Blog

Publishing Prize Winners, 2017-18

November 7th, 2018 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Publishing Prize Winners, 2017-18

Photo: Alexandra Sautois

We’re delighted to announce the following awards and prizes for our MLitt in Publishing Studies graduates of 2018-19:

Cortney Lee wins the University of Stirling Prize for Publishing Design for her work on the Publishing Project. She receives a book token for her award.

The Faber & Faber Prize for Digital Innovation goes to Ewa Balcerzyk, also for work on the Publishing Project module with a digital orientation. The prize, sponsored by Faber & Faber, includes a trip to Faber’s offices in London.

Bea Joubert is recipient of the Publishing Scotland Prize for the Best Dissertation. Bea’s dissertation, entitled ‘The Infinite, Virtual Multi-Modal Canvas: A Study on Digital Comics and the Benefits and Limitations of the Platforms that Host Them’ wins a selection of Scottish books from Publishing Scotland.

Finally, the Routledge Prize for the most Distinguished Student on the MLitt in Publishing Studies goes to Lea Intelmann. Lea will receive a prize of books from Routledge’s list.

Our awards and prizes are kindly sponsored by members of our Industry Advisory Board. Congratulations to all!

PhD Studentship with Publishing Scotland and HarperCollins

May 13th, 2018 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on PhD Studentship with Publishing Scotland and HarperCollins

In association with Publishing Scotland and HarperCollins, we are offering a fully-funded PhD studentship for October 2018, with the title, ‘Publishing in Scotland 1968-2018: From Cultural Heritage to Digital Engagement’.

The PhD, which will include placements at both Publishing Scotland and HarperCollins, will focus on the following questions:

  • How has the Scottish publishing industry developed in the past five decades and what have been its opportunities and challenges? What is the relationship between these opportunities and challenges and the factors of internationalisation and conglomeration?
  • How are digital technologies, practices, and workflows affecting the publishing industry in the 21st century, and shaping its futures?
  • How has the development of the publishing industry in the period related to ideas of publishing in national and transnational contexts?

Full details of the studentship are available here (pdf): PublishingScotlandHarperCollins_PhDdetails_May2018. Applications are due by Monday 4 June, 12pm BST. Interviews will be held at Publishing Scotland’s offices in Edinburgh on Friday 15 June.

Gaelic Books Council scholarship 2018-19 full details

April 25th, 2018 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Gaelic Books Council scholarship 2018-19 full details

GaelicBooksCouncil_Scholarship1819_fps

Gaelic Books Council Scholarship, 2018-19

April 25th, 2018 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Gaelic Books Council Scholarship, 2018-19

In association with the Gaelic Books Council, we are delighted to announce a scholarship for a student with fluent written and spoken Scottish Gaelic for the MLitt in Publishing Studies, 2018-19.

For more information, please see the following pdf: GaelicBooksCouncil_Scholarship1819_fps, which include contact details for any queries. The deadline for applications is Friday 18 May 2018.

Glasgow’s Book Festival ‘Aye, Write!’: The Tannahill Lecture

April 5th, 2018 by Ewa Balcerzyk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Glasgow’s Book Festival ‘Aye, Write!’: The Tannahill Lecture
Tags: , , ,

Almost everyone on our publishing course has heard of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which is due to take place in August. Not everyone, however, knows that Glasgow too has a very ambitious programme of literary celebrations. This year, Glasgow’s Book Festival ‘Aye, Write!’ is taking place between 15 and 25 March. From the impressive programme featuring over 200 authors, what caught my attention was the Tannahill Lecture that was to be delivered by Neil MacGregor, a Glasgow-born author of a forthcoming Penguin book entitled Living with the Gods. Having an academic background of cultural studies, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to listen to an art historian and philosopher give a talk about ‘how different societies have understood and articulated their place in the cosmic scheme’, as advertised in the festival programme.

On the night, I was amazed by the great turnout at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, where the lecture was taking place. One couldn’t help but notice, however, that the crowd was primarily one of pensioners. A very gallant elderly gentleman next to me dozed off for most of the talk (although, I must admit, it has happened to me on other occasions, despite the age difference). Nevertheless, I was happy to see that many people showing interest in a bookish and slightly academic event.

