The Mary Sue Wants You: To Be Our Next Editor

As you may have heard, our beloved Jamie Frevele has left us, and while that’s sad for us, it might mean something exciting for you. The Mary Sue is seeking a brand new kick-ass employee to help keep the site running! This is not like our usual intern postings: it’s for a permanent position.

“Hold on,” you say, darting your eyes about confusedly. “What’s ‘The Mary Sue?’” UPDATE: We have currently closed submissions after receiving a staggering amount of applications! We’re currently trying to give them all a pass before we move on to the interview stage, so please bear with us.

First of all… really?

Second of all, The Mary Sue is the geeky woman arm (I dunno, maybe it’s got a Deathly Hallows tattoo?) of the Abrams Media collective. We’re eight sites (see the very top or bottom of our page) reaching over 13 million readers a month. We’re less than four years old. We’ve got big things ahead of us.

Moving on!

“But what will I do as an editor?” you ask, wringing your hands in anticipation, or possibly consternation.

You’ll join us in our offices (yeah, a loft in SoHo, exposed brick, no big thing), write, get red eyes looking at Google Reader, write, write some more, tweet, Tumbl, Facebook, organize contests, and generally keep your finger on the pulse of geek pop culture, gender in pop culture, and a bit of science.

“How can I get this wondrous gig?” you ululate, collapsing to the floor in paroxysms of excitement, perhaps foaming at the mouth a bit for effect.

It’s pretty simple.

What we’re looking for

The ideal candidate is a college graduate with internet writing experience looking for a job at a news startup. The ideal candidate can also demonstrate throughout the evaluation process that they are capable of writing quickly, clearly, and cohesively about numerous major aspects of both geek culture and gender in culture. Start date for the job has not yet been determined specifically, but will be in early September. Yes, you must be available to work in our office in NYC.

Here are the two biggest things we’re looking for in applicants:

• The primary qualification for this job is an encyclopedic knowledge of, and obsessive enthusiasm for, multiple aspects of geek culture. If you are knowledgeable about weird, obscure anime or manga, thrive on television and movie casting news, or have incorporated the names of pages on TVTropes.org into your conversational vocabulary, then this is the job for you.
• The secondary, but just as important, qualification is being able to write quickly and clearly (on topics from your geek specialties to gender issues), without weird grammatical or spelling issues, on topics that you yourself think up/discover on the interwebs.

Here are some other very important qualifications:

• Previous experience in pop culture blogging or otherwise writing for the internet in a professional capacity.
• Knowledge of blogging software.
• Knowledge of the major personalities and figures in both the real and fictional sides of geekdom.
• Basic experience with photo-editing software.
• An ability to listen, take direction, and follow through with assigned tasks.

And here’s some way less important criteria that, if they apply to you, we totally want to know about:

• Knowledge of anime and manga fandoms.
• Experience in science writing.
• An interest in writing and storytelling tropes.

How to apply

Please attach THREE (3) documents to your application email. Applications not containing all of these documents will NOT be considered:

• A resume/CV, including references (please include any weird skills you might have, like the ability to read Legolas by Laura out loud without laughing, or knitting Jayne hats with your toes).
• 3-4 samples of your academic or journalistic writing, preferably in more than one style (long-form vs. short-form, magazine vs. blog, basic post about news vs. longer thinkpiece, etc.) (Although we are a blog! So keep that in mind when deciding what to submit.) If possible, please include at least one nerdy submission and one gender-related submission (or something that’s both!). That’s a lot of possibly conflicting requirements, but for an editorial position we really want a good picture of your writing!
• A brief (1-page) cover letter explaining why your experience, knowledge, and personality make you the ideal junior editor for a girl geek culture blog. Please also list in your cover letter your earliest experience with truly bad fanfiction; if you don’t, we’ll know you didn’t read the entire posting!

Address applications to [email protected]. The process is rolling, so apply ASAP!

UPDATE: We have currently closed submissions after receiving a staggering amount of applications. We’re currently trying to give them all a pass before we move on to the interview stage, so please bear with us.

(top pic via Kate Beaton’s Hark, A Vagrant!)