There are exactly three things that I have been passionate about for as long as I can remember: reading, writing, and seeing new places. I was five years old when I read my first book, and eight years old when I wrote my first story. Then there was traveling – every summer my family and I would leave the US and spend several weeks roving around Europe, mainly Portugal and Spain. At the end of these trips I would grudgingly board a plane back to the little state called Connecticut.

I spent my undergraduate years at Salve Regina University in the US, studying English Communications and Creative Writing. I freelanced as a writer and proof reader, wrote for the university newspaper, and helped produce the student literary magazine. For whatever reason, I was never sure what career path I wished to pursue after I finished my degree, and it seemed like the years were slipping by too quickly for me to keep up. However, during my third year I decided I needed to travel again. I spent the spring of 2016 studying in London, which would quickly become one of my favorite cities. During these four months I took a class on the British publishing industry, and even got the opportunity to attend the London Book Fair.

My experience in London sparked an interest in publishing, and made me love living and studying abroad. I finally knew that I wanted to work in the publishing industry, so during my last year at university I began looking into graduate programs. Stirling quickly caught my interest. As soon as I arrived I fell in love with the campus and everything the university has to offer, including the Publishing Studies course that I have already learned a great deal from. I am especially interested in editorial and design, but find most facets of the industry fascinating. I’m looking forward to the next year, and hope to learn as much as I can about publishing, make connections within the industry, and take advantage of all the exciting opportunities that arise.

I have a blog, but you can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

My name is Megan Carney, and I come from a town in the south-west of Ireland called Tralee. Despite the well versed warning not to, I have always been very much guilty of judging a book by its literal cover. There is nothing I enjoy more than walking into a bookshop and finding refuge among the colours and textures which encase each story as it sits on a shelf, just waiting to be read.

While I have always been an avid reader (quelle surprise!), it is in fact the world of theatre which led me to pursue a career in publishing. For the past few years I completely immersed myself in theatre, studying English with drama at University College Dublin, working in a theatre in Dublin’s city centre, acting in plays, directing shows, and building and designing sets. During this time, I learned a lot about the process of taking an idea or a vision and seeing it through to a physical piece of art. When nearing the end of my undergraduate degree I took some time to consider what it was about this work that I loved, and I realized that it was that collaborative process of bringing about the best possible end product, which still retained its artistic integrity. This led me to consider applying the same concept to literature. I began to wonder more about the journey a book takes, from the original manuscript, through editorial and design, all the way to being a tangible book, sitting on a shelf in a bookshop.

And so here I am, less than a year later, embarking on my journey to learn as much as I can about the publishing industry. While I joined the course hoping for a career as an editor, each week I find that as I learn more about the industry, each area of publishing becomes more and more enticing! I hope to get as much hands on experience as possible so that I might find which department I click with best, but for now I am leaving my options open as I take it all in.

Twitter: @migcarney