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My decision to come back to York St John to undertake an MA in Publishing and Contemporary Literature was a late but quick one. After completing my undergraduate degree in English Literature and History, I had envisioned that I would leave education and attempt to get a low level job in a field I was interested in. At this point in time, I was very much interested in working in museums. I had told myself that I would one day return to do an MA, but felt like I had earned a break from studying after completing my 10,000 word dissertation in the midst of a pandemic.
However, like many people, I found myself floundering like a fish out of water in the past year. I could not tell you how many jobs I applied for over the course of the first lockdown, but I can count on one hand how many of them I received responses from – all rejections. By summer, I was panicking. I had retained a full-time job working in a café in the centre of York, but I had no set plan of where my career and life were heading.
The Publishing MA at York St John was new this year. I had heard briefly of it from my dissertation supervisor when it was still in the planning process, and though it had gained my interest, I had remained resolute in my decision to take a break from education. However, upon the realisation that – like everyone else in the world it seems – things were not going to plan, I decided to look into the course further.
It took me less than a week from that point to draft my personal statement, have it proofread by a member of staff, send off my application, and apply for student finance. All of a sudden I had something to look forward to – something to occupy my brain in a time in which I had for too long felt purposeless. Now, I am lucky enough to be part of the first cohort of MA Publishing students at the university
I decided to undertake Publishing with Contemporary Literature – and the Publishing part of the MA has completely altered all of my plans for the future. I now hope that one day I will be able to work as part of a publishing house, or even start my own. It has truly transformed this non-year into one of the most important years of my life.
I am saying all of this having only taken one Publishing module officially. I do the course part-time and so will focus more on Publishing next year. In the one module I have taken – Journey of the Book – I learned all about the process of publishing and had the opportunity to meet a number of people working in various stages of the process. This included Literary Agents, the Group Head of Inventory at Penguin, and the Publishing Coordinator at Lendal Press. This module not only provided me with the foundations for a career in publishing but also taught me that there are a variety of roles within publishing that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. I have always considered myself an editor, but now I quite like the idea of running my own press and being involved in every element of the process.
The MA has encouraged me to look for opportunities for publishing experience wherever I can. The publishing industry is hugely London centric. Though efforts are being made, with the growth of Northern independent publishers, and the movement of some large publishers to the North, such as Harper North, opportunities for experience are difficult to come by if you don’t live down South. However, whilst undertaking the Publishing MA at York St John, I have had the opportunity to provide editorial comments for Greenteeth Press’ Horrifying Tales anthology.
I have also been able to volunteer to work on a group project editing and curating a 2021 edition of the York Literary Review published by Valley Press. Next year I will have the opportunity to do an individual project, potentially undertaking an internship in a publishing house. The Publishing MA has given me more opportunities than I would ever have found on my own.
Alongside the MA, I have made lots of effort to enhance my time on the course at York St John by seeking out more opportunities to gain experience. As such, I am now an editor on the Where Ideas Grow blog in which I help to curate, edit and create content. I am also the Student Representative for MA Publishing and Creative Writing.
As part of this, I am heading a new project in which myself and the undergraduate Creative Writing Student Representatives are producing and publishing a brand new York St John online magazine entitled Connected. These are all things that I would not have been able to do had I not decided to enrol on the MA Publishing course this year.
My advice for anyone thinking about a career in publishing would be to consider taking the MA at York St John. Although the last year has been a turbulent one, I am grateful for the opportunities that have arisen from it, and for the ways in which it has altered my life plans for the better. I do not know if I will end up working in the publishing industry – life is full of uncontrollable changes, as we’ve learned this year – but I do know that by undertaking the MA in Publishing, I have discovered a new and exciting dream.
Now, one day I might be publishing your work!