As soon as the talk started, I knew at once why so many people have turned up. Neil MacGregor is simply a brilliant speaker, genuinely enthusiastic about discovering as much as possible about human culture and sharing it with the general public. This sense of mission is perhaps not surprising for someone who has for many years run such important public institutions as the National Gallery and the British Museum.

In his lecture, MacGregor touched upon various themes related to the central question of how shared objects and narratives shape communities and help them establish a sense of a common identity. He skilfully presented a very brief, yet thoughtful, run through different emanations of such shared narratives, spanning the whole globe over thousands of years. MacGregor’s cultural references included, among others, the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, Putin’s orthodox Russia, the Swiss minaret referendum, beliefs of the ancient Romans and Persians, the eternal flame of the French Arc de Triomphe, the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Using those and many other examples, MacGregor demonstrated how shared religious beliefs have always been the foundation of communities and group solidarity. Common narratives provided people with a sense of cohesion and meaning in their lives.

The scholar ended his lecture on a surprising note. Unexpectedly, he moved on from discussing the images of floods in the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh to a cataclysm of our own times – the refugee crisis. MacGregor argued that our world has no global narrative, which would help us to respond better to the plight of refugees. His strong humanitarian message gave us all something to reflect upon long after the lecture.

MacGregor’s book, due in September 2018, explores all the above-mentioned themes in much greater detail. Listeners of BBC Radio 4 may already be familiar with the content, as the publication is based on a radio show of the same title, aired as an impressive 30-part series in 2017 (available as podcasts here).

The Tannahill Lecture marked the beginning of a great festival. The range of topics covered during the events is sure to satisfy all book lovers. From poetry, through Scottish interest, to art, politics, and sport, there is something for everyone. Avid readers can also turn themselves into aspiring writers, as there are nearly 20 different creative writing workshops running for the duration of the festival.

Browsing through the programme, I had only one regret – that I could not afford to attend more author meetings, as most are priced at ₤9, with no student concessions available. Other than that, ‘Aye, Write!’ is definitely doing a great job at developing the local literary scene. Can’t wait for next year!

 

Ewa Balcerzyk

Twitter

BookSource

April 5th, 2018 by Ana Tratnik | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on BookSource
Tags: , , ,

Beginning of the spring semester, time for a field trip to Glasgow! On Monday, 5th February, the Publishing students got to know two aspects of the book process. We visited a distribution company, BookSource, and one of the largest and oldest British printing and binding companies, Bell & Bain. Both were absolutely worth a visit, not only to see what happens with a book when it’s published, but because we all left infected full of enthusiasm radiated from the people who work there.

When we arrived to the BookSource we were split in two groups. One group visited the well-organised warehouse with pleasant Jim and the other group was welcomed with a presentation by Louise, accompanied with coffee, tea and biscuits.

BookSource was founded in 1995 by Publishing Scotland. With only ten people working there their job is to receive and store books, get them to the market, collect, process and fulfil customer orders, invoice customers and collect cash. Their customers are booksellers, wholesalers, online retailers, supermarkets and private individuals. BookSource used to store more than 7M books, but since publishers have taken the advantage of the print-on-demand service, they are able to save space and the number of books in the warehouse has reduced to 3.44M. Currently, they cooperate with 94 publishers and stock 13,178 live titles, including CDs and maps.

BookSource distributes books not only to the mainland UK, but also to the Scottish Isles and abroad. Because of the increased traffic, it is cheaper to deliver books abroad, for instance to Germany or Benelux, than to the Isles. On every dispatched box they put a sticker so they can follow it and know where it is at any time, they also get information in case it gets lost and when the customer receives it.

They are constantly improving their system, which enables them to be up-to-date with what is happening in the warehouse, e.g. they can see what books are missing, but also what are the extra books they store. Their new developed services are MyBookSource, an online bookshop run by BookSource; DataSource holding descriptions of books which took up to four years to be developed and it provides information for their customers, Nielsen etc; and InfoSource that provides all the information for the sales team and allows publishers to check how their sales are going, discounts, how much cash they have collected, if they should reprint a book …

Some interesting facts to conclude, one of the bestsellers lately and a recommended reading by the BookSource is Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey, a book about the effects of poverty in Glasgow.  The cheapest book, and also a bestseller, that has been stored in the BookSource is Everything Men Know About Women, containing nothing but 32 blank pages, “written” by a woman.

