Publishing at the Library, with Aimee Hess

–Aimee Hess in the Publishing Office helps produce books highlighting the Library’s collections. This story also appears in the Nov.-Dec. issue of the Library of Congress Magazine.

Describe your work at the Library.

I am the lead writer-editor in the Publishing Office, where we publish books about the Library and its collections. I oversee our editorial output, such as developing production schedules, ensuring we meet deadlines and reviewing all prepublication text. With just six staff members, we all contribute to get a project from the seed of an idea to something you can buy in the Library of Congress Store, online and in bookstores. This includes developing ideas, writing proposals, archival research, editing text, securing permissions, arranging scanning, working with designers and marketing.

How did you prepare for your position?

I grew up in Westchester County, New York, in the beautiful Hudson Valley. I had many interests: sports, dance, music, theater, nature — and I always had my head in a book. During high school, I studied classical voice in the precollege program at Juilliard and considered going to a conservatory. Instead, I went to Princeton University, where I majored in English with a certificate in African American studies. My education was well-rounded — including a memorable engineering course with David Billington, brother of the former Librarian of Congress — and I really appreciate that I can continue to explore a variety of interests here at the Library.

After graduating, I wanted to work in publishing, so I took an internship at a literary agency and looked for a full-time job. When I accepted the role of editorial assistant in the Publishing Office, I thought I’d stay for a year or two and then move back to New York, but I’ve been here ever since! Since then, I’ve earned a master’s degree in nonfiction writing from Johns Hopkins.

What are some of your standout projects at the Library?

So many come to mind. I’ve had the exciting opportunity to write two books for our Women Who Dare series. For “In Lincoln’s Hand,” the companion book to the 2009 exhibition, I spent time in the Manuscript Division checking transcriptions against Lincoln’s original papers; that was a thrill! I worked with staff in the American Folklife Center to design an interactive e-book, “Michigan-I-O,” that incorporated text, images and audio and video clips.

More recently, my colleague Hannah Freece and I developed the companion book to the 2019 suffrage exhibition, “Shall Not Be Denied,” and we co-wrote “The Joy of Looking,” about the Library’s photograph collections. A particularly fun ongoing project I oversee is our Crime Classics series, where we reprint obscure crime fiction titles, with annotations and other explanatory material.

What have been your favorite experiences at the Library?

My favorite thing about working here is when something amazing happens on an otherwise normal day. For example, one day I attended a meeting where Columbus’ Book of Privileges was sitting out on the table. Another time I tagged along to a display (for filmmaker Ava DuVernay) and got to see the original costume designs for “The Wiz” (and also saw Nancy Pelosi). But more than anything else, my favorite experiences have involved working with so many amazing staff members.

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