MLitt Publishing Studies

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.

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/

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.

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

Federica Fiorillo – MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018/19

November 7th, 2018 by Federica_Fiorillo | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Federica Fiorillo – MLitt in Publishing Studies 2018/19
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I came out as a bookworm at the age of 8.

The real surprise for anyone who kept feeding books to the avid reader of a child I was, though, came when I declared I loved spotting mistakes on the page and correcting them. A bunch of years later, I found myself editing friends’ dissertations and cocooning a passion for footnotes and technicalities.

Becoming an editor has been my constant objective during my years of college in Italy; getting a MA in Classics helped me develop a keen eye on details and great mental flexibility. Moving to Scotland was a dream I had been nurturing for years, so the MLitt in Publishing at the University of Stirling seemed like the perfect next step.

I find nothing more exciting than the publishing industry, and I do believe that the printed book has not by far run out of allure – even though I appreciate e-books and any digital format that is around. You never know what author or story will change somebody’s life, but you can be sure that ink and paper still have a lot of difference to make in this world, and I definitely want to be part of it. Visionary and possibly rebellious publishers have always been my lifelong inspiration and influence, and I consider irony the most powerful tool humans have.

 

I drench my days with coffee, I never miss the chance to have a laugh, and I tweet about it. So far so good.

Chenchen Li, MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18

December 18th, 2017 by Chenchen Li | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Chenchen Li, MLitt Publishing Studies 2017-18
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I had internships in a publishing house,  marketing department of a property company, and a news organization. The experience of the publishing house was amazing. I, fortunately, participated a significant project in the first month. In fact, I just did some chores and observed how editors make the series. Although working on the edge was easier than the other parts, I still felt very tired because the time is very urgent. What I remembered best was that I was unable to finish the proofreading so the progress of the project was delayed. The editor asked me do I still want to be an editor after such busy practice. I got depressed but replied “yes”. The series got an award seven months later, at that moment, I felt proud of as if I was the commissioning editor.

When I graduated in the Bachelor Degree of Editing, all of the students including me were busy at the job market. There is a gap between me and publishers’ requirements. And they prefer postgraduates joining their company. Most of my classmates set their goal to finding job successfully. Thereby they leave the publishing industry to find another job. I was confused. I do not want to give up working in the publishing industry. At that time, the professor introduced me the University of Stirling to get a self- improving so I study here now. The first study experience in a foreign country is really an adventure, although my academic writing often frustrates me. So far I keep positive to face the life in Stirling. The courses of MLitt in Publishing brought a new perspective to me. The trend of self-publishing makes the industry more complicated. I am fascinated by the changing industry. I hope I can create some value in the industry in the future.

Sarah Shannon MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-2018

December 11th, 2017 by Sarah Shannon | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Sarah Shannon MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-2018
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 I grew up on a small farm outside of a little town called Wexford, in the tiny yet beautiful country of Ireland.  An area which is also home to a few famous Irish authors.

I was a relative late comer to the world of bibliophiles with the Redwall series by Brian Jacques and Lady Grace mysteries by Grace Cavendish the two series which cemented my now slightly obsessive love for books in my early teens. Once they came along I haven’t stopped reading much with only occasionally taking forays into reality. I read mostly fantasy and sci-fi titles in my spare time so at heart I am a traveler of worlds both fictional and real.

Fast forward, I did my undergraduate degree in Dublin at UCD (University College Dublin), diligently completing a B.A joints honors in English and Music, learning more about the Beatles and James Joyce than I knew I wanted to know and making friends from all over the world. Roll around my third year in college and the inevitable question of what to do with myself afterwards pops up. I knew I wanted to do something with books but at that point I decided I at least at the time I didn’t want to be an author so working in publishing was the logical and exciting alternative for me. So, that brought me to the University of Stirling and my first time living outside of Ireland.

I have an ambition of becoming an editor driven by a love for words (both written and spoken) and how they fit together to create something more. As this course has taught me there is much more to the publishing industry than I had realized but also that with a lot of hard work and determination I can be a part of the publishing industry.

Kate Bailey, MLitt Publishing Studies, 2017-18

November 20th, 2017 by Kate Bailey | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Kate Bailey, MLitt Publishing Studies, 2017-18
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Like most of the students on this course, it’s fair to say that I love reading. Maybe it’s a little strange that one day I can be reading fantastical fiction about dragons or spaceships and then the next day I am completely invested in learning about obscure literary figures or the American Revolution. But so long as it’s written and I’m at least a little interested, I’m game to read it. This means I am quite good at knowing trivia, but not so good at finding space on my bookshelves!

For a long time I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after my History undergraduate degree. Ironically, I attended a Publishing event in my first ever Freshers’ week at university. But for a long time I wasn’t sure if it was for me. I decided that I needed to get some first-hand experience, so I did some unpaid work experience in publishing houses in Edinburgh and Glasgow. They were brilliant. There were so many books! And the people there actually made a difference to their content and design and helped them to get out there and get noticed… Amazing! I was convinced. Publishing was where I wanted to be.

I spent last year working in a remainder bookshop learning that some books sell quickly, some books sell slower, and that no matter what, Oor Wullie always sells out (at least in Scotland). And now here I am to study publishing in more depth and learn about all the hard work that goes into making sure there are books to sell. I am really enjoying the classes on editorial and production work, which are the parts of my work experience I found most interesting as well. Since I enjoyed my last round of work experience so much, I am keen to get back inside a publishing company as an intern and work on some new projects!

If you think my rambling might be interesting in some way, please feel free to follow me on Twitter.

Sofia Fernandez, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-2018

October 7th, 2017 by Sofia Fernandez | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Sofia Fernandez, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-2018
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Last year I found out Publishing entails all I ever felt passionate for in life. On 2012 I chose to study an undergraduate degree in English Philology in my birth country, Spain, because of my interest on language processing and English language literature. During the last five past years I understood that not only the meaning of the text started to be important to me, but the aesthetics. I enjoy paying attention to the way the writing is presented, by means of the cover of the book and the entire layout. All these interests stood to reason when I attended a careers advice meeting in which an old student of the university lectured about her work on Blackwell Publishing after finishing her literature degree and I became fascinated with the editorial field work.

I then applied for an internship in “Opera Prima”, an independent editorial established in Madrid. I worked there during three months carrying out different activities in all the departments because the firm is very small. I took part on edition tasks (style editing, layout, proofreading and complete design of the book), promotion department (contact with media, design of newsletters, follow-up of promotion campaigns) and the distribution of books (registration of books in the commercial circuit, activation of the inputs in bookshops, invoicing and delivery shipment). After this internship I decided to study book design more in depth by attending to an Adobe InDesign course certificate. Moreover, on December 2016 I worked on Fnac enterprise as a shop assistant during three months and had the opportunity to be present on the commercial circuit of books on a real bookstore. I then decided to apply for a job position in Elle magazines and I got hired. However, the job conditions were very bad because, being completely honest, Spain is not doing great on the economy recovery after the financial crisis we had. 

As a result, I thought that undertaking a postgraduate in publishing studies at the University of Stirling would be a huge opportunity to gain experience on the field in another language, and fulfill my career ambitions ABROAD! (And also because there is so much more I do not know yet…) Now that classes have started I feel I am having the time of my life because I cannot believe all the chances the University offers to get involved in the profession. Moreover, apart from the lectures and several practical exercises that put you on the situation of working in the business, I am very excited to create my own physical publishing project (a book). This encourages me to show the best that is in me and demonstrate I can make a contribution to the field. I am here to stay. Hurray for publishing and its exciting world!

Find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.