A big thank-you to Louise and Jim for making us welcome. We enjoyed learning about a step of the book production that is not directly linked with the office work in a publishing house, but really, really valuable.

Saltire Society Literary Night

February 21st, 2018 by Alexandra Sautois | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Saltire Society Literary Night

Other people relish in the Scottish spirit of Saint Andrew’s. Instead of joining them, I opted for the Saltire Society Literary Awards.

The Saltire Society was founded in 1936 to bring forward and promote the Scottish culture throughout the world. For this purpose, the Saltire Society organises numerous awards, one of which took place on the 30th November 2017.

This event was my first award celebration since arriving in Scotland. The place was gorgeous, with a splendid Christmas tree and pleasant people. Once there, we met with my classmates as well as with people from different professional backgrounds – authors, professors, etc. – who were really eager to discuss literary and non-literary subjects with us.

The event itself is funded by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. Altogether, there were eight awards in eight different categories and one medal for a thesis given.

There were judging panels for different categories with shadow panels for some awards.

On this occasion, some of my classmates were shadow members like David MacDonald Graham, Gabriella Rodriguez, Marija Katiliute or Katie Lumsden.

David MacDonald Graham vividly describes his experience on our blog: http://www.publishing.stir.ac.uk/saltire-society-judging-experience/.

Firstly, Lucy Linforth from Edinburgh University was awarded the Ross Roy Medal for her thesis.

This was followed by awards in literature and publishing. 2017’s publisher of the Saltire Society is Birlinn which is a wonderful Scottish independent publisher. This company is highly committed to protect Scottish and UK interests with high-quality editorial production.

Claire Squires, one of our professors in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, announced the winner of the Emerging Publisher Award 2017. A memorable moment for us to see her represent our class at this event, especially because the winners and co-founders of 404 Ink, Laura Jones and Heather McDaid, were also students in our programme! This was a wonderful celebration.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Luath Press double-celebrated that night for the Research Book 2017 granted to Peter Mackay and Iain Macherson (An Leabhar Liath The Light Blue Book: 500 Years of Gaelic Love and Transgressive Verse) and for the Fiction Book 2017 granted to the hilarious Angus Peter Campbell (Memory and Straw).

Em Strang won the Poetry Book award 2017, with her title Bird-Woman published by Shearsman Books. “This is spellbinding poetry”, to quote the Saltire Society accordingly.

Ever Dundas received the First Book Award 2017 for her amazing novel Goblin. I am pleased that her novel which blends different genres could win an important award like this one. The work and writing of Ever Dundas are wonderful to bring her first title at this level of prestige.

 

Finally, I am glad to announce that Kapka Kassabova won both the Non-Fiction Book and Saltire Scottish Book Awards 2017 for her incredible work, Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe, published by Saraband. Owing to a current subject and an amazingly written work, she deserves this recognition. “Borders don’t change”, she said last night. “My dream is (…) new borders” because the ones we have are synonymous with anger and fear. We need to make them fall.

Each award winner receives £2,000 with a wonderful award. In addition to the £2,000 set, the Saltire Book winner receives an extra £3,000. We got two winners in our group as well: Mireia Pauné Font and Hannah Chen. Each of them won a short-listed title because they found, in their welcoming bag, a pink pin from the Saltire Society.

Congratulations to everyone for being a source of inspiration and creativity!

Nicola Ramsey, EUP & Academic Publishing

February 21st, 2018 by Madalena Cardoso | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Nicola Ramsey, EUP & Academic Publishing

“Every day is different because every book is different (…) it’s always varied, always challenging, but never boring”

Nicola Ramsey, Head of Editorial and Publisher of Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh University Press, was the first visiting speaker of 2018. Nicola gave a warm, frank and interesting talk on the world of Academic Publishing, sharing insights on EUP and the particular dynamics of the sector, on the process of bringing a book to life and on her personal experience. Curiously, it was her 25th anniversary of being a student of the Publishing Studies course. If her clear passion for books was not enough to immediately captivate her audience, her common history and background with the listeners at the University of Stirling certainly was.

