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Feedback From The Publishing Training Centre's 2008 Diversity Scholarship Students

 

January 2009

 

The Publishing Training Centre offers an annual Bursary Scheme for BME students studying for book or journal related Masters Qualifications. Two of our 2008 bursary recipients share their experiences with us:

 

Valerie Brandes, MA Publishing Studies, City University

As a child growing up in Hackney, I always had a passion for books and for writing but never once did I think that I could consider the publishing industry a viable career path for me. As I got older and continued to write, I found myself in the position of being able to attend the San Diego State Annual Writers Conference, something that I had been encouraged to do by the members of my writing group. It proved to be a profound decision to attend. During the course of the event I listened to a panel featuring a selection of the top agents and editors from the New York publishing world, who gave a mock rendition of the life of a manuscript from acceptance to publication. As I sat in the auditorium listening to each of the speakers, I was overwhelmed by the desire and belief that this community was the one in which my future happiness and success lay. For the first time I thought seriously, based upon the exchanges in the room, of a career in publishing.

 

It would be a few years later before I went as far as applying for the MA Publishing Studies course at City University, and was absolutely overjoyed to have been offered a place. This was tempered by the fact that I had no idea how I was to fund the course now that I had been accepted. When I received the news that I had been chosen as the recipient of the PTC Diversity Scholarship I was stunned, overjoyed, petrified, determined. All of those emotions helped me navigate the year but still it would not have been possible without Mary Ann Kernan in my corner. Mary Ann’s quiet guidance, never intrusive, always available, literally kept me on track and for that there can hardly be enough words of gratitude.

 

The course proved to be challenging academically as well as a great strain on me personally. However, today, having sat my last exam I am looking forward to finding my dream job within this industry. The current economic climate places extra pressure on new graduates, but I feel amply prepared and confident in my knowledge of the publishing process and the skill set required to place me in a publishing house, regardless of whether that be in Marketing, Production, Editorial, Sales or Rights.

 

The Publishing Training Centre's Diversity Scholarship not only enabled me to participate on the course financially, it also helped to legitimize my taking such a huge gamble and asking my family to come on board. Today, I feel a new sense of accomplishment. I survived the MA’s Sales Conference, sales figures (barely), essay writing, exam taking and the life of the intern at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.

 

It has been exhilarating and frustrating, and at times felt downright impossible. I am so grateful today to PTC for providing a way into an industry that for someone like me is rarely, even now, considered an option. The scholarship made me feel worthy of my place at City University; although I knew I had the academic ability to support it. However, being able to say that I had received the scholarship added a degree of respect and regard to my whole endeavour. So, the reality is that should I be asked the question would I do it again, the answer would have to be a resounding “YES!” and in the words of the eloquent Dr Maya Angelou, “I wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now!!”

 

Jocelyn Liu, MA Publishing, University College London

The Publishing Training Centre has highlighted the fact that only 7.7% of the publishing workforce are from BME backgrounds. With this in mind, it is refreshing to find schemes designed to promote change and investment into stimulating interest down non-traditional avenues. The PTC’s Diversity Bursary has given me an opportunity to stand in for those that are under-represented in the publishing industry by providing me with the means to explore it as career. This encouragement has reinforced the value of my MA in Publishing and is a source of motivation for me to succeed in my ambitions.

 

The concept behind the bursary itself has increased my own awareness of cultural status within the profession; as well as being part of publishing bodies such as SYP I am also a member of the Diversity in Publishing Network and intend to apply for progressive internships which aim to break down cultural barriers by targeting minority groups. Publishing itself has progressively aimed to provide for a wider range of audiences and therefore diversity in the workforce can only be beneficial.

 

UCL’s MA in publishing has proven to be a thoroughly enriching experience having enlisted influential speakers and lecturers at the forefront of the publishing industry to provide a network of education, support and guidance. It has provided me with a platform to network with future publishers and current leaders and has been a precious step in cultivating my knowledge of publishing. The expertise from the teaching staff with their industry experience provides a powerful stimulating learning environment. Industry speakers have also brought a realistic perspective to the theory taught by professors, reiterating that publishing is as much a business process as well as a global cultural industry.

 

Whilst the Diversity Bursary has increased my own cultural awareness that surrounds publishing and in turn, provided me with the tools to be educated at UCL, UCL’s MA in Publishing is preparing me with the skills essential for the publishing industry.

 

Giselle Regus, MA Publishing, Oxford Brookes University

Studying in England at Oxford Brookes University is like nothing I have experienced before. Previously I had gone to boarding school for my high school years, later on to Columbia University for a degree in sociology and then worked for three years after graduation in the finance industry. I imagined I had seen it all and was well prepared for my move ‘across the pond’ and the journey of pursuing my master’s degree in publishing. I wanted to come to Oxford Brookes because it seemed to me that the publishing programme is well rounded and that after graduation I would be in an advantageous position to find not only a good job but a fulfilling career path. What I found is that this experience is providing me with more than the knowledge I need to be successful.

 

I’ve been able to learn who Richard and Judy are and that a book club is not necessarily a group of people sitting around discussing Jane Austen. I’ve learned what an Oxford comma is, how to edit on screen, and how best to do a SWOT analysis; also that you always need some hidden time when working in production, and that in design white space is used to add sophistication. But what I was not prepared for were the intangible benefits of being at Oxford Brookes. For example, what I felt at the Frankfurt Book Fair when I mentioned where I went to school and everyone not only knew the programme but spoke of it with admiration. Another surprise was the enthusiasm with which my instructors teach their respective subjects - that sentiment is contagious and helped me feel more secure that I had made the right decision in choosing Oxford Brookes.

 

In great part I thank the Publishing Training Centre for facilitating this knowledge and these emotions. Having been the recipient of the Publishing Training Centre Diversity Scholarship has allowed me to focus less on how I would pay for all these great things and more on how to enjoy them and to gain as much as I can from them. It has been a relief knowing that I had the support to pursue this dream and take part in a programme that has been a perfect fit for me and overall one of the best experiences of my life.

 

 

Information on the 2009 Diversity Scholarship programme is now available.

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