PEN America, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of literature and human rights, seeks a consultant to work as an Emerging Voices writing workshop manager during the month of June 2024. The Emerging Voices Workshop in Los Angeles is a one-week craft and professional development workshop for early-career writers underrepresented in the publishing and entertainment industries. The consultant will be the primary manager of the week-long workshop, which advances the goal of nurturing the literary community while demystifying the path to publishing. This is a four-week, part-time consultancy, which will require one week of all day, on-site program management during the workshop week of June 24-28 at the workshop host venue in Santa Monica. During the week of the workshop, the consultant will need to be available to work on-site approximately 8 hours per day. The weeks of the consultancy that precede and follow the workshop are estimated to require 15-20 hours each, and will be dedicated to planning, project management, outreach, and post-program evaluation and documentation. The consultant will report to the managing director of PEN America Los Angeles.
Working closely with the events and operations coordinator, the consultant will serve as a liaison between the host venue, workshop participants, workshop faculty, guest speakers, and PEN America staff. They will play a leadership role in ensuring the success of the workshop for attendees and managing the roster of workshop facilitators and guest speakers scheduled throughout the week. The consultant will also act as the primary producer of the workshop's final reading, an invite-only program that will culminate the week's work while showcasing the workshop's participating writers and their manuscripts in progress. Duties will include greeting and orienting attendees and faculty each day, supporting the faculty's facilitation of morning craft workshops, overseeing the logistics of catered group meals, and presenting guest speakers in small group settings on the afternoons of June 24-27 in addition to a final public reading on the afternoon of June 28. The consultant will be called upon to manage and refine the workshop schedule, finalize and distribute printed materials, problem-solve with facilitators, speakers, and participants, and generally set the tone, manage workshop flow, and document each day's events.
The successful candidate must have experience in project management and public events and be an energetic self-starter with a demonstrated track record of managing and delivering meaningful educational and/or literary experiences with multiple moving parts.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Act as primary PEN America manager for the 2024 PEN America Emerging Voices Workshop in Los Angeles, supporting 15 writers over the course of a week of craft workshops, community-building activities, and professional development sessions, culminating in a final public reading Organize, support, and host workshop faculty, guest speakers, and attendees leading up to and during the five-day workshop; provide regular updates to the managing director and coordinator Track and attend to attendee and faculty needs to ensure to a functional and successful workshop and create environments conducive to learning and community Produce the final public reading featuring workshop participants in a thoughtful, inclusive, and impactful manner Organize and support a comprehensive program survey to collect meaningful evaluation data on the workshop from participants, faculty, and speakers QUALIFICATIONS: Demonstrated leadership and program management experience Ability to effectively support the needs of writers with a commitment to listening Must be self-driven, able to take initiative, and able to work independently; has demonstrated creative problem-solving skills Willingness and the ability to travel around the Los Angeles-metro area, as required Pre-existing connections with local literary community strongly preferred Commitment to inclusive and equitable access to program offerings Meaningful experience in relational organizing a plus, but not required Consultancy Fees: The consultancy fee will be $5,000 in total for a term of four weeks.
TO APPLY: Please submit a cover letter and resume to . Use "Consultant, Emerging Voices Workshop (Los Angeles)" with your name as the subject of your email (for example, "Consultant, Emerging Voices Workshop (Los Angeles) – Jane Doe"). Please also share where you heard about this position in the body of your email. Only complete applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
PEN America is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices, and in order to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool. No phone calls or solicitations, please.
ABOUT PEN AMERICA: PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
