The Literary Editorial Fellowship

Launched in 2020, the Literary Editorial Fellowship (LEF) is a full-time position at The Common for a recently graduated Amherst College student.

What are the goals of the LEF?

To strengthen the bridge between The Common’s existing Literary Publishing Internship (LPI) program for undergraduates and the professional publishing world.
To provide invaluable, real-world experience for an Amherst graduate, transferable to any job in trade or academic publishing, communications, or nonprofit management.
To increase the capacity of The Common’s mentorship, publishing, and programming operations with particular focus on mentoring current student interns.

How is the LEF funded?

The Literary Editorial Fellowship launched with a combination of generous support from Amherst College alumni donors and a matching grant from the Whiting Foundation. (In 2019, The Common won the top Whiting Literary Magazine Prize for print journals.) Because this position has been critical to The Common’s ability to thrive in an uncertain world, we aspire to make it a permanent feature of The Common’s operations. Your support is crucial!

Who are the LEFs, past and present?

Image of Isabel Meyers's headshot

Isabel Yao Meyers was the 2020-2021 Literary Editorial Fellow and previously the Thomas E. Wood ’61 Fellow at The Common, a senior intern position. She now works as Assistant Editor at Knopf, one of the most prestigious publishing imprints, and has begun acquiring her own books. She is a recipient of The David Kirp 1965 Stonewall Prize and The G. Armour Craig Award for Prose Composition.

Image of Elly Hong's headshot Elly Hong was the 2021-22 Literary Editorial Fellow. Prior to assuming the fellowship, she worked at The Common for two years, including one year as the Thomas E. Wood ’61 Fellow. She graduated cum laude from Amherst in 2021 with a degree in English. After The Common, she has gone on to pursue a career in marketing.

Image of Sofia Belimova's headshot Sofia Belimova was the 2022-2023 Literary Editorial Fellow, a culmination of three years of work as a Literary Publishing Intern. Prior to the LEF, she was the Thomas E. Wood ’61 Fellow. She now works as an Editorial Assistant at Oxford University Press and spends her free time writing poetry and short stories, painting, and making pottery.

Olive Amdur was the 2023-24 Literary Editorial Fellow after serving as an editorial assistant for The Common for two years, and Thomas E. Wood ’61 Fellow during her senior year. She graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College in May 2023 with a degree in English and Gender Studies. Having completed her LEF year, Olive is now in Mexico on a Fulbright Fellowship.

Sam Spratford is the 2024-25 Literary Editorial Fellow after serving as The Common’s inaugural, 2023-24 David Applefield ’78 Fellow. Sam was the editor-in-chief of The Amherst Student, the College’s student-run newspaper, and graduated magna cum laude in May 2024 with a degree in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought.