Book Review Intern

Job Description:

Job Description

The Wall Street Journal's Books section is seeking beginning journalists—juniors, seniors or recent graduates (within one year of graduation) with reporting and writing experience at their school newspapers or elsewhere—for a 10-week paid summer internship in our New York City office.The in-person internship is an opportunity to get hands-on experience working alongside some of the best opinion writers and editors in the world.  

The internship—formally the Bartley Fellowship—honors the Journal’s former Opinion editor, Robert L. Bartley. Opportunities will be awarded to young thinkers and writers who intend to pursue a career in journalism or cultural criticism.

The Books intern is one of several fellows selected each year through an application process that is overseen by senior editors. Bartley Fellows are assigned to a department within the Opinion section—Arts in Review; Books; or Features (Op-Eds and Columns). The fellow selected to work with the Books team will assist in commissioning reviews, conducting research, fact-checking and editing content for the print and digital editions, as well as contributing to social media and digital production. The fellow will be encouraged to submit ideas for book reviews and may also pitch articles or projects to editors elsewhere in the Opinion section.

Internships are paid and generally take place during June, July and August, though start dates can be flexible.

If you are interested in applying for the Opinion, Books or Arts in Review Bartley Fellowships, please submit separate applications for each position.

Guidelines and Application Deadline

Though a reporting and/or writing background is a plus, the fellowship is primarily an editing internship. Therefore applicants should have experience editing arts or arts-related copy for their college newspaper, literary magazine or a comparable publication. Students from any discipline may apply, but preference will be granted to those concentrating on literature, history, a foreign language, classics, pre-law, music, theater, art history, studio art, architecture, philosophy, political science or archaeology—via coursework (though not necessarily a major) or sustained leisure-time activity.

An appreciation for both the Western and non-Western canons is desirable, as is an understanding of current issues in the arts. A demonstrated ability to multitask and meet daily deadlines is critical for success, as is attention to detail and a focus on accuracy. Applicants should be familiar with technology as it relates to journalism. Social media experience with a publication or brand would be a plus.

Applicants who are able to demonstrate familiarity with our section’s content will be especially attractive (student applicants without campus-wide access to the WSJ can purchase discounted subscriptions at https://www.wsj.com/studentoffer).

If you’d like to be considered, please submit the following in one single, complete PDF file:

• A cover letter

• Your résumé

• Links to or cited full text of your three best clips

• Your response to the following prompt in no more than 800 words:  Make a case for any book of your choosing on history, fiction or nonfiction. (Examples: https://www.wsj.com/news/types/bookshelf)

All materials must be received by Nov. 30, 2025. Only complete applications that include a cover letter, résumé and prompt responses will be considered. Please do not include any additional materials, such as transcripts, recommendation letters, etc. In order to be considered, you must be a U.S. citizen, or a holder of a green card or visa that will allow you to work in the United States. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we endeavor to make selections by the end of January. Only finalists will be contacted.

About Book Reviews at The Wall Street Journal

Books criticism is recognized at the Journal as an Editorial Page function, and as such operates under the umbrella of the Opinion section. Like the rest of the Opinion section, in our book reviews we believe in rendering clear, independent judgments that are as well argued as they are deeply informed.

The Journal’s book reviews are among the most timely, most widely read and most influential in American literary journalism. Our daily reviews appear in the Opinion section and focus on nonfiction books of interest to ambitious readers of politics, business, science, religion and the issues of the day. Our weekend reviews, which make up a six-page Books section in print, offer judicious criticism of the best of the week’s new titles in a broad cross section of subject areas, from the fine arts and literary fiction to popular culture, narrative nonfiction, children’s books and more. In all we do, our goal is simple: to cut through the noise to identify true excellence in publishing—and match it with excellence in reviewing.

About Bob Bartley

Throughout his 30 years as The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Page Editor, Bob Bartley inspired principled and original thinking that changed and shaped the society in which we live. He also devoted attention to teaching and motivating talented young people, many of whom have gone on to careers in journalism at the Journal and elsewhere. The Bartley Fellowships are consistent with that legacy.

Bob Bartley achieved many honors during his long tenure here, including a Pulitzer Prize and, shortly before his death in December 2003, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In awarding that medal, President George W. Bush cited Bob as “one of the most influential journalists in American history.” The Robert L. Bartley Fellowships will help to perpetuate not only Bob’s memory but, above all, the principles and priorities to which he devoted his distinguished career.

About the Opinion Section

Following the American newspaper practice, the heads of News and Editorial report independently to the publisher of the Journal and CEO of Dow Jones, Almar Latour. The Editorial staff is responsible for the Opinion content published on WSJ.com, the editorial and op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal in print, and criticism of books and the arts, which are recognized at the Journal as an Opinion function.

While The Wall Street Journal’s news pages are committed to informing our readers, our editorials are dedicated to advocating a consistent philosophy and positions that emanate from it. That philosophy can be summed up as “free markets, free people.” We have stood for these fundamental principles even in times—and places—when they were not considered fashionable. While specific issues differ in various parts of the world, we view those issues through a consistent lens everywhere; for example, while protectionism is more popular in some parts of the world than others, our publications around the world are committed uncompromisingly to free trade.

We believe in the individual, in his wisdom and his decency. We oppose all infringements on individual rights, whether they stem from attempts at private monopoly, labor union monopoly or from an overgrowing government. Our section is not easily pigeonholed or predictable. We resist the label “conservative,” in the sense of preserving the status quo, because we think it too confining, too devoid of the optimism inherent in trusting individual wisdom and decency.

It is also important to state clearly what our section does not represent. It is not partisan. Unlike many American publishers, we do not endorse political candidates, and from time to time we have important disagreements with all leading political figures. We view issues through the lens of our philosophy and let our readers decide which person or party best serves to protect market capitalism and self-government.

We believe that the ultimate function of opinion journalism is the same as the rest of the newspaper: to inform. But in opinion journalism we have the additional purpose of making an argument for a point of view. We often take sides on the major issues of politics and society, with a goal of moving policies or events in what we think is the best direction for the country and the world. Our experience over many years is that even those who disagree with us on particular issues—or even on broader philosophical grounds—nevertheless respect us for the clarity, consistency and eloquence with which we present our point of view. In stating our own views forcefully, we hope to raise and sharpen the level of debate and knowledge. And we hope that our editorials reflect not merely the passing whim of passing editors, but a body of thought shaped by a century of tradition.

Reasonable accommodation: Dow Jones, Making Careers Newsworthy - We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO/Disabled/Vets. Dow Jones is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities, in our job application and/or interview process. If you need assistance or accommodation in completing your application, due to a disability, email us at [email protected]. Please put "Reasonable Accommodation" in the subject line and provide a brief description of the type of assistance you need. This inbox will not be monitored for application status updates.

Business Area:

Dow Jones - Editorial

Job Category:

Administration, Facilities & Secretarial

Union Status:

Non-Union rolePay Range: 25.00 - 25.00We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, location, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.Pay-for-performance is a key element in our strategy to attract, engage, and motivate talented people to do their best work. Similarly to salary, for bonus eligible roles, targets are set based on a variety of factors including competitive market practice.For benefits eligible roles, in addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce..