The Young to Publishing Group (YPG) is built on the understanding that entry-level employees – people with 0-5 years of publishing experience – generally need a little help networking outside the publishing house where they work. The brainchild of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the organization helps “baby publishers” learn about the publishing industry. Membership is blessedly free and open to young, i.e. junior-level, employees. (Membership is contingent on being employed by an AAP member book-publishing house. Don’t worry, though. The list is quite long.)
According to the YPG website, the organization has three main goals:
- Organize events for general mingling/networking (and making friends, of course)
- Create a welcoming, supportive environment for newbies trying to “make it” in the industry
- Help YPG members navigate the publishing industry as a whole
On the right-hand side of the YPG website is a list of upcoming events featuring murder mystery parties, rogue world book nights, and book packing parties for nonprofits like Books through Bars, an all-volunteer group that sends books to people in prisons across the country. YPG also publishes a number of articles that recap events and interview people working in the industry (free advice!). It has a Dear Abby-like advice column in which you can email questions to the YPG Planning Committee like “Dear YPG: How do you survive in NYC on a publishing salary?” (This is really good, by the way. Definitely recommended reading.)
Interested in becoming a member?
Here’s the contact information you need to start networking! You can follow the Young to Publishing Group @YoungtoPub.
- YPG Planning Committee: youngtopublishing@publishers.org
- AAP contact: Annie Hall
- New York: Joshua Redlich at Penguin Random House
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