“I’ve known every since my bookselling days that I wanted to be an editor,” Camille March confessed after work one night last week—and now, after a job at Seattle’s Elliott Bay Books led her to the publicity department of Grove/Atlantic and then Weinstein Books (where she served as associate director), her dream has come true: Since September, she’s been at the editorial department of Black Dog & Leventhal.
March spotted a listing for the editorial position late last summer, and though she admitted up front that she was a longshot, Black Dog was impressed enough by her eclectic background and industry knowledge to welcome her to the fold after four interviews. “But just because I’ve spent 10 years in the book industry doesn’t mean I know anything about the editorial process,” she said, smiling. “It’s been a little tough. I feel like I’m back at square one. But everyone at BD&L is so patient, and they’re really great teachers.”
Not to mention that her prior experience comes in handy: “I actually keep asking Camille for contacts,” joked Liz Hartman, Black Dog’s new publicity and marketing manager, who is herself returning to publicity after a lengthy stint in magazine editorial. And that’s cool with March; she confides that one of the few downsides of landing her dream job is that she misses being in constant contact with the friends she made at bookstores across the country, lining up author events and other promotions.