Ann Mayhew ’13 loves the written word.
The Scripps Voice. The Student Life. The Scripps College Journal. [in]Visible Magazine. FIVE: The Claremont Colleges Journal of Undergraduate Academic Writing. Mayhew either contributed to or ran each of these publications (and more!) during her four years at Scripps College. It’s no surprise, then, that the former English major is already well on her way toward her goal as an editor.
After graduating, Mayhew returned home to Minnesota to save up for an eventual move to New York City, but ended up landing the perfect first job in the process. She’s the events coordinator at Magers & Quinn Booksellers, the largest independent bookstore in the Twin Cities, which means she arranges author readings and signings, and directs social media.
“It really seems like the perfect fit for me,” says Mayhew. “Minneapolis has a fantastic local literary scene, and one of the best benefits of this job is how well it lends itself to networking.
“I’ve also started learning more practical things about bookselling, what goes on behind the scenes in the business aspect of it. Hosting readings is a wonderful way of supporting authors and quality writing, but we also have to constantly think about the bottom line and book sales.”
The written word has always been paramount for Mayhew, who also reviews books for Publishers Weekly and workshops manuscripts for Amazon’s self-publishing company, CreateSpace. Her senior thesis also focused on a psychoanalysis of the works of Stephen King, and she credits the literary theory and Mary Routt Chair of Writing courses with rounding out her English degree.
“Scripps stood out to me because of the sense of community and how happy the students were,” she says of her college selection process. “After a few months, I became convinced I was attending the best college for me. Spending spring break on campus, reading for fun next to the pool, and bonding with my classmates – by senior year, we found a closeness and kinship, even if you only knew people by face.”
“You’ve probably heard it before, but the key to everything is networking,” she adds. Mayhew advises recent graduates to use social media to its full potential, stay in contact with past employers and coworkers, and keep up to date with the industry. “Do informational interviews whenever you can, even if you feel you’re already informed on the industry or job—you never know when you’ll learn something new, and at the very least you’ll have made a new connection.”
Within the next two years, Mayhew plans on either looking for an editorial job in New York or attending graduate school in Ireland, where she spent a semester courtesy of Off-Campus Study. It’s clear writing is in her blood, so we can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.