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 Her diverse job experience,
starting as a salesgirl in her teens, helped the
40-year-old push books into prisons, and deliver
more than 1.4 million volumes to public housing
residents across the country.
In January, Lucas will start a new chapter at
Pantheon and Schocken Books as senior vice
president and publisher. Taking on new job in a
pandemic is a challenge, but her unlikely resume
reveals how departing from the typical storyline
can move a career forward.
"I was a copy editor for an ice hockey magazine,
I've sold concessions at a theater, I've been a
nanny, ... all the way to becoming publisher of
Pantheon," said Lucas, who served as publisher
of Guernica and director of education at the
Tribeca Film Institute before joining the
National Book Foundation.
Lucas spoke to Reuters about how her experience
and philosophy are guiding her through the
pandemic. Below are edited excerpts.
Q. What was your very first job?
A. I was a sales shopgirl at Jean Country at the
Garden State Plaza Mall in Bergen County, New
Jersey. I was probably 15 or 16.
Working retail was difficult - you had a wide
variety of people coming in, some of them were
friendly, some were unfriendly. It was a lesson
in responsibility at a time when you're so young
that you didn't understand what work meant.
Q. How have you made your work-from-home
experience a success?
A. I work in different rooms. The morning is for
the kitchen, the couch for the afternoon, then
maybe I'll do a little typing in bed - don't
tell.
I'm used to movement, where you get up, get
dressed, commute to work, go for coffee. ...
There's a lot of actual motion we had that
happened during the work day that isn't there
any more. So I decided to make use of all the
space I have to change things up in order to not
feel crazy.
Q. Who have been your big mentors in your
career?
A. Two huge ones - David Steinberger, the board
chair of the National Book Foundation who opened
the whole world for me, starting with hiring me
but also teaching me how to manage and persevere
when things are difficult.
And Fiona McCrae, publisher of Graywolf Press,
who's been a friend, teacher and cheerleader. I
admire the way she has navigated her own career,
forged her own path and followed her taste,
instincts and heart in the work that she's done.
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 Q. Do you have any advice for
those seeking a job or starting a job in these
times? A. Buckle up. Even if you
get the job you're all excited about it, you're
not going to go into the office, you're not
going to meet all your colleagues face to face.
You'll have to find new ways to connect to the
work and the job and to bond with the people
you're going to be working with.
Q. What advice can you give for someone just
starting out?
A. You can learn something from everything you
do, so even if you feel like "This isn't the job
I want" or "I'm having trouble finding a job,"
take that lesson that ordinary life, imperfect
though it may be, gives to you, whether it's
resilience or learning how to be better at
anything. Our job right now is
just to hang in there no matter what your
circumstance is. There is a future - we've just
got to do everything we can do to get ourselves
there.
Q. Where will you travel as soon as the world
opens up again?
A. Paris - best city. I miss it so much.
In this moment, our passports get us nowhere and
travel is terrifying. I feel so cut off from the
rest of the world. Also, with my new job, I'm
thinking a lot about translated literature and
wandering through a French language bookstore
seems the most appealing inspiration and
experience possible.
Q. How have you found doing things differently
in 2020?
A. Nothing is the same. Life is unrecognizable
professionally and personally. But I'm learning
to sit still. I was traveling every week, going
to events every night, having meetings and
places to run to - that time is empty now.
Just learning to be at peace with less motion is
something that I think will always help me.
(Reporting by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan; Editing by
Lauren Young and Richard Chang)
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reserved.]
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