WOMEN in ​PUBLISHING

What can I use my award money for?

You can use the Robin Seaman Award in various ways to help you advance in your publishing career, whether you have a short or long-term goal in mind. Below are some examples of what your grant could cover, to help you get started. Please also feel free to come up with your own ideas and include them in your application. 

You can include one or several items in your grant application, but please note that, depending on the number of applicants and the available funds, we may only be able to cover a portion of the items you include. 

Also, keep in mind that you will need to provide receipts for any expenses you want the grant to cover before you will be reimbursed. 

• Conferences. If there’s a conference that would help you meet your career goals, your grant could cover conference registration fees, travel, lodging and transportation costs. (Sorry, we cannot reimburse the cost of meals.) 

  • Some examples of major publishing conferences include:

    • PubWest Conference

    • Publishing Professionals Network Conference

    • London Book Fair

    • Frankfurt Book Fair

• Publishing-related courses. If you are looking to build your skills or gain new ones, there are a number of courses that provide instruction in different areas of publishing: editing, writing, marketing, etc. They may be one-day workshops or courses that run for several months or semesters. Your grant could cover any course fees and textbooks/supplies. Some examples of courses include:

  • UC Berkeley Extension writing and editing courses

  • UC San Diego Extension copyediting courses

  • Editcetera workshops 

  • Denver Publishing Institute

  • Columbia Publishing Course

• Internships. Publishing internships are often unpaid or don’t cover all housing, transportation and other living costs. Your grant could help with these additional costs during the span of your internship. 

• Hosting a meeting, event or workshop. You may want to bring together a group of people in publishing so they can network, learn new skills, or work toward a shared goal. Your grant could include room rental fees and other costs associated with meetings or events for people in publishing from under-represented groups or with particular skill sets. 

• Meetings with a mentor or mentee. Your grant could help cover costs associated with fulfilling a commitment to mentor or mentee, such as transportation to and from a particular location over a period of time.

• Professional development opportunities. You may need help with access to job board sites, resume-building services, or a career coach. 

• Membership fees for publishing-related organizations and associations. You may need help with monthly and yearly fees for organizations and associations related to publishing, such as Bay Area Women in Publishing, Publishing Professionals Network, or Pub West. Your grant could also be used for transportation, books or other supplies needed for participation in the organization or association. 

• Lodging. Your grant could cover hotel costs for attending a conference or course.

• Transportation (Uber, Lyft, etc.) to a conference, class, event or series of events. If you need help covering the cost of transportation to and from an event or an airport, please estimate the full cost of all transportation associated with the event you wish to attend.

• Software. Your grant could cover the cost of software programs to support your job or a project, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud or INDesign.