masters

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.

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.

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.

Ilaria Tagliafierro, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018/19

November 15th, 2018 by Ilaria_Tagliafierro | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Ilaria Tagliafierro, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018/19
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I didn’t always love reading. The first childhood memories I have about picking up a book are of passionate hatred.

My grandmother used to always gift me books instead of toys, in hopes that I would understand the importance of reading a good book for personal pleasure. I vividly remember my mother forcing me to read a chapter a day of a book I wasn’t enjoying at all as a summer holidays homework. Back then I didn’t think it was possible to suddenly love something you had hated for such a long time. But I adored the first two Harry Potter movies and somehow I ended up badly wanting to read a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that my mother had bought me. That book was the beginning of something new. I started it and devoured it. I kept bringing it everywhere just to reread a scene or two.

If you’ve watched iCarly, you’ll remember the episode in which Sam has to read a book for a bet, and she actually decides to have someone read it to her because she hates reading. However she starts reading the book herself because the reader is late and then suddenly realizes that books are great. I particularly love this quote from that episode 22 of season 1: “So I started reading it myself and it is fantastic! These things are great! It’s like TV in your head!”. Sam’s experience really speaks to me.

So, my journey with books was a long one but it actually got me to where I am right now. As I reflect upon it, it’s kind of shocking to me that a single book completely changed my mind and my entire future.

I read a fair amount through middle school and my first years in high school, but it’s only in the last five to six years that I’ve been obsessed with reading. I’ve never liked reading books from my home country, with a few exceptions, so I have almost always read English translated works. When I finally became fluent enough to read books in their original language I couldn’t believe how many books existed that I could have loved, and I had missed, that my country wouldn’t publish just because there wasn’t an adaptation for them. My online researches lead me first to Goodreads and later to Booktube, and those two permanently reshaped my interest and pleasure in reading books.

In the meantime, during this latest phase, I was studying languages and publishing as my undergraduate degree. I’ve always loved studying foreign languages, especially English, so that choice was a safe bet, however I still wasn’t sure about what publishing was and if my future career should have been in that area. My undergraduate degree showed me that the publishing route was the right path to follow. Unfortunately, it also made me realize that Italian education is too dry and far rooted in theory and that my degree wouldn’t be enough to pursue a career in publishing. Nowadays the publishing industry requires more practical and updated skills, and my university had taught me mainly the history of books and printing. That’s where the University of Stirling comes into play.

Amazed by the publishing industry in the US and in the UK thanks to my online activities and my choices in reading, I was looking for a degree in one of the two countries that would enhance my publishing knowledge by teaching me practical and updated skills that I would actually need in a working environment, and I think I’ve finally found it.

Many people still ask me why I decided to risk everything to come to Stirling, and while I very much enjoy speaking my favourite language, meeting new amazing people and visiting a dreamy Scotland, my answer will always be the same: I came to Stirling because the MLitt Publishing Studies program was perfect for me and my ambition.

Anna Zminda, MLitt Publishing Studies 2018-19

November 14th, 2018 by Anna_Zminda | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Anna Zminda, MLitt Publishing Studies 2018-19
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I always had love for words. At the age of 7, I wrote my first story, called “Princess Anna”, and proudly read it out to every family member that visited our house. At school, I was better at humanities subjects than science or maths. Therefore, growing up I decided that I wanted to be either a writer or a journalist. And honestly, if I still lived in Poland, where I originally am from, I would have probably chosen Journalism as my undergraduate degree.

When I moved to Scotland 10 years ago and couldn’t speak any English, I accepted that I will never be able to be a journalist because my English will never be good enough to produce articles. Fast forward a few years, I actually did end up studying Journalism for a semester and realised that it was not for me. However, when I was still in high school, I discovered my love for languages. I did French and Spanish at Advanced Higher level and decided to study both languages at the University of Stirling.

For the majority of my Bachelor’s degree I thought that, once I graduate, I will pursue a career in translation. I hoped to be able to translate books, of course – I was still not letting go of words and the power that they have. However, the closer the graduation got, the more unsure I was about my career choice.

I finally realised that working in publishing is something that I have always wanted to do, since a very young age. At one point, I even wished to have my own publishing house – although now, I might have to reconsider that thought, after all! I remember thinking to myself, in 4th year of university, that I should stop worrying about the level of my English, my accent, and study something that I have always wanted to do.

