Blog

Get your skills set for publishing!

September 28th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Get your skills set for publishing!
Tags: , ,

Louise Franklin – Publishing Sector Co-ordinator at Skillset, the industry body which supports skills and training in the creative industries – will be here on Thursday the 30th of September to impart some valuable advice regarding what employers are looking for in the world of books, newspapers, magazines, journals and directories. She will also give you practical tips on how to break into publishing, the organisations that can help you, networking and information about the different kinds of work placements.

Time: Thursday, 30th September, 6-8pm
Place: The Room, Roxy Art House, 2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU, Edinburgh
£5 entry, free for SYP members

There will be an opportunity to chat to Louise and other attendees after the event over wine and nibbles.

 

– Padmini Ray Murray

Helena reports from New York!

September 2nd, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Helena reports from New York!
Tags: , , ,

Regular readers of our blog may remember Helena O Leary’s post on her getting an internship at Continuum, New York. Six weeks in, Helena lets us know how positive her experience has been so far…

Six weeks into an internship with Continuum International Publishing Group in their New York office and I couldn’t be happier with how its going. Within my first hour of work I knew (with a certain amount of relief) that there was no doubt in my mind that publishing is definitely the industry for me. So far there has not been one task I have completed that has not excited and enthused me, encouraging me in my future career in publishing.

My tasks have ranged from filing and mailing, to permissions and transmittals, as well as reviewing contracts and liaising with authors. Each experience has afforded me invaluable insight into the editorial process. I couldn’t offer greater advice to future publishing studies students of the University of Stirling than to do an internship, do multiple internships. The experience gained compares to no other and it will increase the value of your resume/CV beyond theoretical learning. Having said that, however, I owe any present or future successes within the publishing industry to the University of Stirling Mlitt. In Publishing Studies program and all the staff within the department. I am eternally grateful to you all.

Outside of office hours one can find me on a frantic search for a full time job in a publishing house here in the city. In recessionary times this is an unenviable task, but I am confident that armed with my Mlitt. From the University of Stirling and my practical experience from the internship, success in this matter is not too far away at all.

— Helena O’Leary

Publishing students win prizes

July 8th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Publishing students win prizes
Tags: , , , ,

Last week saw the graduation ceremony for out 2009-10 cohort of MLitt in Publishing Studies students.

Among the graduating students were some prize winners. Siân Jenkins won The Ruari McLean Prize for Publishing Design (named in honour of the celebrated Scots book designer who died in 2006). The Prize is awarded annually to the student in the MLitt in Publishing Studies who produces an outstanding work of publishing design. Siân was awarded the prize for her work on The Knights of Whorlton, a spread from which can be seen below.

The Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication Dissertation Prize, for the most outstanding Dissertation, was awarded to Katrina Melvin, for her dissertation ‘Chronicling Change: Representations of women in the mainstream publishing workplace 1970-2010’.

Finally, Siân Jenkins was the recipient of a second prize as the most distinguished student in the MLitt in Publishing Studies. The Routledge Prize is given annually to the most distinguished student in the MLitt in Publishing Studies, and takes the form of £200 work of books donated by Routledge, the Group Sales Director of which is a former University of Stirling graduate, now Honorary Professor and Chair of our Industry Advisory Board, Christoph Chesher.

Well done to both Siân and Kat for their hard work and excellent results!

What’s the Value of a Masters in Publishing?

June 24th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on What’s the Value of a Masters in Publishing?
Tags: , , , , , , ,

What’s the value of a publishing degree programme? Well, according to a recent job advert, it’s equivalent to ‘1 or 2 years experience in a publishing environment’. The advert, for a production assistant at Atlantic Books, welcomes applications from graduates of publishing courses as well as those with existing industry experience.

So, very good news for our students who have recently completed their MLitt in Publishing Studies, some of whom have already been offered publishing jobs in companies including Oxford University Press and Palimpsest Book Production. It is clear from this advert – and from the evidence we have from our industry contacts and from the employment successes of our students – that publishing courses are taken very seriously indeed by employers.

If you’ve recently graduated from a first degree in another subject and are looking for a route into publishing, planning a career change, or want to improve your existing publishing career, take a look at our courses. We’d welcome an application from you.

Publishing needs YOU!

June 20th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Publishing needs YOU!
Tags: ,


I’m on the committee for the Scottish branch of the Society of Young Publishers, an amazingly useful organisation for anyone interested in getting into publishing or already working in publishing. Our aim is to put on informative networking events and we were thus very pleased when Simon Juden, the CEO of the Publishers Association, agreed to come to Edinburgh to speak at our ‘Publishing Needs YOU!’ event on the 16th of June. The event was geared towards attracting people who may not have ever considered publishing as a career, and we couldn’t have had a more charismatic speaker to persuade his listeners of the value and appeal of working in publishing at this particular cultural moment. Simon’s talk was wide-ranging–he started off by introducing the Publishers Association, and then addressed the important shifts and changes in the industry wrought by digitization, in particular by ebooks, the agency model and the Google Book Settlement, and ended by bringing us up to speed with the latest debate on VAT and e-book pricing. Simon also spoke passionately about the necessity of diversity in the publishing industry, a need which has recently been addressed by an initiative, DIPNET, launched at the London Book Fair earlier this year. Unfortunately Simon had to rush off to catch a flight, but attendees stayed on and enjoyed the free wine and the opportunity to meet other like-minded people, inspiring us to put on more such events in the future. Watch this space!

