PUBLISHING FUTURES LAB
presents
PUBLISHINGFUTURESLAB.com
PUBLISHING GRADUATE SHOWCASE
Inspiring the Next Generation of Publishers in the South West Bath Spa University’s Publishing team initiated and supported the Society of Young Publishers (SYP) in developing the first South West branch of this prestigious and influential organisation.
S
YP South West Chair and Publishing Lecturer, Jo de Vries, is joined by our BA and MA students in forming the new regional committee along with publishers and university students from across the region.
The December launch was held in the Commons atrium with Barry Cunningham, Publisher at Chicken House and J.K. Rowling’s first editor, speaking about the power of books and the importance of the SYP network in encouraging the next
New Publishing & Journalism Courses In September 2018, Bath Spa University launched a new BA Journalism & Publishing (JPU) course to create the digital storytellers of the future. The Times featured our world’s first MA Children’s Publishing course. This year, the JPU students have worked with a BBC producer in storytelling workshops and created digital campaigns on environmental and social
issues. MA students made pop-up books, developed publishing strategies and prototypes, and enjoyed work experience at HarperCollins, Book Island and The Bookseller.
Networking Publishing student Honey Debney-Succoia interviewing Fromebased publisher, Barry Cunningham
generation. In March, the SYP invited Publishing Subject Leader Katharine Reeve and Jo de Vries to speak about careers in publishing at a sell-out London Book Fair seminar. Students are encouraged to join the SYP SW and take
part in a wide range of events such as the highly popular ‘Making Magazines’ evening, held this April. Our courses, along with the new regional SYP, will boost diversity in the industry and create opportunities for young people.
100% Employability Although it’s always sad to see graduating students leave us, it’s also exciting to watch as individual careers develop. Our specialist employability strategy has seen astonishing results this year with 100% of our graduates employed and 77% in managerial or professional jobs, or postgraduate study (HESA, 2018). We believe it’s important to embed work experience and industry briefs into module design, supported by industry collaboration,
our Publishing Futures Lab and advice from current employers and recruitment agents. We encourage students to be ambitious and to tailor assignments to their interests. This helps create stunning and relevant portfolios demonstrating not only the experience that they have gained in live industry briefs but also their proficiency with publishing tools and content management systems, and their ability to create impressive content in a range of print and digital formats.