Abu Dhabi Adventure: Part II

Publisher Judy Galbraith speaks at the "Education Chapter 3" forum at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

While the main activity at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair was, well, selling books, there was also a major emphasis upon education. One of my jobs was to help staff “The Education Chapter 3” of the fair. The “3” indicates that this was the third annual Education Chapter, which brought together exhibitors, teachers, librarians, publishers, institutional buyers, and presenters in an effort to provide professional training to Arab teachers and librarians.

Abu Dhabi Adventure: Part I

NYU M.S. in Publishing Students (l to r) Karlyn Hixson, Courtney Sanks and Erin Cox with Program Administrator Jennifer Goodwin at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

After a fourteen-hour flight from New York City, four graduate students from the Center for Publishing at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS) stepped onto Abu Dhabi soil, eager to begin work as volunteers for the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The four had been selected after an intense competition that included submitting an essay about their goals for the volunteer experience and appearing before a committee for an in-depth interview. This public service endeavor was made possible by Jane Dystel, a well-respected literary agent, president of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, and daughter of Oscar Dystel, a legendary leader in the publishing industry and former CEO and chairman of Bantam Books. Jane oversees the Oscar Dystel Publishing Research and Development Fund, which provided the resources for Joana Costa Knufinke, Erin Cox, Karlyn Hixson, and Courtney Sanks to travel to Abu Dhabi and work alongside Emirati volunteers and staffers of KITAB, a joint-venture between the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and the Frankfurt Book Fair. Below, please read the first two posts on the students’ Abu Dhabi adventure:

The Art of Getting Hired

Denise Cunningham of Sterling Publishing and Ali DeBiasi of Time Inc. provide valuable career advice to NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing students.

Wouldn’t it be great to know the secret thoughts of job recruiters—what may irk, what will work, and how you can ultimately convince them to offer you the job of your dreams? At a Career Panel sponsored by the Center for Publishing at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, graduate students were given the opportunity to do just that. Ali DeBiasi-Intrès, Executive Director of Staffing at Time Inc., and Denise Cunningham, Vice President for Human Resources at Sterling Publishing, gamely answered questions and even conducted mock interviews with two brave students, followed by a candid critique of their performances. Read on for discussion highlights, and don’t forget to make this your handy checklist before submitting your next job application.