_

Nicola started by explaining that Academic Publishing, i.e. publications by and for academics, is dominated by UK and US players, being characterised mainly by 3 types of operators – commercial academic presses (e.g. Taylor & Francis), university presses (e.g. EUP) and, more recently, new university presses that defend Open Access (e.g. White Rose). She emphasised the global nature of the sector, and the high-value of the books produced (that are consequently more expensive than the average book). Editorial work is the engine that drives the business, contrary to what happens in Trade Publishing, which is much more market-driven. The Edinburgh University Press, which falls within the Academic realm, is a well-known mid-sized house focused on publishing books such as textbooks and research monographs, and journals across a range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences. It was born in the 1950s as a mere department of the university. Since then, it has metamorphosed and grown immensely. Just this year it plans to publish more than 200 books.

One of the most intriguing things Nicola discussed was the positive relationship between print books and ebooks that takes place in the Academic sector. There is a symbiosis between the two formats, which are commonly perceived as adversaries and as cannibalising each other’s sales. The visiting speaker believes this is because people enjoy the discoverability/accessibility/searchability of an-ebook but opt for print when they need to do some deep reading. As so, it really seems to be all about the content rather than the format, with paper and digital co-existing in harmony.

The visiting speaker’s role in the EUP is one of great responsibility. As the Head of Editorial, she ensures the publishing program matches the press’ strategy, and that key targets are met (e.g. control of costs, etc.). She must also keep an eye on industry developments and on innovations that can potentially improve internal processes or reveal business opportunities. As a Publisher, Nicola is a list-builder, undertaking market and competitor research, building relevant networks, and meeting authors. Maintaining a good reputation is seen as preponderant for the success of the publishing house, because it translates into attracting both more clients and authors. Trustworthiness is core for the Academic sector.

A typical day at work for Nicola involves lots of tea and lots of emails – and it is never boring. Indeed, all books are different and so represent new challenges. The best parts of the job include making a difference in authors’ lives, the success stories (when a book sells), being invested and involved, and the constant learning.

All in all, Nicola’s lecture was extremely insightful. Exposure to industry professionals really is an invaluable opportunity, allowing us to get a fresh perspective, and to further develop our knowledge.

 

A Bibliophile’s Christmas Fantasy

December 18th, 2017 by Madalena Cardoso | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on A Bibliophile’s Christmas Fantasy
Tags: , , , ,

Winter is here. There are magical light displays on the streets. Christmas markets are open. There is mulled wine and cinnamon treats, and large crowds of people wearing colourful reindeer jumpers shopping for presents. Snow has already made an appearance, with gentle snowflakes covering everything in white in Stirling.

Indeed, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go. And everywhere includes bookshops. For our Marketing Management and Communication module, we were asked to look at current bookshops’ practices, and so I went to Edinburgh and did a small tour. It was during my trip that I noticed how retailers have really outdone themselves this season by employing creative strategies and introducing sensory elements to entice customers, from decorations to special offerings and fun events.

In Princes Street Waterstone’s, in Edinburgh, a gigantic Christmas tree has been set up. Green garlands are everywhere. Book displays showcase a selection of interesting themed titles – classics, crime novels, new releases, and more – and there are many promotions taking place. Other chains such as Blackwell’s, in South Bridge, have devoted great attention to their store windows, immediately capturing a passer-by’s interest.

Independent bookshops, being smaller in size and naturally more flexible, manage to design more unique and memorable experiences. At Golden Hare Books (established in 2012 and located in the Stockbridge area), for example, there is relaxing jazz music playing in the background, free delicious mince pies and tea, and a wood-burning stove is on to keep customers warm. There is a pleasant incense aroma in the air and you can buy already-wrapped books with mysterious labels to surprise yourself for Christmas. There is also a Christmas “book tree” on one of the tables. Touch, smell, sound, sight and taste. The interplay of the five senses is quite clever, contributing to shape a cosy, familiar and welcoming atmosphere.

