Meet the Intern – Emily Boyle

Tell us a little about yourself

I am currently on a study abroad program here in Perth. I live in the United States on a small island in Lake Michigan. My main focus right now is school, but in my spare time I help out at a local radio station, and I dabble in special effects makeup. My passions are a little all over the place, but I’ve always had a love for writing, especially short stories and poetry.

How has it been adjusting to Aussie life?

I think I’ve been doing alright! I’ve seen most of the iconic Aussie animals, and tried most of the staple Aussie foods. All of it has been great, except for the Vegemite. Not a huge fan of it. I think the hardest thing I’ll have to face is that Halloween isn’t that big of a holiday here. It is my favourite day of the year, and it’s one of the few days where I can actually wear my special effects makeup in public! But other than that, I really love it here. I’m used to small towns, so Perth is the perfect size city for me.

What are you studying at University?

I am majoring in English and Creative Writing with a minor in Classics. I love writing, especially poetry. I’m studying at Curtin right now, but my home university is Kalamazoo College.

Do you have a favourite book or favourite authors?

I just started reading IT by Stephen King, since the movie came out recently. I love horror stories, but they often freak me out a little too much, so I have to read scary books in tiny chunks, otherwise I can’t sleep! I’ve been a fan of scary stories since I was pretty little. I remember burning through the Goosebumps and Michigan Chillers series as a kid. But, I have to say that my favourite fiction author has to be Rick Riordan. I was a diehard fan of the Percy Jackson series, and it’s what actually got me into the study of Classics. I love the idea of modernizing ancient myths.

What did a typical day involve as an intern at Margaret River Press?

I am in charge of the social media, so most of what I do is find things to post. Social media is about engaging our followers, and making sure they know what’s going on here at MRP. I spend the day reaching out to authors that have been published by MRP to ask them about writing blog posts, or I track down events that are coming up in the area that I think our followers would be interested in. My favourite platform, by far, is Instagram. I love finding photos to post and writing cute captions. Twitter has probably been the hardest for me to grasp since I hardly ever use my personal one, but I think I’ve been getting the hang of it!

What’s next for you?

My parents ask me this question a lot, and the answer always changes every couple of months! After I finish my study abroad program here, I’ll go back to my home university for my final year. I’ll be working on a capstone project for my program which will (ideally) be my own poetry collection. After that, I’ll have to become a real adult and get a full-time job, although I’m still not sure what direction I’ll be going in. I’ve been thinking about jumping into the world of radio but I’m not completely sold on the idea yet. As long as I get a job that pays enough to support my future dogs and cats, I’ll be happy.