WNDB: Internship Grant Program

WNDB: Internship Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: We Need Diverse Books
Amount: US $3,000
Last Updated: March 12, 2026

Summary

The WNDB Internship Grant Program aims to support diverse students pursuing careers in publishing by offering 16 grants of $3,000 each. Given the high living costs in major publishing hubs, this program helps alleviate financial barriers, enabling interns to gain vital industry experience. Grantees are required to attend various events during the summer, including training and networking opportunities. By fostering diversity, WNDB contributes to a more inclusive publishing landscape, having supported over 140 students since its inception.

Overview

NOTE: Industry partner application forms for the season are open until the end of January. Regardless, please submit a form if you're interested in learning more about partnering with us as we can look to be flexible given partner need.The above-stated deadline represents when students need to submit their applications. Who We Are We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. Internship Grant Program The Internship Grant Program awards supplemental grants to applicants from diverse backgrounds to help further their goals of pursuing a career in children’s and adult publishing. The high cost of living in New York City and other major publishing hubs bars many marginalized students from accepting the opportunity to intern in publishing—a vital entry point to the industry. Since this program’s inception, WNDB has supported over 140 grantees in their summer internships. Funding We will award sixteen grants of $3,000 to expand WNDB efforts to diversify the publishing industry — grants will continue to focus on both children's publishing and adult publishing. Internship positions must take place over the summer between the specified dates. In addition to the grant award, grantees are expected to attend various events throughout the summer, including an introductory Internship Grant Bootcamp, various professional development and networking events, publishing panels, organized partner mentor/mentee meetings, and an exit interview/testimonial of the program.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Begin by seeking a summer internship with one of our industry partners listed on the main program page. When you click on the publisher or agency name, it'll take you to their main site. From there, you can follow their application requirements and process. Grantee applicants are required to: Identify as coming from a diverse background as noted in the WNDB Definition of Diversity. Be a United States citizen or a permanent resident and must be residing within the United States.Have received a paid internship offer from a participating WNDB partner publisher or literary agency (please see current list on the main page). Internship positions must be at least half-time (17 hrs/week) and pay a minimum wage as required in the state of employment. More specifically, a remote intern, as well as an on-site intern, must be paid at least the minimum hourly wage in the state in which the publisher or agency is located.Children’s Internship Program: For publishers, the internship must be exclusively in a children’s division. For literary agencies, the internship must have a focus on children’s publishing (spending at least 50% of the time on children’s books). Adult Internship Program: For both publishers and literary agencies, the internship must have a focus on adult publishing (spending at least 100% of the time on adult books).Attend events throughout the summer, including an introductory Internship Grant Bootcamp, as well as additional professional development and networking events, publishing panels, organized partner mentor/mentee meetings, and an exit interview/testimonial of the program. Industry partners are required to:Hire a diverse pool of interns. Internship positions must be at least half-time (17 hrs/week) and pay a minimum wage as required in the state of employment. More specifically, a remote intern, as well as an on-site intern, must be paid at least the minimum hourly wage in the state in which the publisher or agency is located.Children’s Internships: For publishers, the internship must be exclusively in the children’s division. For literary agencies, the intern must spend 50% of their time working on children’s books. Adult Internships: For both publishers and literary agencies, the internship must have a singular focus on adult publishing, spending 100% of the time on adult books.Attend all applicable partner onboarding calls organized by the WNDB Internship Grant Program Manager — partners will attend both Children’s and Adult Internship onboarding calls where applicable. Post their internship opening(s) at a minimum of ten diverse colleges & universities. A list of colleges and universities is provided by WNDB. Notify all internship hires about the WNDB Internship Grant, as diversity is not always visible. In order to be considered for a WNDB Internship Grant, hired interns must apply directly to WNDB. Provide an assigned company mentor or grantee support personnel to the intern for the length of the given internship. The mentor will meet and contact the intern regularly on a one-on-one basis. Further content/support guidelines for mentors will be provided by WNDB. Provide hired grantee applicants with official offer letters on letterhead, which speak to the length of the summer internship with the pay rate designated clearly in the offer letter.Understand the function of the grant is not to be used as salary for grantees, but given directly to the grantees by WNDB for their use to supplement the offered internship pay rate.Under Executive Order 13224, all 501(c)(3) organizations must confirm that grant recipients are not affiliated with federally identified terrorist groups. To comply, if awarded a grant, we must compile any of your former legal names that have been registered with the United States government.

Ineligibility

Unfortunately, we are not accepting international applicants at this time.