training

Publishing: an industry set for future prosperity, says Vince Cable

October 9th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Publishing: an industry set for future prosperity, says Vince Cable
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The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, delivered the Williamson Memorial Lecture lecture at the University of Stirling last night.

In his speech, entitled ‘Scottish Economic Lessons for “the general industry of society”’, Vince Cable addressed the current economic situation and his role within the Government in leading both industry and higher education, and laid out his thoughts for the pathway from recovery to growth that he envisages for the UK.

Among the key sectors he identified that would lead to future prosperity, he identified ‘design, media, publishing and computer games’.

Cable also praised the Scottish interaction between industry and universities in the shift from heavy to lighter, higher technology industries. One of the needs for industrial renewal and economic growth is, he commented, skills and training.  As a provider of publishing education, training and research, and strongly connected to local and international publishing companies, the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication is a very good example of this interaction.

In conclusion, Cable stated, the principles for economic renewal and success, were provided over 250 years ago by books published in Scotland – by Adam Smith. The history of the book may yet provide our future.

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?
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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.

Penguin launches the Helen Fraser Publishing Fellowship

March 3rd, 2010 by prm | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Penguin launches the Helen Fraser Publishing Fellowship
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From the Penguin Books website:

Penguin Books, the world’s best known publishing company, is delighted to launch a newly established diversity traineeship for 2010. The Fellowship has been founded to honour the work that Helen Fraser, recently retired Managing Director of Penguin Books, has done to address the issue of diversity within the company. The Fellowship aims to identify, encourage, and train editorial talent within Britain’s black and ethnic minority community.

Details on how to apply can be found here. Closing date for applications: 12th of March, 2010.

Publishing Scotland conference

February 27th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Publishing Scotland conference
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Publishing Scotland conference 2010Members of staff from the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication recently attended the Publishing Scotland conference in Edinburgh. The conference featured a Keynote Speech from Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs, and talks on successful strategies for digital publishing, getting the best out of book festivals, retail trends in 2009/10, and the Google Book settlement. The talk from Jon Reed of Reed Media on using social media to promote your business gave us lots of great ideas – thanks Jon! We’ll put some of these into action soon…

As a Network Member of Publishing Scotland, we exhibited the Centre in the Network Showcase. We took a sample of practical work undertaken by students on the MLitt in Publishing Studies, discussed opportunities for work experience and internships with publishing companies, and opportunities for consultancy and training.

Despite the recession and a recent, contentious report from the Literature Working Group to the Scottish Government which advocated that publishers in Scotland no longer be represented by Publishing Scotland but by the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), the mood was upbeat at the conference. For us, this was helped by meeting some of our alumni, and also staff from Floris Books, who told us the good news that they’ve just employed one of last year’s graduates from the MLitt on a permanent basis following a temporary contract.