)
Your availability Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings (5pm-9pm) between April 29th and July 31st and your ability to balance this internship with other responsibilities

If you need an extension or have any questions, please email [email protected] at your earliest convenience.

Summer Event Marketing Internship (Unpaid Internship)

The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit literary organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction. In February 2019, we opened the doors to our new building in Downtown Brooklyn, creating a home for NYC’s literary community.

We’re known for our special literary events, including our innovative panels, performances, lectures, and conversations. We’re seeking a marketing intern to help inform and excite our audiences about upcoming events. We are seeking students who are passionate about the literary world, are interested in publicity and marketing, and who want to participate in a team to ensure we maintain and expand our audience. This is a great opportunity to practice literary citizenship, learn more about the literary world, and to get hands-on experience that could translate to work in publishing, marketing, and independent bookstores.

The marketing intern will report directly to the Senior Director of Public Programming (Melanie McNair). They will also collaborate with the Senior Manager of Marketing and Community Engagement, Art Director, and the Event Production Coordinator to ensure a smooth and effective marketing process.

Duties include:

  • Drafting copy for all public events
  • Submitting event materials to the webmaster
  • Assisting with social media marketing of events, including curating excerpts from video recordings
  • Assisting with press outreach
  • Tracking registration data
  • Attending 2–4 events a month, in person

This is a non-paying internship, but benefits include:

  • An opportunity to meet and interact with great writers, editors, performers, artists, and other professionals
  • Free Center for Fiction Membership (complete with all membership perks and discounts)
  • One free CFF boot camp writing workshop with a highly regarded professional author
  • 35% discount at bookstore and cafe for the duration of internship
  • A letter of recommendation after meeting goals and expectations for the season
  • We are willing to work with your school if there is an opportunity to do the internship for credit.

Learning objectives:

  • Develop copywriting skills for event marketing
  • Learning various aspects of nonprofit marketing strategy
  • Understanding media relations (in service of event marketing)
  • Learning about a nonprofit event marketing workflow

The internship runs from May 20th–August 31st. Interns should expect to work around 10 hours per week.

To apply, please submit your résumé and cover letter with your interest and any relevant experience at https://tinyurl.com/cffintern24. In your cover letter, please also tell us about a book you’ve loved recently, and why! Applications are due April 15th at noon. If you need an extension or have any questions, please email [email protected].

Spring/Summer Event Photography Internship (Unpaid Internship)

To apply, please submit 3-5 photo samples, résumé, and a brief cover letter describing your interest and experience at https://tinyurl.com/cffintern24. Applications are due April 15th at noon. Interviews will take place the week of April 15th and potentially April 22nd.

The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit literary organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction. In February 2019, we opened the doors to our new building in Downtown Brooklyn, creating a home for NYC’s literary community. We’re known for our special literary events, including our innovative panels, performances, lectures, and conversations, and we need interns to help them run smoothly. We are seeking a student photographer who is passionate about the literary world and who wants to participate as a team to ensure the programs here are captured for archival and promotional purposes.

This is a great opportunity to practice literary citizenship, learn more about the literary world, and to get hands-on experience with live event photography. This position reports to the Senior Director of Public Programming and collaborates with the Event Production Coordinator, Senior Manager of Marketing and Community Engagement, and other members of the Center for Fiction team.

An ideal candidate has familiarity with core image concepts, aperture, ISO, WB, and depth-of-focus. As most photos are used the day after our event, images are taken in JPEG format and not subject to post-production. Prior experience with live event photography and working with Nikon DSLR cameras is preferred. Enthusiasm for literary events needed!
Duties include:

  • Photographing guests before, during, and after events
  • Photographing audiences and signing lines.
  • Uploading the photos to a drive for the marketing team.
  • Proper care, use, and storage of CFF equipment.