Choosing to study MLitt in Publishing has been the best choice I could have made. The thing that I love the most about the course is how practical it is. Whenever I read a recommended textbook, I know that, one day, I will be able to use all the information in real life situations. I am happy to be part of such a dynamic and always changing environment and I cannot wait to see what the future brings. With every day passing I know that publishing is the industry I want to work in. I also hope to have a career where I could speak French and Spanish, as my ultimate goal is to daily use the two degrees that I have.

Natalie Knabl, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19

November 13th, 2018 by Natalie_Knabl | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Natalie Knabl, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018-19
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Once upon a time… my mother used to read fairy tales to me at bedtime. I do not recall any early childhood memory as vividly as our reading sessions because they introduced me to a world of imagination and taught me the importance of stories. In a nutshell, I opened the first pages of my life as a reader back then. Memorising the plot of my favourite books and subsequently teaching myself how to read is the origin of my passion for a world full of words and sharing stories.

I decided to study two BA programmes at the University of Vienna and received a BA in Comparative Literature as well as in English and American Studies. I was, thus, able to combine my deeply rooted love for literature with that for the English language itself. More than anything, I wanted to not only deepen my knowledge in both of these subject areas, but I was especially craving to share my passion for words, reading and languages with as many people as possible. I managed to get a three-month internship at Helbling Publishing, an educational publishing company, in Vienna and was lucky enough to continue working for them for the last three and a half years as an editorial freelancer and content creator. I edited, annotated and corrected manuscripts as well as print-edition textbooks for the subjects German and Maths and was involved in various stages of development and production. I did, moreover, write exercises and texts for print books as well as online products. Having thus gained professional insight and skills from one part of the publishing industry, I am convinced that broadening my theoretical knowledge and being taught how to navigate other areas such as marketing, design and digital production at the University of Stirling will aid me immensely in finding my place in the diverse and exciting world of publishing.

There appears to exist a specific kind of magic surrounding publishing that drew me in just as quickly as the whimsical world of fairy tales did when I was a child. Pursuing a career in publishing and being a student at the University of Stirling is, therefore, hopefully the beginning of my Happily Ever After.

You can find me on:
LinkedIn
Twitter

Fiona Logan, MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18

December 18th, 2017 by Fiona Logan | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Fiona Logan, MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18
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I am excited about the prospect of being able to contribute to the production of books. Back when I was a little girl my Dad used to read to me every single night in the hopes that I would become as obsessed with books as he was. My favourite of the books he read to me was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe written by the wonderful C.S. Lewis. That was the first book that seriously got me hooked and it certainly was not the last. There’s just something enchanting about books that you simply cannot get anywhere else.

Therefore, like a true bibliophile, I thought the best undergraduate course for me would be English Literature (with Journalism Studies). Whilst I was studying I questioned what kind of job I would like after I graduated. I knew that I did not want to be a teacher so I gave journalism a go and interned at The Scottish Sun. That wasn’t for me. Then I saw that the University of Stirling had a Publishing MLitt course and I knew that was what I wanted to do. Having studied the course for over almost two months now, I know that I have made the right decision.

I am thoroughly enjoying the course and I am learning a lot, so although I thought I would definitely go into Editorial before I started the course, that could well change as the likes of marketing, design and production have also caught my eye. My family and friends have used me as their unpaid proofreader for years so I am gravitating towards a proofreading role as then I would at least be getting paid to do something I’ve been doing free for years now.

I am getting involved in as many things as I can: attending book fairs, book launches, SYP events, and I am keeping up to date with internship opportunities.

You can find me on:
My LinkedIn

My Twitter

 

Marija Katiliute, MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18

December 18th, 2017 by Marija Katiliute | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Marija Katiliute, MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18
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After starting high-school in Scotland (I’m originally from Lithuania) at around the age of fifteen, I was in a constant learning mode. Trying to fit into a new environment, improve my English and make new friends took a toll on my reading habits. A few years later, I went to study Film and Media at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, which seemed right to me as it fit in with my interests at the time. Once I’d graduated, I was overwhelmed by the question that so many of us have after university: what do I want to do now? In the end, it took me two years to finally figure out I wanted to go into publishing.

During that period, I took a job at Caffe Nero which gave me a career path to focus on. I’m glad I did, as I got a chance to be the guest editor for our UK-wide employee newsletter in July this year and learn about the publishing processes, whilst also getting management experience as a shift leader/assistant manager in the shop.

The time I spent away from studying gave me more freedom to read and find my passion for books again after what I will call “a decade-long reading hiatus”. So, with this new-found interest in publishing, I started doing research on the industry and decided to continue with further education in Stirling.

