Student Profiles

Meet some of our current and recent students on our programmes:


Jannik Gehde, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018/19

December 21st, 2018 by Jannik_Gehde | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Jannik Gehde, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018/19

It might be a tired cliché, but I really do believe that books can change people. I should know, because books have certainly changed me more than once. To my experience, a book may change your perception of the world around you, your behaviour towards other people, or who you want to be as a person. Above all, a book enables you learn new and exciting stuff.

The MLitt in Publishing Studies is my second postgraduate degree after a MA in Transnational Literary Studies and a BA in English & American Studies and Book Studies. For ggod measure, I also threw in an amazing semester abroad doing English at the University of Mississippi. So as you can see, I like learning quite a lot, and that’s where publishing comes in.

Publishers ultimately decide what we learn and how we change simply by deciding which books (or journals, magazines etc.) to publish. This isn’t even a romanticised way of looking at an incredibly competitive business sector, it’s simply a fact. Academic publishers shape the academic discourse with their output, whereas trade publishers influence how we think about the topics they deal with. Just some examples: Harry Potter certainly affected what people think about when they hear the word “wizard”, as did Twilight in respect to “vampires”. You don’t even have to like these books, nor do their publishers necessarily have to treat them as anything other than essential products to keep their business running. They still change stuff. Sometimes even in more meaningful ways than getting people to argue about whether the undead should sparkle in the sunlight.

To be part of this process, to choose which content to publish, to find ways of getting the books you feel passionate about to as many people as possible, is an incredibly exciting prospect to me. And that’s why I’m here.

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Siqi Mao, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19

December 19th, 2018 by Siqi_Mao | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Siqi Mao, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19
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I am very fond of reading, an original and everlasting method to obtain knowledge. Throughout the time-space of human civilization, books containing knowledge and ideology have been acknowledged as the most powerful method for people, especially of the eminent status. Since I had the interest in reading, my enthusiasm to engage in publishing was lighted up, as I further understood it.

To be specific, I majored in Chinese Language and Literature during my undergraduate studies. Before finishing my undergraduate studies, I had many experiences of internship at Mai Rui Shi Marketing Plan Ltd. (MAX), New Economy Periodical Office, and Yangcheng Evening News, mainly engaging in editing work.

After I graduated from my BA, I accepted an editor position in a wine company and responsible for online and offline editing while doing some market promotion for company’s magazine and app. During my work time, I, fortunately, participated in a project that in collaboration with the publishing house to reprint a wine book, which provided me an opportunity to be close to the book industry. It enabled me to approach the realm of publishing. The painstaking endeavors for this mission, on the other hand, resulted in my refined insights on applied skills of publication, such as formal language, punctuation, and copyrights of pictures. My enthusiasm for publishing got further stimulated, taking it as my career goal, after accomplishing this project.

Maybe the forms of reading vary in line with the modern techniques, but the coherent essence of reading lasts anyway. I am so happy that studying at the University of Stirling to receive more proficient expertise to thrive in my future career.

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Kirsty Martin, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19

December 18th, 2018 by Kirsty_Martin | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Kirsty Martin, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19
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A quote which has become a personal motto for me and encapsulates all that I love comes from Saint Augustine: ‘The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.’  The driving forces behind my academic and career pursuits thus far have been literature, language, education and travel.  My ambition is to publish excellent work on a global scale as I believe this is the most effective way to educate, inspire and learn something about yourself which perhaps you did not know yesterday.  If I can play a part in this by any means, I know I will make a difference

I believe communication to be key in so many contexts.  From being a youthful creative writer to a graduate of MA English Language and English Literature, my love of both the written and spoken word have been emulated in almost everything I do.  I love the ‘buzz’ of the publishing industry, the bringing together of creative minds to introduce something vibrant, new and exciting to the world.  Working on the Marketing and Communications side of publishing has been an ongoing dream of mine which the MLitt in Publishing Studies will make a reality.

Something I love about the publishing industry is that it has not ended with the rise of digitization: it has merely modernised, transformed, becoming even more exciting.  Words will always be written, edited, marketed and spread far and wide.  Publishing is the only way to do this.  As a keen traveler and TEFL teacher, I have an eye for educational publishing on a global scale.  Ground breaking resources are part of what make education exciting for all and it would be my dream come true to add a personal touch to these efforts.

My happiest place is on a train with a book close to hand, find me there any time.

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Ewan Gillespie, MLitt Publishing Studies 2018-2019

December 17th, 2018 by Ewan_Gillespie | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Ewan Gillespie, MLitt Publishing Studies 2018-2019

Aloha! Howdy! Guten Abend! Et cetera!

