Alumni - Marije de Bie, MA Publishing

Eight years after I finished my MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes, I’m exactly where I dreamed of arriving when I started the course. The year after I returned to the Netherlands I started my career in publishing as a desk editor for a Dutch literary publishing house in Amsterdam. After three years I moved over to one of the most distinguished Dutch literary publishing houses, The Busy Bee (De Bezige Bij), and started working as a junior acquiring editor. In my present role, I take care of the translated fiction for our house together with another editor. As I read English, German, French and Italian, I try to acquire Dutch translation rights to the best novels published originally in those languages.

My year at Brookes was of great value, giving me an overview of the international publishing world, giving me insight into the daily work of all the departments in a publishing house, and teaching me practical skills for jobs in all these departments. One of the special aspects of the MA at Brookes is its international character. I’m still in touch with a lot of my fellow students all over the world, and some of them have become friends for life.

Posted on 26 Jan 2012 around 3pm