Marie Halkjaer, MA Publishing

In September 2004 I moved to Oxford to spend a year learning how to publish books. Before then I hadn't worked in publishing and had only a vague idea of how a manuscript is turned into a book. Now, 3½ years later, I feel prepared to start my own publishing company.

The MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes was an exciting mix of practical advice and inspirational discussion. Courses such as Editorial, Marketing management and Design and production gave me a range of tools to handle the various processes of publishing. Almost all courses focused on the tasks we would meet, when working in the industry. Particularly New Product Development where we were divided into divisions of a fictitious publisher. The division was to make a proposal for a new title, including book design drafts, economic overview, description of rights potential, a proposal for a marketing plan etc. This gave a good overview of the entire publishing process and prepared us for the work flow of an actual publishing company.

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Posted on 20 Mar 2008 around 2pm •

Puneet Bola, MA Publishing

I was fortunate enough to secure two marketing work placements during my time at Brookes. The first was unpaid, at Berg, a small local publishing firm in Oxford. They publish specialised journals and books in the social sciences and humanities, with exciting lists in Fashion Theory, Design and Anthropology. This was a varied role for about three months, producing flyers, dealing with review requests and basic data management.

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Posted on 13 Feb 2008 around 2pm •

Alex Glen - BA Publishing

Alex completed work experience with both Mixmag and Maxim magazines and continues to freelance for Mixmag.

The skills and information that I have learnt from Brookes proved to be very helpful when starting my first work experience placement. Not only did it allow me keep up with everything that was being done, it also allowed me to ask the right questions and see how the processes we learn about are implimented in real life.

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Posted on 03 Jan 2008 around 9am •

Jonathan Ward | BA Publishing 2004

Now working at Dorling Kindersley

After a year in Manchester, I spent a year working as a typesetter in West London, and am now a production editor for Dorling Kindersley here on the Strand. I'm working with some other ex-Brookes students from the MA course ... I can't say I've yet had to calculate print costs after a good meal and a few glasses of wine, but I'm finding the BA in Publishing has left me more than well equipped to survive in the wild.

Posted on 21 Nov 2007 around 1pm •

Dan Wood | BA Publishing

Studying for the BA Publishing at Oxford Brookes was an enlightening, enjoyable and wholly worthwhile experience.  The diversity of fellow students – older, younger, international and so on – made for a dynamic and exciting atmosphere.  The course was at once relevant, practical and academic and has proved extremely useful in my career.

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Posted on 27 Sep 2007 around 9am •

Louise Butler at Blackwell Publishing

I completed the MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes from 2005-6 and feel it was a genuinely positive and worthwhile experience, both in terms of knowledge gained and insight into the industry but also for the many contacts and friends I’ve acquired.

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Posted on 23 Jul 2007 around 1pm •

Jan Kasprzycki-Rosikon

Oxford Brookes was an inspirational "break" in my publishing career. When one is working full-time, there is not much time to go back and analyse the big picture, keep yourself up-to-date in all areas of the publishing industry.

The unique atmosphere of the school and the city, fantastic teachers, experienced external speakers and students from different backgrounds and countries all contribute to the excellence of the course and help you  maintain the broad understanding of the industry while studying specific areas of the complicated book business.

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Posted on 17 May 2007 around 9am •

Marie Lomax

BA Publishing 2006
Now working at Blackwell Publishing.

I’d recommend the BA Publishing course to anyone who wants real variety in their studies. The programme closely mirrors industry practice in terms of content and assessment, and what I liked most was the choice to combine more creative modules with real-world business elements, such as book design and publishing resource management. I was made aware of the various functions and complexities in the trade and saw just how many different opportunities there are  - it isn’t just about staring at pages with a red pen! The department is really friendly and the strong networks being built with universities across Europe make this a very exciting time to be a part of it.

Posted on 11 May 2007 around 7pm •

Jing Liu

Hi, there! This is Jing (Jennifer) Liu from Beijing. Having finished my study at Oxford Brookes and returned back home with a MA degree in publishing last year, I am now working as the director of the Beijing branch of Hainan publishing house, a young but very energetic trade book publisher of China. Although I had already worked in publishing industry for five years before I went to UK in 2003, I still prefer to owe my quick growth as a mature publisher to Brookes for it provides me a very good opportunity to understand what I am doing in an international environment and helps me build a world-wide business network.