The course has so far taught me so much about publishing and the opportunities available. Outside of studying, I’ve already managed to snag a place as a shadow panel judge for the Saltire Society, and I’m on the conference committee with the SYP. I was also offered a two-week work placement at Penguin Random House, which starts at the end of November. I have never worked so hard and enjoyed myself at the same time!

Currently, I’m interested in marketing and production roles, as they seem most suited to the skills I have. But there’s still so much to learn about publishing, and I think this course will be just the thing I need.

Find me on Twitter, Bookstagram, personal Instagram and LinkedIn.

Sara Amateis, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-18

December 18th, 2017 by Sara Amateis | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Sara Amateis, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-18
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The first time I asked my parents to buy me a book they were of course a little bit skeptical about the fact that I really wanted to read it, and, as all the parents do with their children, they said “Do you know that if we buy it you’ll have to read it, right?”. I still remember which book it was. It was a children’s book, so it wasn’t long, but I was little and by the time we went back home I had already finished it. I really think that from that moment my life changed. Some years after that episode I was very interested in a series of children’s novels, but I wasn’t still able to search for info about them on the internet (things weren’t as handy as they are today) and I wasn’t sure if sooner or later the next book in the series would have come out. I was sad, and my dad kept telling me that probably the sequel would never have come out. One night, during a celebration in my city, I entered a bookshop (open until late for the occasion) with my parents and, illuminated by a flash of light, there it was! I started crying, and on the way home I fell asleep hugging my book. These are only two episodes in my life connected to books, but I think they can clearly explain why, when I had to choose what to study for my Masters I chose Publishing. If it hadn’t been for books I wouldn’t have travelled through time and space as I did and I still do, living incredible adventures and very intense emotions, and now I’ve the chance to be part of the process that gives other people the possibility to live of all that.

Before deciding to follow this path I graduated in Cultural Heritage (Archaeology, Art History, Archival and Library Sciences) at the University of Torino (Italy), following a program that allowed me to acquire knowledge mainly about History, Art and Literature, all things that, I believe, can be useful to me even working in Publishing.  I haven’t decided which area of the Publishing industry I want to work in yet, but this University is giving me the opportunity to learn a lot of things about all the aspects of the Publishing world. At the moment what I know is that being part of the creative process of a book is amazing! When (last year) I started looking for  information about the University of Stirling I knew that this was the right choice for me: I’ve always been completely in love with Scotland, the campus in Stirling is astonishing and the program is very well organized, offering a complete view on the Publishing industry with very practical modules. So, you see… easy choice!

Find me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cortney Alexandra Lee | MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18

December 11th, 2017 by Cortney Alexandra Lee | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Cortney Alexandra Lee | MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18
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Having travelled and lived in a range of countries growing up, there was one constant for me and that was – schooling. My deep set love for learning has seen me through my earliest years and has still never left me. Netflix has yet to run dry of documentaries I want to digest and there is no end to the TED Talk archive that I want to devour. I find learning to be one of the most stimulating things at any age or level.

It is this desire to learn that has predominately led me to Stirling University for the MLitt Publishing masters. Having taken an internship at a publishing house in Glasgow, I decided it was the best next-step to take. It’s been such a satisfying course to embark on, primarily because of the direct link it has to the publishing industry. The course is well thought out and serves to mimic scenarios that would seem to appear in a professional setting. Assignments and tasks are set to establish skills to help navigate through certain aspects of the publishing industry. It’s this aspect that really piques my interest because it’s so encouraging learning something that is directly applicable to ‘real-life’ situations.

After completing my English Literature degree at Glasgow University and prior to coming to Stirling, my husband’s work took us to Portland, Oregon. The impression I got whilst living in Portland, was that it seemed to be the epicentre for design. This sparked my curiosity and interest, particularly in relation to communication design. The amount of visual expression throughout the city and amongst new found friends, was fascinating to learn about. One aspect of the course that I’m really enjoying, is the lessons given in InDesign and Photoshop. The level of detail involved brings such a satisfying element to the processes and techniques we’re beginning to understand.

The publishing industry is seemingly vast and dynamic. It proves to be an industry that is constantly evolving and is creative at its core. I’m eager to enter the field and continue my learning. The production, design or marketing side of the industry have caught my attention,  though, the more I learn about the intricacies of the differing roles within publishing, the more open I find myself becoming. I am absolutely thrilled to be studying such a varied and dynamic industry, and with each passing week I seem to be even more taken with a different aspect of it.

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