Our interns make the Nightboat world go ’round!
Each Fall, Spring, and Summer we host interns who are interested in learning about the independent publishing world in a hands-on, intellectually stimulating environment deeply enmeshed in the writing scene here in New York City. We really cherish the opportunity on our end to meet so many promising, talented, and passionate folks and, frankly, it’s hard to see them go! That said, please join us in celebrating our fabulous Summer interns, Sahar and Jimena, and read a bit about what they’ve done, what they do, and what’s next for them in their stories!
Sahar Khraibani
Where did you grow up and, if it was outside the city, how did you find your way to NYC?
I grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, where I lived most of my life. Wow, how I found my way to NYC? That’s somewhat of a crazy story. I never had any intention of moving to New York or the U.S. for that matter. I was actually planning on moving to Berlin—I quit my job and packed all my stuff, ready to go. But then, my visa to Berlin never arrived. I felt stranded and totally lost: I had no job, I wasn’t moving anymore, and I had to spend a year figuring my life out. And then one rainy afternoon in Beirut, I was sitting at my favorite coffee shop, and reading Wayne Koestenbaum’s “My 1980s and Other Essays” and an acquaintance of mine walked in and was like, “Where did you get that book from? We were reading it in my MFA program and I’ve never met anyone here in Beirut who’s read it.” We then spent 5 hours talking about the program, which I ended up applying to. It doesn’t end there! I had no idea how I was going to finance my education and newfound passion. So I had a whole team, all my friends, who helped me put together a fundraising campaign where we managed to gather a lot of funds. With that and a generous scholarship from SVA, I flew to NYC for the first time and moved immediately. It’s been a wild two and a half years, and I can’t possibly be more in love with this city. The energy of New York just dazzles me, and I have grown so much since being here.
What kinds of things did you do this summer with the team? Any particularly exhilarating moments during the internship?
During this summer, I proofread a bunch of upcoming titles, including We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan. The most exhilarating part was seeing the final version of the book and getting to hold it in my hands—to see it transform from a galley to a final product. I can’t wait for the launch! Besides that, I also got to read the Prose Submissions, which was challenging but also helped me understand what goes on behind the scenes and get a sense of pitching manuscripts, and what makes a good book. There were so many good submissions this year. Most of all, getting to know and hanging out with the team, and understanding how a small publishing house runs was definitely the highlight of my summer. I also really enjoyed all the free books that I got—definitely fed my hunger and obsessive hoarding of literature.
What do you think will be your biggest takeaway or most significant point of learning from your time at Nightboat?
My takeaway is definitely the inspiration to keep going and push through for something that you wholeheartedly believe in. To not give up on good literature, and to be part of this beautiful literary universe.
What/how do you like to write? Can we find it published anywhere?
I mostly write prose and art/cultural criticism. I’m always inspired by whatever I’m reading at the time. Recently, I’ve been dabbling in poetry (clearly influenced by Nightboat’s reading list!). I like messing around with language. Being trilingual and writing in English is an interesting phenomenon. Exploring the limitations and boundaries of language is a practice on its own. You can find my cultural criticism pieces on degreecritical.com and hyperallergic.com, or on my website www.saharkhraibani.com. I have some pieces coming out soon in various publications like Bidayat, Durian Days, and The Outpost. I’m also really hoping I would have a book out very soon!
What are your astrological placements!?
I love this question! For the longest time, I thought I was a triple water (don’t ask why), and blamed all my excessive emotions on this. I recently found out that my Sun is in Cancer, my moon is in Libra, and my rising is in Aries. What a wild combination! But I guess it makes a lot of sense: I’m emotional yet balanced, and I’m very, very feisty.
Looking forward—what’s on the horizon for you? How has this summer with us guided, aided, or influenced that?
This year, I’m working on my manuscript and trying to get it published. Being at Nightboat this summer helped me understand how to better navigate the world of publishing, and what makes a good book. I will also continue to do some art writing and criticism and dabble into poetry! I’m teaching a course at Pratt Institute and I have also just started an Instagram project @exploit_my_intellect, where I’ll be posting a weekly book recommendation, focusing on marginalized writers and independent publishing houses.
Jimena Lucero
Where did you grow up and, if it was outside the city, how did you find your way to NYC?
I was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens.
What kinds of things did you do this summer with the team? Any particularly exhilarating moments during the internship?
During my internship at Nightboat, I proofread galleys and worked on publicity for some of the upcoming titles. That was really exciting to me because I was getting a glimpse of books that were highly anticipated and not only reading them but researching what online magazines, titles, or writers the books were in conversation with. Prior to this internship, I thought books were kind of just published and we found them by chance, but really there is a team sending books out to places that help reach a wider audience. Andrea Abi-Karam is always doing amazing work to get Nightboat authors the attention they deserve!
I had lunch with Marwa Helal, Xandria Phillips, and Andrea the last week of my internship and that was pretty exhilarating.
What do you think will be your biggest takeaway or most significant point of learning from your time at Nightboat?
My biggest takeaway from this internship is that publishing books is a process with many steps. While I was at Nightboat, I found myself reading a range of writers, and their voices have stayed with me. I’m excited to continue reading NB books. I became a NB fan after I read Dawn Lundy Martin’s Life in a Box Is a Pretty Life.
What/how do you like to write? Can we find it published anywhere?
I write poems and sometimes I write essays, and in the future, I hope to write films. I have 2 poems forthcoming at Raptor Editing. I write very slowly, and sometimes that’s just because I don’t write. I’m trying to become a routine person, but who knows. I write in my head a lot and when I think something sounds good, I jot it down. My writing is fragmented and it sounds the way I talk.
What are your astrological placements!?
I am a Taurus, my rising is Virgo (which I am very thankful for), and I think my moon is in Capricorn. I’m all earth.
Looking forward—what’s on the horizon for you? How has this summer with us guided, aided, or influenced that?
This internship allowed me to expand my skills as a poet, writer, and (book) person. Nightboat consists of a small team and it definitely feels like they are working together to expand what poetry can be. Thank you to Stephen, Andrea, Caelan, and Lina, for making this experience fun and rewarding.
I am an Emerge-Surface-Be fellow and I’ll be working with Trace Peterson. Also, I am co-hosting Mouth to Mouth at Asian American Writers Workshop with Kay Ulanday Barrett for the months of November and December. Overall, I’m going to try to write freely, kind of like I did when I was a child and journaled about anything. I also want to watch more movies by myself and have my friends over for dinner.+
Read more about our internship program here!