I am Manchester, born and raised. My home city is a big reason I’m hoping to start a career in Publishing. The character of the place (loud, proud, sometimes a proper pain in the backside but never dull) lends itself to books (it was recently named a UNESCO city of literature) and I’m a firm believer that the world needs a view of England that isn’t just London.  We’re talking 3 million people at the heart of the electric crowded north waiting to stand up and be heard rather than, once again, being shouted over by the chaotic and egotistical mass that is our capital city. The North is a relatively untapped market, and publishing’s always been at its best when it steps out its comfort zone. There are also a bunch of super cool new publishers springing up across Manchester and our neighbouring cities Leeds and Liverpool, so it’s an exciting time!

However, my interest in Publishing isn’t just restricted to that stuff. I wanted to be a book when I was a kid. Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach transformed the dumb little terror who everybody thought was gonna end up growing up into a criminal. Suddenly I was a little terror who spent all day reading, dreaming of enormous flying peaches and huge friendly insects and huge metropolises in the clouds where cloud monsters live. It was awesome.

Good books stick in your head through your life.

And over the last two years before starting this master’s I realised how important that is. The world can be a dreary place that sucks you dry until you’re just a shadow of the person you were. Depression and anxiety could menace you any minute, and sometimes it feels like the whole world is going mad. So anything that makes living fulfilling and worthwhile should be embraced like crazy. If I could help deliver one picture book about sentient bugs that inspires a kid to get into reading, or one poetry collection that helped somebody deal with their depression, whether it’s as a writer, a commissioning editor, a copy editor, a marketer, or the dude hauling heavy crates of books through an Amazon warehouse, then I’d make myself proud!

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Camille Rey, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-2019

December 7th, 2018 by Camille_Rey | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Camille Rey, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-2019
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Books used to be a way for me to escape the utter boredom of childhood. I would cry for Lady Oscar, whom no one seemed to remember (it is safe to say that history wasn’t my forte), hunt for old copies of Nancy Drew in car boot sales, and roam around the garden for hours looking for the branch that would give me that perfect feeling Harry experienced when his wand chose him.

As I grew older, I learnt to discern between books, to choose more carefully. I became fascinated by language, especially as I learnt new ones (my English grammar is, to this day, better than my French one, something you must never tell my grandmother). I discovered that I love proofreading, something I have done mercilessly for my friends for years, and I thought, “why not become a translator?” It would be the perfect way to spend my days interacting with text,  stories, and language.

What was not to love? Well, translation was not to love. I realised at the beginning of the last year of my bachelor that am not fond of the activity itself. Horror! What was I going to do now? I had just finished my European Studies bachelor but wasn’t a great politician either… So I took a gap year, went to Italy, learnt a new language, ate tons of pasta, and then it came to me: there are more than one way to work with books! I had helped my friends come up with a nice selection of books in English for their bookshop in France (something that wouldn’t be just another “thriller aisle”), and had loved it! My uncle works for a French publisher specialising in comics, and I had always thought it was sooo cool!

The excitement has not left me since. If anything, it has increased! The people teaching us are very passionate themselves, and in an industry where there is always something new to learn, see, or do (and read), it is easy to get carried away. Although I don’t know yet which position I will be aiming for, I try to keep an open mind, and learn about everything.

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Flavia Agostini – MLitt Publishing Studies 2018/2019

November 28th, 2018 by Flavia_Agostini | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Flavia Agostini – MLitt Publishing Studies 2018/2019
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I grew up surrounded by books. My father is very passionate about literature, and since I was a little girl, we have been challenging each other to see how many books we can read in a year; I always win. I am definitely a fast reader. I actually never thought of the possibility of getting a job in the publishing industry, not until I graduated from my university in Italy (Roma Tre), in Foreign Languages and Cultures. I knew I wanted to do something in my life that involved culture and literature, but I was also positive that my career path wasn’t going to be that of a teacher or a journalist.

Now I am in Scotland studying Publishing, and after just two months I can tell it was one of the best decisions in my life. Not only I am learning about books from a totally different perspective, but I have also met a lot of different people who I can now call my friends and teachers who taught me so much in this short period of time. At first, I thought that the editorial world was just a mixture of copy editing and marketing, but now I know that it’s so much more. Specifically, I find proofreading very interesting. I have a keen eye for details and I am very organized, so I think that this position could be the perfect job for me, but I also like the thought of commissioning a manuscript and interacting with the author to bring the book to life. I set up a Twitter account just for professional use, where I can keep myself updated on what is going on in the industry, I bought a membership for the SYP and I also attend conferences and book fairs. I want to learn as much as I can and as fast as I can about publishing so that I will be able to continue on this path that I am so glad I chose.

You can find me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fsanders92
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flavia-agostini-48760a173/

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Tiffany Jacobs, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19

November 27th, 2018 by Tiffany Jacobs | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Tiffany Jacobs, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19
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Do you ever stop to think about the first time you read a certain book?

