Alumni - Heather Benn – MA Publishing

I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to undertake the Oxford Brookes MA in Publishing in 2010. Despite having previous experience in marketing, and as a children’s bookseller, I was finding it difficult to progress my career forward into the publishing industry, and was concerned I would have to take a step back in order to land a role in publishing. Not content to shoot for an admin or assistant job as a foot in the door, I decided on the Brookes MA as it offered a really comprehensive overview of the industry as a whole, had a focus on cultivating relevant, specialized skills and knowledge – like InDesign and XML – and offered concrete opportunities for work experience at a number of renowned publishers.

However, the course completely exceeded my expectations. The module on marketing enabled me to develop my knowledge in this area, with a jointly theoretical and practical approach, and I also regularly draw on the knowledge and skills cultivated through my Design class. However, perhaps what stood out the most was the incredible amount of support and guidance from all the lecturers, who regularly went out of their way to advise on a whole range of issues – both academic, professional and more.

I am now working as a Marketing Campaign Manager at Oxford University Press, a position that I find really challenging and dynamic. I’m responsible for devising marketing strategy for a number of our bestselling educational resources, and enjoy the creativity I can bring into my role. I completely believe that the Brookes course helped to accelerate my publishing career, and provided me with the right skills and experience to break into publishing in a role that was right for me. 

Posted on 26 Feb 2011 around 10am