Staff

The staff team in the Centre includes:

Claire Squires. Claire joined Stirling in 2009 as Director of the Centre for International Publishing and Communication. Her publishing career includes editorial and publicity roles at Hodder & Stoughton General Trade Division, and freelance and consultancy work for a variety of trade and academic publishers.

Claire’s research interests focus on the history of the book and publishing studies in the 20th and 21st centuries, both in the UK and globally. She is co-Volume Editor for the Cambridge History of the Book in Britain Volume 7: The Twentieth Century and Beyond (CUP, in preparation), and is the Associate Editor with responsibility for the Twentieth Century Book in Britain for the Oxford Companion to the Book (OUP, 2010). She has particular interests in contemporary literary publishing, children’s books and publishing, literary prizes, and ghostwriting.

Her books and publications include Marketing Literature: The Making of Contemporary Writing in Britain (Palgrave, 2007), books on Philip Pullman and Zadie Smith, and articles on the contemporary literary marketplace, book awards, children’s publishing, and small nations publishing. She has frequently spoken about her work both in UK and elsewhere including, in recent years, as an invited speaker in Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden. She has organised and contributed to public sessions at events including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Aye Write!, the London Book Fair, the Ljubljana Book Fair, and has spoken on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book programme.

From 2009, she has been Director for Publications and Awards for SHARP (the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing). She has been a judge for the Saltire Society Literary Awards (2010-2014), and is a current judge for the Saltire Society Publisher of the Year Award (2013-). In 2015, she was given a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award.

Claire’s full publication and contact details are available here.

Gill Tasker. Gill Tasker joined Stirling in 2018 as Lecturer in Digital Creative Economy and Publishing. Prior to this she was Book Marketing Manager at the trade, network, and development body Publishing Scotland, and Teaching Fellow and Research Assistant at the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication. She has worked for an independent publishing house in a range of roles culminating in Joint Managing Director, and as a freelancer she has scouted books for one of the UK’s most dynamic TV production companies.

Gill has been an invited industry speaker at literary festivals, arts events, student-run festivals, and colleges and universities. With a PhD in English Studies she has presented her research at conferences in the UK and internationally. Her thesis was shortlisted for the 2015 Ross Roy Medal facilitated by the Universities Committee for Scottish Literature. Her particular research interests in Publishing Studies are marketing (including digital) and independent publishing.

The Centre’s administrative support includes:

Lesley McIntosh. Lesley is the Postgraduate Administrator at the Graduate Studies Office. She is responsible for both taught and research postgraduate administration within the Department. She deals with all issues concerning postgraduate studies and administration.

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