10/10/2023

The Australian Book Designers Association is proud to announce the establishment of the ABDA ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship.

The Baseline program is a new paid opportunity aimed at fostering cultural diversity in the Australian book design community and training the next generation of Australian book designers. 

The placement will provide a well-rounded introduction to the industry and create practical and sustainable pathways towards long-term careers for aspiring professionals. It is intended that each year ABDA will partner with a different publisher or design studio to provide an emerging designer with 4 weeks’ invaluable ‘in-house’ experience.

Opening for applications on October 4 2023, the inaugural paid internship will take place in 2024 and will be in partnership with HarperCollins Publishers Australia. 

‘The opportunities for young designers to get essential in-house experience have become increasingly hard to find’ said Mary Callahan, President of ABDA. ‘The current generation of wonderful Australian book designers learned their craft in-house and the design of Australian books reflects that expertise. We are thrilled that HarperCollins are partnering with ABDA for the first internship’. 

Applications are strongly encouraged from people from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. While the internship is an entry-level position, ABDA does not equate this with youth or inexperience, and there is no upper age limit for applicants.

More information on the internship can be found on the ABDA website. To apply, please email your folio and cover letter to [email protected] by 17:00 AEDT on Tuesday 31 October 2023.