I had read The Lord of the Rings before I was nine, and now as an adult who has a keener appreciation for narrative development, I’m almost bitter that young me got to experience the books before adult me did. Late at night, hiding under my sheets with a slowly dying reading light clutched in hand, shoving everything under the mountain of pillows at my back any time I heard a noise from the hallway (any bookworm knows the struggle and exhilaration of wanting to read past your bedtime as a child). At this point in my life it’s safe to say that I already know Tolkien’s stories. I’ve read them multiple times, I’ve watched the films, I even watched the old animated versions. And believe me, I do still get a sense of nervousness and worry if the characters are in a pinch, and feel a rush of adrenaline during an intense battle scene. The wonder of the story is still there. But I can’t recall the proper joy and exhilaration from that Very First Read.

The Very First Read is something that I love beyond all proper understanding. It’s the problem of reading something that you love, but that you don’t know that you love until its finished. Some people get sad that they didn’t appreciate the book more when they were reading it for the first time. Some people immediately read it again. And some people don’t read another book for days because they don’t want to ruin their next read because they don’t think it’ll be as good as what they just finished.

You ever hear a song from years back and suddenly you’re not in 2018 anymore? You’re back to dancing stupidly at a sleepover with your childhood best friend, or you’re on a road trip fresh out of high school, or you’re up late studying for exams, song blaring in the background. The Very First Read is something like that.

You get so engrossed in a new book that everything else sort of melts around you, and it’s just you and that story, those characters. That moment when you just sort of… look up, and remember exactly where you are, like it’s shocking somehow that you haven’t been physically transported. Years later, remembering what you see coming out of that stupor, remembering the raw feeling of the characters and the world and the story. That’s what the Very First Read feels like to me.

Each new book is another chance for the Very First Read.

It’s what inspired me to study literature during my undergrad, and I’m positive it’s what pulled me in the direction of publishing. I can’t think of anything that I would enjoy more than ensuring that people like me get that perfect Very First Read.

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Marie Josephine Hesse MLitt Publishing Studies 2018/19

November 26th, 2018 by Marie_Hesse | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Marie Josephine Hesse MLitt Publishing Studies 2018/19

“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.”

-Anna Quindlen

I am Marie from Berlin but spend the last seven years abroad. I am an extroverted introvert, which means I am a curious and communicative person and positive life lover, but I do recharge best with my nose in a book. Being far away from home, missing family and friends, made me look for this special feeling for secureness and I have found it in books. The symbiotic relationship between me and written words are the foundation of my passion for publishing.

After graduating from the University of Vienna, where I studied a BA in Cultural and Social Anthropology, the next logical step for me was to find the perfect master programme. I wanted to find a course, which would enable me with important industry knowledge and a wide variety of skills – basically a hands-on programme!

When visiting Stirling, I immediately fell in love with the campus and the open-minded people. Being a part of the MLitt 2018/19 feels great! I met so many inspiring people already learned so much about publishing and cannot wait to set foot into the industry next year. I am especially interested in all aspects of marketing and design but also highly enjoying the glimpses into all the other departments of the industry. 

You can find me on Twitter  and Instagram

 

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Megan Rachel Paterson – MLitt Publishing Studies 2018-19

November 23rd, 2018 by Megan_Paterson | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Megan Rachel Paterson – MLitt Publishing Studies 2018-19
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Hello! My name is Megan and I love stories. I am a Ravenclaw, a fire bender and a Sagittarius. I also love soundtracks, coffee, comic cons and going to the cinema.

There is much more to me, I am sure, but the main thing I always lead with is my love of books. It defines me more than anything else in my life – my key ‘keyword’ you might say. Others include nerd which I like equally as much. Two of my tattoos are book based (from the Hobbit and A Series of Unfortunate Events) and I plan on getting many more to represent my loves.

My undergraduate degree was some of the best years of my life because I got to spend my days with stories, old and new, from comic books to movies and it was heaven. I could not be happier that I am furthering that love with this masters. To be a part of the world that allows these stories to come to life is my dream and it is slowly becoming reality.

You can find my nonsense writing and chatting on most social medias @megaaaatron and yes, I made that username a long time ago and yes, I still love it.

 

<3

Meet some of our current and recent students on our programmes:


Asya Gadzheva, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19

November 16th, 2018 by Asya_Gadzheva | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Asya Gadzheva, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19
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I have always found words curious. So when I started learning English, an assortment of words miles away from my mother language, I knew I was hooked for life. I went into journalism with the trembling longing to make something publicly useful and personally gratifying from words. Feature writing and entertainment journalism became my passion and since then I have freelanced for a number of film criticism websites.

Landing an editorial internship at Cosmopolitan magazine was a golden opportunity to observe, participate in and evaluate the finer points of magazine journalism. Consistent in its chaos and fascinatingly terrifying for someone fresh out of the newsroom, I felt it was time to go back to the beginning.

The MLitt Publishing Studies course is a journey of reinvention. A sudden, yet a somehow predictable change of career direction for a person who has always been a bit more in love with the letters on the page than the process of their investigation.

And so, leaping out of a world of punchy intros and an endless conflict between speed and accuracy, I am determined to pursue a career in publishing with a quintessentially journalistic sense of urgency and ruthless pragmatism. After all, some habits are transferable.

Find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.