– Padmini Ray Murray

More scholarships available for September 2010

May 28th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on More scholarships available for September 2010
Tags: , , , , ,

A number of scholarships and bursaries are available to applicants who will be studying for a postgraduate degree in the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication from September 2010.

The scholarships available include:

  • One £3000 and one £2000 tuition fee award for the MSc in International Publishing Management (available to both Home/EU and International students)
  • Five £1000 Master’s tuition fee awards for the MLitt, MSc and MRes programmes (available to both Home/EU and International students)
  • Two bursaries equivalent to the value of fees for full-time home/EU postgraduate students (available for both taught and research applicants)
  • Four £2000 Research tuition fee awards available for MPhil and PhD applicants (available to both Home/EU and International students)

More details of these scholarships are available on the Department of English Studies postgraduate funding page. Please note the deadline for all these awards is Friday 2 July, and applicants need to be holding a conditional or unconditional offer by that date.

New and Revised Programmes of Study

May 24th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on New and Revised Programmes of Study
Tags: , , , , ,

From September 2010, the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication will be offering new and revised programmes of study.

Our programmes now include:

MLitt in Publishing Studies: This course has run since 1982, and among our graduates are some of the leading publishers in the UK and abroad. Substantially overhauled for September 2010, the course now includes new optional modules (Skills for Publishing Management; Publishing, Literature and Society; and Publishing in the Workplace) and revised teaching, learning and assessment methods relevant to the digital 21st century publishing environment. More details are available from the programme page.

MSc in International Publishing Management: This innovative course is aimed at those already working within publishing and publishing-related industries and organisations, and works via purpose-writte case studies. From this year, the programme will run from September (rather than February). More details are available from the programme page.

MRes in Publishing Studies: This new course is specifically focused on research in the fields of publishing studies, contemporary or historical, and is aimed at students wishing to pursue a substantial research project at Masters level. It can lead to PhD study. More details are available from the programme page.

PhD: It is possible to study for a PhD in the Stirling Centre for International Publishing Studies, with opportunities for co-supervision with staff from other Departments in the University. More details are available from the programme page.

Please do contact us should you require more information about our courses, or advice about which course might suit you.

Conference and seminar papers from Publishing Studies staff

May 10th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Conference and seminar papers from Publishing Studies staff
Tags: , ,

Over the summer, staff from the Stirling Centre for International Publishng and Communciation will be speaking at a variety of conferences and seminars. Claire Squires, Director of the Centre, has been invited to speak at the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature Conference, Foundations on Futures, on the theme of diversity and career routes in children’s book publishing. She will also be delivering the Chair in Book and Publishing Studies lecture for Boek.be and the University of Antwerp in Belgium, with the title ‘Books without Borders: Readers, Writers and Publishers in the Global Literary Marketplace’, a plenary lecture at the University of Manchester Contemporary Literature and its Contexts conference, and a paper on publisher anniversaries at SHARP 2010 in Helsinki. Padmini Ray Murray will be delivering a paper at Publishing Futures in the Global Marketplace conference at Anglia Ruskin University on the topic of poetry publishing in the 21st century.

These public appearances will disseminate some of the research conducted in the Centre.

London Book Fair Report

April 22nd, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on London Book Fair Report
Tags: , ,
London Book Fair under the volcano

London Book Fair under the volcano

Students and staff from the Centre for International Publishing and Communication attended the London Book Fair this week. LBF is a big international trade fair, and normally an opportunity for publishers, literary agents and others from around the world to meet, network and get down to the serious business of buying and selling rights.

LBF 2010, however, was adversely affected by the volcanic ash which kept European airports closed over the week. The halls at Earls Court were much quieter than usual, stands stood empty, and publishers found many of their appointments cancelled. A quick-witted publisher used one of the empty stands to promote a pop-up volcano book.

Students from the MSc in International Publishing Management and MLitt in Publishing Studies attended seminars, had the opportunity to talk to publishers, and even helped out during the launch of a new digital publishing company, by demonstrating Ether Mobile Publishing‘s iPhone app.

Stirling Publishing Students at the Fair

UNESCO World Book Day Publishing Showcase

April 18th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on UNESCO World Book Day Publishing Showcase
Tags: , ,

The Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication is holding a showcase of current student work from the MLitt in Publishing Studies and the MSc in International Publishing Management on Friday 23 April 2010 (UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day) in Pathfoot B2.

From 10.30am, there will be a display of student project work, and from 11am there will be talks from staff and students on publishing around the world, including reports on China, Kazakhstan, India and Wales.

You are welcome to join us. For further information, please contact Alison Scott (alison.scott@stir.ac.uk).

« Older
Newer »