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Department of Writing Internships

First established in 2004, The Malahat Review’s Department of Writing Internship program provides students with a seat at the table where decisions about what is published in the magazine are made. Students enrolled in Writing are invited to serve on one of TMR’s three editorial boards for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

How to become an intern?

There is no application process.

Interns are appointed based on recommendations from the Department of Writing. Faculty members propose undergraduate (usually in third or fourth year) and graduate students whom they feel will benefit most from the experience of working at The Malahat Review. Once they are appointed, interns may potentially hold their positions until they graduate.

Primary duties

  • Participate in the screening and evaluation of submissions
  • Attend editorial-board meetings for their genre
  • Participate in the selection of content for each issue
  • Screen entries to TMR’s contests that fall in their board’s genre

Performance expectations

  • Interns are asked to be the “first readers” for the majority of the unsolicited submissions received via Submittable.
  • Interns are asked to provide comments on all submissions they pass onto the other members of their genre board
  • Interns are expected to participate in the discussion of the submissions screened in for discussion at editorial board meetings
  • Interns are expected to make a case for those submissions they feel should be published
  • Interns are asked to help prevent a backlog of unread submissions from growing

Optional duties

  • Mentoring the development of a potential contributor’s work
  • Writing entries about back issues for TMR’s “Our Back Pages” web-catalogue *this project is currently on hold as of 2020
  • Interviewing contest winners, judges, and contributors for our monthly e-newsletter, Malahat lite
  • Volunteering at any TMR events
  • Proofing TMR’s quarterly issues
  • Proposing a task the intern is passionate about (the editor will decide if it needs doing)

What are the benefits?

  • An inside view of the workings of a literary magazine
  • Getting to know and work with TMR's staff, board members, and contributors
  • Sitting on one of TMR’s three editorial boards
  • Being listed as an intern on TMR’s masthead and website
  • The opportunity to read and evaluate unpublished writing by emerging and established writers
  • Receipt of a complimentary subscription for the duration of their internship
  • Free entry to all of TMR’s ticketed events
  • The receipt of a small honorarium in recognition of their valued volunteerism; this honorarium, which all editorial-board members receive, is issued in the winter.

The Malahat Review’s commitment to its interns

  • Each internship will be an enriching learning experience
  • Each internship is a complement to academic study
  • The requirements of a successful university career are to be met first
  • Interns may resign if they find that their duties are interfering with their studies