Berghahn Books Logo

berghahn New York · Oxford

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram

Get to Know Berghahn- Lauren Weiss

Get to Know Berghahn is a recurring interview feature that introduces the hardworking people behind the scenes at Berghahn. This week’s subject is Editorial Assistant Lauren Weiss.

How long have you been at Berghahn? What did you do before that?
I’ve been at Berghahn for a little over a year now! Before that, I was studying at Columbia University, working just about every publishing internship I could find, and writing up a storm as a Creative Writing major.

What do you read when you aren’t reading Berghahn books?
Two summers ago I interned at Simon & Schuster, where every floor had a “free books” shelf that I scouted weekly with the other interns. I’ve been working through the over 150 books I took from there, so it’s been largely literary fiction and nonfiction for some time now. Most recently I read Walks With Men, a novella by the great Ann Beattie.

What’s a skill or talent you have that no one at the office knows about?
I spend a lot of time building and creating things for my apartment because I’m really into interior decorating. I can work wonders with popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun – in fact, that’s what I used to build a 50s-style sunburst clock in my living room.

Where would you want to live if you could move the Berghahn offices anywhere? Why?
Paris, specifically Montmartre. I stayed at a hostel in Montmartre several years ago and fell in love with the area. It has beautiful views of the rest of Paris from the Sacré Coeur, an artsy vibe, and all the cheap wine and chocolate croissants I could possibly want. What’s not to love?

What’s your favorite thing about working at Berghahn?
Everyone works extremely hard here, and I think it shows in the impressive list of books we produce every year. It’s great to work at a small company that produces on the scale of a much larger company. I think that speaks volumes about the dedication of everyone in the office, and I’m glad to be a part of it!