Oxdam Book Fair

by Polly Silk

In partnership with the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), OICP ran the first ever in-person Oxdam Book Fair at the end of March 2022. Second-year Media, Journalism and Publishing students from Oxford Brookes spent 2 days with their AUAS counterparts participating in this event, designed to resemble a major book fair. Working together in teams, students held strategy meetings, pitched their titles, engaged in networking activities, and secured rights deals – competing against the rest of their class to secure the biggest sales. 

This event was the culmination of studies on the International Publishing module, in which students develop their understanding of intellectual property trading and copyright, while also honing essential practical skills such as creation of persuasive sales materials, selling techniques, and cross-cultural teamwork. 

Teaching staff from both universities joined us for the networking phase of the book fair – staff members were assigned the roles of different publishing industry ‘non-playing characters’ (including journalists, film producers, authors, scouts, and literary agents). Students were encouraged to engage them in conversation, discuss their portfolio of titles available for licensing and promote their publishing houses’ activities – with the aim of acquiring valuable industry inside information. 

Student feedback included:

‘I didn't understand what a book fair involved fully until this module and the Oxdam fair, so I really liked it and am excited to do publishing in the future.’

‘Learning by doing is always helping to retain information better and differently than just reading about it.’

‘I had so much fun during the fair, we really had to work together.’

Edited by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 24 Jun 2022 around 3pm

Last edited: 24 06 2022