This is a non-paying internship, but benefits include:

  • An opportunity to meet and interact with great writers, editors, performers, artists, and other professionals
  • Free Center for Fiction Membership (complete with all membership perks and discounts)
  • One free CFF boot camp writing workshop with a highly regarded professional author
  • A letter of recommendation after meeting goals and expectations for the season
  • We are also willing to work with your school if there is an opportunity to do the internship for class credit

Learning Objectives:

  • Through hands on experience, develop skills in live event photography
  • By working closely with a leading literary organization and interacting with authors, editors, publishers, and more, gain a deep understanding of multiple sides of the literary world
  • Through watching a variety of high-quality conversations with authors, learn various perspectives on the craft of writing

The internship runs from April 29th to July 31st. Most public events are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, with occasional other events. Interns should expect to work around 6–8 hours per week.
If you need an extension or have any questions, please email [email protected] at your earliest convenience.

Baristas & Bartenders

Part-Time, In-Person

As part of The Center, we run a Café & Bar nestled between our Bookstore and our event space. During the day the Café serves as a lively community space where writers work, kids read books, and friends catch up. In the evening we serve drinks and snacks to patrons attending our events and classes, as well as to our neighbors at large.

Job Description: The Center for Fiction is looking to hire a dynamic human to barista and bartend at the The Center’s bustling Bookstore, Café & Bar, and event space. The Café features a selection of locally baked pastries, small bites, as well as a menu of craft cocktails and natural wine. This is a fun work environment and our main requirements include an interest in hospitality as well as literature, a passion for customer service, and a willingness to develop and learn new skills. Barista experience and Food Handler’s License are strongly preferred. Come make coffee and cocktails, all the while surrounded by books!

Job Requirements:

  • Passion for coffee
  • Reliable, organized, and detail-oriented
  • Strong customer service orientation
  • A desire to learn and grow with the cafe
  • Interest in craft and product knowledge
  • Strong passion for literature
  • Able to lift 50lbs
  • Comfortable standing for periods at a time

Perks: This position will have access to The Center’s lending library, admission to onsite events, and staff discounts on books, classes, and more. 401k participation is available upon eligibility.

Location: In-Person, New York City-based position, $15+ (based on experience) an hour, plus tips

How to Apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with “2023 Barista/Bartender” in the subject line. Please, no calls.

Rolling Deadline: Applications will be reviewed as received.

The Center for Fiction is committed to building a diverse and culturally vibrant team. As an Equal Opportunity Employer we respect and value diversity and inclusion, and engage employees without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, military status, domestic violence status, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

Library Intern

Part-Time, In-Person

The Center for Fiction seeks currently enrolled library school students for an onsite internship for Spring 2024 in Downtown Brooklyn.

Overview: The Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, is the only organization in the United States devoted solely to the vital art of fiction. The mission of The Center is to encourage people to read and value fiction and to support and celebrate its creation and enjoyment. In February 2019, we opened the doors to our new building in Downtown Brooklyn, creating a home for NYC’s literary community. Our library collection has been in existence since our founding and continues to be a thriving part of our nonprofit. We are a membership library with a collection of literary fiction, mystery and suspense novels, and nonfiction titles about fiction. Our library interns gain experience in many facets of library work and a glimpse into a nonprofit organization with a special collection. This internship is for current MLS students and will appeal to those interested in a collections focused internship.

Description Details:  Reports directly to the Head Librarian and the Assistant Librarian and assists in the maintenance of the library’s collection. Length of internship can be for one or two semesters. Tasks will include:

  • Catalog materials (both original and copy)
  • Perform circulation tasks including check out, check in, run library and patron reports, process holds
  • Assist in weeding of onsite collection, including evaluation of materials and research of authors
  • Communicate with Center for Fiction members regarding library matters
  • Perform reference and reader’s advisory
  • Represent the Library at Book Buzz events throughout the years

Skills: Attention to detail, knowledge of and/or curiosity about special library collections, excellent verbal and written communication, able to juggle priorities, able to work independently on assigned tasks and work collaboratively with others, proficiency in Google apps, basic Zoom experience.

Compensation: This is an unpaid internship but can be used for credit in an MLS degree program. Interns receive complimentary membership to the Center and discounts on writing workshops, reading groups and events.

Interested applicants should attach a resume and include a brief letter of introduction in the body of the email to [email protected].

Rolling Deadline: Applications will be reviewed as received.

The Center for Fiction is committed to building a diverse and culturally vibrant team. As an Equal Opportunity Employer we respect and value diversity and inclusion, and engage employees without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, military status, domestic violence status, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.