Booksellers are finding innovative ways of remaining operational in today’s extremely competitive environment. Although online book shopping is perhaps more convenient and cheaper, it is only in physical venues where one can experience such wonderful things. There’s quite nothing like browsing in a bookshop, especially during Christmas time. But, it must be said that, as a Publishing student, my opinion might be (slightly) biased.

 

 

 

Writing Gender Violence

December 18th, 2017 by Diane Hill | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Writing Gender Violence
Tags: , ,

In November, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Writing Gender Violence event at the University. Organised as part of Book Week Scotland, the event also coincided with 16 Days of Action to eliminate violence against women, running from the 25th of November to the 10th of December.

A crowd of us gathered in the Pathfoot Dining Hall, and at the front where a panel of four women visiting speakers who dedicated their time for this event. Technically, there was only three present in the room as the fourth was on the other side of the world. Thanks to a computer and a webcam, however, three became four. The panel was made up of crime writer Alexandra Sokoloff, author of the Huntress Moon series that goes against the norm with her female serial killer antagonist in her crime series. Then, there was Madeleine Black, author of the memoir Unbroken, a true depiction of the devastating aftermath of rape and the journey of forgiveness. Next was Lydia House from Zero Tolerance, a charity that campaigns to end men’s violence against women by promoting gender equality and challenging attitudes that normalise violence and domestic abuse. Lastly, there was Lorna Hill, a Ph.D. creative writing student from the University of Stirling who has written a crime novel focusing on human trafficking and domestic abuse. This was our panel.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this event when I first sat down in the chair, however, my attention was captured throughout. Like myself, I don’t think many people have thought about the notion of writing gender violence. Even as a former journalism student, I had not given this issue much thought. However, what was made very clear to me throughout this event is that writing gender violence is a current, ongoing issue today. From Madeleine we learned that due to the very graphic details contained in her real life story, it was rejected 25 times before it was finally published, and even then there was some effort to tone down the graphic descriptions told throughout her story due to the fear that it could deter potential readers. The fact that someone would try to tone done the details of this story is baffling. Why would you try to dilute the true story and horror of the rape of a young woman? It would take away the true purpose of the story, to connect with others who had gone through similar experiences and to show them that they have a voice and that they have the right to be heard. This is Madeleine’s purpose for writing. She doesn’t see it as story writing but as story healing. Lorna also agreed with this. She also highlighted the importance of these voices being heard.

It is not just the publishing industry that struggles to grasp the importance of writing gender violence; journalists and the media are also responsible. Lydia House highlighted this. She explained the work her charity does to try and educate those in positions, such as journalists, to communicate with large amounts of people. They give them the skills to better equip themselves when reporting violence against women. Again, as a former journalism student, I cannot recall one instance where we were taught how to properly report such stories. We weren’t taught these skills and looking back, this is very surprising. Lydia highlights just how important a story’s language and pictures are to the representation of the article as a whole. They could inadvertently silence the voices of the women who deserve to have their stories told. Zero Tolerance offers journalists a Handle with Care guide that can help them when reporting these kinds of stories. They also offer a free range of photos that can be used to better represent the different crimes of violence and the victims, as the violence committed against women is not limited to just physical violence.

Moving on to Sokoloff, she wanted to create a character, a female serial killer particularly, to turn the tables, and the violence, against men. She wanted to explore the questions as to why women don’t commit serial murders, and why do men commit this kind of violence and women don’t? Women can be serial killers, but they normally don’t have the sexual aspect to the crimes compared to men. In the end, she creates a powerful character. Sokoloff highlighted that this kind of character, or story, couldn’t have been written ten, or ten fifteen years ago. Attitudes to these kinds of crimes have changed and people want to read about people’s experiences. One only needs to look back at the Weinstein scandal to see this.

Overall, this event highlighted the importance of writing about gender violence, and also the need for there to be a better understanding in certain industries in how to better handle this issue. Progress is being made, but as Madeleine said, there is still a long way to go to challenge the attitudes regarding wring gender violence. This event was informative and very insightful, and I would have recommended it to everyone.