Category: Events

An Evening with Jason Reynolds and Kayus Bankole

Cover of "For Every One"On November 27, I was able to attend an event hosted by 404 Ink at the Scottish Poetry Library, where author Jason Reynolds was interviewed by local musician Kayus Bankole.

The topic of conversation was Reynold’s most recent publication with 404 Ink, For Every One. With purchase of a ticket to this event, everyone got a copy of the book to take home with them, and some wine, which was wonderful (who doesn’t love free books and wine?).

The night was overall just an enjoyable and inspirational time. Reynolds and Bankole covered For Every One, what it is like to be a dreamer, honesty, and politics, somehow fitting it all into two hours. It also provided an interesting insight into publishing from the perspective of an author, and how publishers work with artists to make dreams come true. Here are the highlights of the night!

For Every One is a letter that Reynolds wrote about being a dreamer, what that feels like, and the unknown of success. Anyone who has ever had a dream that they were reaching to achieve, creative or not, will be able to relate to the beautiful poem he has created. Continue reading “An Evening with Jason Reynolds and Kayus Bankole”

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Train Strikes and Penguin Random House’s Job Hack Event

It was an early 5:00 a.m. start (and probably the only time I was excited for my alarm to go off so early) as I eagerly boarded my train for my trip to Penguin Random House’s JobHack event in Blackpool (thankfully avoiding any strikes or delays!). I had been excitedly awaiting this day since I received an email saying I had been selected to join the event back in October.

On arrival everyone from the PRH team was so friendly and, after a quick registration, the day began. img_3603We started with an ice breaker called Human Bingo to diffuse any awkwardness and to get to know each other before diving into our first activity. Here, we had to organise the chain of events involved from the acquisition of book to its publication and the steps in between and, wow, there were even more than I had realised from classes.  

Our first main workshop on a specific role was in Editorial given by Sharan an Editor in the Children’s team. In her talk she really broke down her role into three key tasks: acquire, edit, and publish. Continue reading “Train Strikes and Penguin Random House’s Job Hack Event”

‘The Minute You Play It Safe, You’re Done’ – MagFest 2018

MagFest 2018 is the biggest (and arguably, the best) magazine festival in Scotland and acted as the first main event on the postgraduate publishing calendar. If I’m speaking honestly, I haven’t read a magazine since Mizz and Blush circa 2003. However, after a talk from Laura Dunlop, who came into university to tell us about the event, I was really excited for MagFest and the opportunity to learn about this area of the publishing industry that I have never before explored.

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I made it to Central Hall in Edinburgh bright and early for registration and the atmosphere was already buzzing. I was worried about looking out of place but I soon found some familiar faces from the course and, after a much-needed caffeine hit, I was ready for the day. The schedule was broken down into different talks and Q&As held in the main hall. Throughout the day we heard from some very prominent figures in the publishing industry as well as many new, up-and-coming publishers which was great to see. The theme of the day was ‘Ideas Factory’ and many of the keynote speakers touched upon what some might call the ‘uncertain future’ of magazine publishing. It was encouraging to hear that, despite differing opinions, everyone felt optimistic and committed to working harder towards maintaining the future of the industry. Continue reading “‘The Minute You Play It Safe, You’re Done’ – MagFest 2018”

Welcome, Class of 2018/19! (Be prepared to work hard, with laughs along the way…)

This is a lovely time of year when we have two cohorts of students!

We have our current class of 2017/18, who have just completed their dissertation (and no doubt breathed a huge sigh of relief), and our new class of 2018/19, who are about to join us in September!

For our current students – here are some photos to remind you of the good times.

For our incoming students – be prepared to work hard but, as with any good publishing career, be assured that there will also be many laughs along the way!

We hope you all – current and new – enjoy your time with us!

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Back in Germany with Napier’s publishing postgrads

Last week I had the opportunity to fly back home to Germany as part of an exchange of our publishing course at Edinburgh Napier University and the Mainz University. Early this year I already had the chance to meet some of the Mainz students while they were visiting our University. It was great to see them again and get to know each other better.

We arrived late at night on the 1st of May and started on the 2nd of May with a day at the Mainz University. We got the chance to listen to a lot of interesting topics and learn about the German book market, which was also new to me since I studied something different in my undergrad. The day ended with us seeing the Archives of the University and having a get-together with all students and speakers of the day. This obviously included some traditional food for the region, which I have to admit really missed back in Edinburgh.

On our 2nd day we had the pleasure to go to Heidelberg and not only see the beautiful city but also visited the Springer Nature office. Continue reading “Back in Germany with Napier’s publishing postgrads”

Highlights from Napier’s Publishing Trip to Germany

Last week I hopped on a plane to Mainz with a group of my fellow publishing postgrads. The trip was absolutely fantastic. We had the chance to meet interesting people, explore new places and learn about the publishing landscape in Germany.

We spent a day at the university in Mainz, listening to lectures and touring their publishing archive. We enjoyed a walking tour of the city, ate delicious local cuisine and even got to tour the archives of Schott Music, a leading publisher for classic and contemporary music. As a former band geek, I was ecstatic to learn a bit about the history of music book publishing and completely enthralled to be in the same room as original work by Mozart and Wagner.

My personal highlight of our visit was a day trip to Heidelberg (aka my new favorite city). We did some sightseeing (I convinced a few classmates to join me in climbing the 313 steps up to the top of the city’s castle) and then spent the afternoon listening to presentations at Springer Nature’s headquarters.

Springer Nature is the world’s largest academic publisher, renowned for research, educational and professional and publishing. Continue reading “Highlights from Napier’s Publishing Trip to Germany”