Emma Gibbons in Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, LA, 2016.

Welcome to our rebooted “Beacon Behind the Books” series! In these times when readers are responding to our books “more than ever,” when our authors—including Aubrey Gordon, Tanya Katerí Hernández, James Baldwin, Viktor Frankl, Atef Abu Saif, and Percival Everett—are appearing in the media, their ideas going viral on social media, their voices being heard on so many platforms, we thought it would be good to take a break to focus on some of the staff who work hard to find, shape, edit, produce, and promote those works. Our blog series introduces to you a staff member and gives you a behind-the-scenes look, department by department, at what goes on at our office.

This month, we introduce you to Emma Gibbons, our assistant to the director! 

What drew you to publishing, Emma? How did you find your way to Beacon?

In late 2006, I was on the verge of graduating college with an English degree and had no clue what I wanted to do with it. I’d worked in libraries since age fifteen, always loved books and reading, and really liked helping people with their writing and essays. So, I thought, “Maybe get into book publishing and become an editor.”

I ended up having a very short post-grad editorial internship at W. W. Norton in New York City, absolutely loved the work, then got hired as an editorial assistant at a textbook publisher in 2007. After about a year and change, I was miserable. Since I couldn’t break into the field the way I wanted to, I then decided to make a complete life change and moved to New Orleans.

There, I fell back into my tried-and-true library work, got my MLIS, a couple of promotions, then returned to the northeast and continued as a librarian in my home state of New York. The inklings of wanting to change careers had been hounding me for a few years prior to Covid, and so, because my timing in life has always been impeccable, I decided in mid-February of 2020 that I was finally going to make a go of it. My last day as a librarian was Friday, March 13, 2020, and within days, New York completely shut down due to the pandemic. It was an interesting ride after that.  

Two years later, I came across the job posting for the Assistant to the Director position at Beacon, and even though I really wanted to apply, I thought my MLIS would end up hurting my chances because I might be considered overqualified. I kept going back and forth until I thought, “Well, the worst they could do is not respond to your email. This was the field you’d always wanted to get into and try, so why not just apply and see what happens?” And now here I am.

What’s a typical day in the life of an assistant to the director?

One of the great things about my role is that no day is really typical. I can be working on a research project one day, drafting flapcopy the next, working with our office’s operations team or outside venues to set up an office gathering the day after that, or hopping on a Zoom call to teach an author how to record a presentation they’re giving for the Unitarian Universalist Association. Or a host of other things. I can honestly say I’m hardly ever bored! 

What’s your advice to someone interested in entering the publishing field?

Ask questions of those long-time pros already in the industry. Be willing to learn. Be easy to work with. Be kind. Like many other fields, publishing is a “this person knows so-and-so who also knows so-and-so and they all know so-and-so” type of community. Being a good colleague might end up helping you in the long run more than your résumé could.  

What skills have you taken from previous jobs to help you do your work at Beacon?

Many! My organizational skills from library work come into play on an almost daily basis and that background is also very useful when it comes to information gathering. Being a former English and Library/Info Sciences major has always made my writing skills lean more toward the fact/research-based side rather than the creative, but those skills are still helpful when I need to work on writing tasks.  

In an alternate universe, what career would you have?

Some type of outdoor related and/or skilled trade job. I was so very fortunate to find work in lawn care during the height of the pandemic and learned a ton, both about a field that was entirely new to me and about myself. Not only did that job help keep me afloat financially at a time when no one was hiring—let alone hiring someone with an advanced degree—but I learned that I really enjoyed physical, hands-on type of work. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Big shout-out to my Lawn Doctor of OC crew!

Hobbies outside of work?

I’m a gym rat, so I’m always doing some type of physical activity every day. I also enjoy “all things spooky,” history, and exploring, so combining all four things sometimes finds me wandering around local cemeteries and reading headstones. Eastern Mass has some great ones!

Favorite type of music?

I’ve been into hard rock and heavy metal since middle school. In my heart, I’m still wearing combat boots and all black clothing all the time.

Do you still have a commute to work? What do you like to do to pass the time?

I commute to the office on the Orange Line on Thursdays. It makes for great people watching!

More About Emma Gibbons 

Emma Gibbons earned an MA in Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University and a BA in English from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Prior to joining Beacon, she did a number of things, including working at Tulane Law Library in New Orleans, working as a public librarian in southwestern New York, and especially having a blast as a seasonal lawn tech during the height of the pandemic.