The Stirling course was practical, relevant and friendly, and offered an excellent introduction to publishing. When it came to the crucial matter of whether this interesting course would actually help to me to get a job, I wasn’t disappointed: on graduation I was in the happy position of deciding between two editorial assistant positions, one with Central European University Press in Budapest, and the other with Longman (now Pearson Education) in Harlow.

I surprised myself a little by opting for Harlow over Budapest, but it turned out to be an excellent decision, and the four happy years I spent there gave me a good grounding in academic publishing. In 1999 Macmillan Press (now Palgrave Macmillan) invited me to commission their history textbook list. A great job and excellent colleagues made the commute from London to Basingstoke bearable for six years, but in 2006 I decided to freelance for a while. In 2007 an exciting opportunity to commission illustrated trade history books came up at Thames & Hudson, and I am very much enjoying this chance to experience a different aspect of the industry.