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Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Tarda Davison-Aitkins

I met David Beckham, ghost wrote the last two chapters of Chris Eubank’s autobiography, and I have seen a number of my book ideas published. While not being able to help me overcome my fear of growing up, my degree from Brookes did give me the confidence to successfully complete four weeks of work experience, which eventually led to a job with a leading publisher, and my subsequent career. My time spent in the student union bar helped me keep it.

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Julie Dwinnells

As an international student, my classmates were very diverse and the professors often took extra time to explain subtle differences for us.  It enriched the learning process.  I highly recommend the trip to Frankfurt during the first semester; classes first and second semester related to it and it is a good place to start thinking about dissertation topics.

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Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Tracy Banghart

author of What the Sea Wants

I decided to pursue my master’s degree in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University to augment my previous training as a proofreader. As an American, I wasn’t sure how much of the information I’d pick up on the course would be transferable to my country; nor did I know whether the degree would help me get a job when I returned to the States. I chose the course because the professors I met with were nice, Oxford was beautiful, and the school had a good reputation. My expectations were blown out of the water by how much I learned, and how much of an effect doing the course has had on my career opportunities.

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Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Jill Waddell

My experience as a Publishing postgrad at OBU was one of the best decisions I ever made.  The program was extraordinarily diverse which was great as I was an international student myself.  I worked with students from all over the world - who in some cases had already been in publishing in their respective countries - this brought a tremendous amount of knowledge to lectures and group work.  I am from Trinidad - and I returned to the Caribbean to complete my dissertation in Jamaica to intern for one of the most successful independent publishers in the region - all by the way of contacts through Oxford Brookes.  The international network that the post grad course provides to its students is invaluable and I suggest that all students try their hardest to tap into it!

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Janet Remmington

The postgraduate course at Brookes provided an excellent launch pad for my career in publishing. As an international student I was well catered for and I greatly enjoyed learning about the industry in the global as well as the local context. Since I completed the course in 1998, I have worked for three companies and have had four different editorial roles, each with more responsibility and reward. I have chosen academic publishing as the sector I wish to work in and am continually challenged and enriched by what it has to offer. I am grateful to Brookes for the many opportunities it has afforded me in the world of work, and also for the many friendships it has made possible.

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Sarah Barrell

Award nominated journalist and travel writer.

As a journalist I often work closely with the publishing world. My time studying publishing at Brookes prepared me well for the business realities of both the press and publishing industries.

I found the broad editorial lessons learnt in my publishing modules were particularly useful when applied to my former position as Deputy Editor and subsequently Acting Editor of the Independent on Sunday's Travel section.
 

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Alejandra Obregon

The publishing course at Brookes gave me a thorough understanding of all the different components of the publishing process and the industry as a whole. It also enabled me to get a job as a Multimedia Editor straight out of university. What I learned during the course was enormously helpful, especially due to the breath of topics covered and the mixture of academic and practical modules.

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Kate Forde

I very much enjoyed my time at Brookes (English Literature & Publishing BA, 1995). The flexibility of the modular course allowed me access to many areas of study which complemented my main degree courses (in my first year I took Law as well) and allowed me to broaden my horizons.  I felt also that being able to choose your own modules encourages 'ownership' of the course, leading to a more focused approach to study.  Whilst English Lit. was my passion when I arrived, I felt that the Publishing course offered far more in the way of practical, vocational guidance, and invaluable tutelage from seasoned industry professionals, which was a real bonus. Another advantage of this course is that many of the people I met on my course have since become useful business contacts!

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Nick Hunter

I found my time at Oxford Brookes both enjoyable and a great help in starting my career in publishing. As well as giving me the skills I needed when I entered publishing, the course also gave me a valuable context for those skills, with study of different disciplines such as production or marketing and areas of publishing such as trade, academic and educational.
This context has been extremely useful and something that many graduates miss out on when they start their career in a particular company or market sector.

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •

Rachel Craven

I found my time on the Oxford Brookes publishing Masters really valuable in two key ways. On a theoretical level, I was able to walk into my first job understanding what was happening in each division of the company and how they all contributed to the publishing process, and on a practical level, I had all the relevant skills in place to do my job and lots of great ideas for developing my role and function besides.

I was given great advice by the lecturers regarding choosing a dissertation topic. It was suggested that I choose a topic that would provide me with a learning platform for the skills needed for the job I wanted to do after the course (in my case, e-marketing).

We were really encouraged and supported in finding work experience. I found this an essential part of the course: I got my first job with the company I had worked with as an intern, which enabled me to enter at Marketing Executive level rather than as a Marketing Assistant.

Posted on 08 Dec 2006 around 3pm •