Alumni - Leon Terner, MA Publishing

As my major project, I chose to found a small Indie press and publish an anthology of European creative writing. Contacting Creative Writing MAs and other artistic forums around Europe, I then solicited creative works of nearly any kind, as long as it was somehow connected to Europe. My mission statement, if I can call it that, was - and is still - to give everyone an equal opportunity to be published, given that creative zeal and literary brilliance were evidenced. Both previously undiscovered authors and well-established ones were welcome to submit their work, and before long I had received tons of great short stories and poems.

To cut a long story short, in August of 2009, Lion Lounge Press, as I dubbed my publishing venture, published its very first book, The Lounge Companion: A Collection of European Creative Writing.

The MA programme provided me with all of the tools and know-how I needed to get ahead in the world of publishing. As part of my major project, I was able to translate the teachings I had received on the course into practice; Commissioning, Editing, Drafting Contracts, Marketing, Producing, and finally Publishing.

Soon after the publication of the anthology, Lion Lounge Press was joined by two of my fellow classmates, Arash Hejazi and Nikul Patel, and we are already being flooded with submissions for our next publications. In fact, in March 2010 we will be publishing The Lounge Companion Vol. 2, and while 'Vol. 1' is waiting for its next companion to join it on Amazon, we're continuing to spread the word and organising literary events, proving once and for all that business and pleasure easily blend together... perhaps especially in publishing.

I would strongly urge anyone with an interest in publishing to join the MA at Brookes. It's an invaluable resource for knowledge, and a place to make good friends, possibly business partners, and network, network, network.

For more information about Lion Lounge Press, go to www.TheLionLounge.com.

Posted on 23 Nov 2009 around 3pm