By Kapua Iao
“Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever.”
from Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
One of the many ways Yellow Arrow Publishing encourages women writers and women in publishing is through inclusion within the organization itself. We welcome (and thrive with) our volunteers and interns, not only for our own benefit but to also (hopefully) provide a prospective future publisher with some necessary tools and knowledge about the publishing world. And even if a volunteer/intern does not plan to continue within the publishing world, the tools and knowledge of working in a women-led, collaborative organization. One that champions the different and the unique. One that looks for partners and allies rather than simple connections (see our growing list of partners here).
As Editor-in-Chief, it would be impossible to organize, create, and publish without the incredible help of our volunteer staff and interns. They provide the thought process behind each journal by picking each issue’s theme and reading/voting on each submitted piece. They then read through the chosen submissions and edit them carefully and thoughtfully, not to change the voice of the author but to ensure that the voice flourishes. They provide continuous feedback and proofread the final product before release. And the same goes for our published chapbooks; the process of forming something for publication is thoughtfully long but fulfilling, nonetheless.
We try to find each volunteer, each intern, space in our organization to grow and flourish in the area they are most interested in (and of course where we need the most help!). Past staff members have worked at our live events and at Yellow Arrow House. They hand bound our publications and put as much love and tenderness into each copy as we could hope. Now that we are a mostly virtual publishing company, they focus on copyediting and proofreading as well as writing blogs and press releases. They create promotional material and images for our authors and create marketing campaigns. They help at live and virtual events and readings. And above all else, they support. Not only me but our authors as well. I am so thankful to have had them with me on this journey.
So let’s introduce the fall 2023 interns. Each has my appreciation.
Adhithi Anjali
From California
What do you do? I primarily work on developing and executing our social media fundraiser: Blazing the Path Forward. Working with Yellow Arrow’s other fall interns, we figured out a concept, contacted authors, and created posts to go out during November with the hopes of attracting more donors and followers to Yellow Arrow. I also research and contact potential donors and look into various arts grants that Yellow Arrow can apply for in the coming year. Aside from these financial tasks, I draft various graphics for upcoming publications and provide some additional copyediting help.
Where do you go to school? I am currently studying at the University of California, Davis, and I am expected to graduate by June 2025.
What are you currently working on? I am developing an independent study in medieval Telugu literature with one of my professors. Also, I am working as the undergraduate assistant to the Medieval and Early Modern Studies program at my university.
Adhithi Anjali is a third-year student at the University of California, Davis, majoring in English and comparative literature. She is inspired by nearly everything she reads to channel her own creativity through the pen. In the future, she hopes to continue working with literature and other writers to help them bring their creativity to light.
Why did you choose an internship with Yellow Arrow?
Yellow Arrow stood out to me because of its clear mission and how it understands the benefits of a small press. I think Yellow Arrow attempts to fill in the gaps that larger publishing houses do not care about, or at least provide meaningful attention to. But Yellow Arrow helps to allocate resources to a smaller community of writers and artists who do not want to publish extensive novels. Yellow Arrow helps women who choose to write alongside their current responsibilities, allowing a space for shorter, but intensely meaningful, publications.
Samantha Pomerantz
Currently lives in Elon, North Carolina (for school), but from Germantown, Maryland
What do you do? I work with Kapua Iao, Yellow Arrow’s Editor-in-Chief. I am also working with the other fall 2023 interns, Adhithi [Anjali] and Beverly [Yirenkyi]. My role has involved copyediting for Yellow Arrow Journal EMBLAZON, creating the Her View Friday and .W.o.W. posts, and running the October National Book Month/Diversity Awareness Month campaign. I am also working with the other interns on a fundraising project.
Where do you go to school? I am a senior at Elon University. I will graduate in the spring of 2024.
What are you currently working on? I am working toward my bachelor of arts degree in English in creative writing. For this, I am working on a portfolio of creative work. When I am not in class, work, or interning, I am likely in the ceramics studio, learning how to turn claybody into vases, plates, mugs, and boxes.
Samantha Pomerantz (she/her) is a writer and a student at Elon University, class of 2024. She is working on a degree in English with a concentration in creative writing, while minoring in psychology and women, gender, sexuality studies. Samantha is an award winning poet, and a lover of stories. She spends the nonacademic part of the year in Germantown, Maryland, usually hanging out with trees. She is grateful for the opportunity to intern with Yellow Arrow.
At this point, her future plans remain to be seen. She would like to find something where she can engage with and uplift stories in the world and add healing value. Samantha plans to move to the west coast and figure out how to live life without the identity anchor of being a student for the first time ever.
Why did you choose to do an internship with Yellow Arrow?
I was struck by Yellow Arrow’s commitment to putting writers first and celebrating diverse writers who identify as women. I wanted to be part of an independent organization that is working to share and celebrate the stories that have been historically underrepresented. I resonate deeply with Yellow Arrow’s tagline, “Every writer has a story to tell and every story is worth telling.”
Beverly Yirenkyi
From Maryland
What do you do? Create monthly Yellow Arrow newsletter content, support with workshop administration as needed, create social media graphics in Canva for events and publications, write social media captions and plan/schedule posts, and create events for our website calendar on Squarespace and Facebook.
Where do you go to school? Towson University, class of 2023.
What are you currently working on? I have two other jobs: one at Towson University’s Writing Center and the other as a Resident Services Coordinator at an apartment building. I am currently working on graduate school applications.
Beverly Yirenkyi is a current honors undergraduate student at Towson University, majoring in philosophy. She is from the D.C. metro area. Beverly is planning to continue her education with a JD/PhD in philosophy in the fall of 2024. She has loved reading and writing since she was in sixth grade and hopes to help marginalized voices be amplified in this field. You can find her on LinkedIn @beverlyyirenkyi.
Beverly hopes to be enrolled in the JD/PhD in the philosophy program next fall. In the meantime, she will be hopefully working full-time remotely and traveling to increase her conversational fluency in Spanish, Twi, French, and Japanese.
Why did you choose to do an internship with Yellow Arrow?
I wanted to dip my toes in the publishing world.
*****
Thank you to everyone who supports these women and all writers who toil away day after day. Please show them some love in the comments below or on Yellow Arrow’s Facebook or Instagram. If interested in joining us as an editorial associate or intern, fill out an application at yellowarrowpublishing.com/internships.
Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we SPARK and sparkle this year: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.