Amanda Livingston has always known what she wanted to do with her life. At seven, she read The School Story, a novel about the book publishing process. From then, she knew she wanted to be a part of the publishing industry in any way she could. Starting in tenth grade, Amanda interned throughout high school and college, ranging from small magazines or literary agencies to Random House, one of the big five publishers. She also interned with Barnes & Noble and Scholastic in corporate communications.
A writing major at IC, Amanda was the president of the Women in Communications club, where students can learn about interviewing skills, networking, and how to write a successful résumé. She also taught creative writing to children through the Trumansburg Troubadour and Writopia Lab.
After graduating, Amanda pursued her master’s in publishing at New York University, where she was connected to a job at Simon & Schuster, yet another big five publisher. For more than two years, Amanda helped market children’s books to teachers and school librarians, organized author talks, and assisted in the distribution of advanced reader copies.
Amanda is now back at Scholastic as the internal communications and social media coordinator, where she runs the publisher’s Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter accounts. She also messages the staff weekly with news from the company. Her goal? To promote books that encourage kids to read: “I just love stories, and I love the impact that children’s stories can have on who people grow up to be.”