Meet 2024’s aspiring young publishers

Amy Brown, Hachette Newcastle

Amy Brown is a writer living in Newcastle Upon Tyne and is interested in pursuing a career in publishing. Amy completed her First Edition work placement with Hachette UK. Amy worked with employees from Hachette’s Newcastle national office for a week and was able to gain experience across roles and imprints. 

“The placement at Hachette and the staff members who mentored me have helped me to figure out which publishing roles I would be suited to. I was given a wide range of tasks including proof-reading, image sourcing and author and market research and I enjoyed dabbling in many different areas. I learned about the journey from acquisition to physical books and the steps involved. I was also able to get experience using specific software.

The placement with Hachette was an immensely enjoyable and valuable experience that has set my career on its trajectory.”

Erica Wheeler, Collected Books

Erica is from Newcastle and has recently graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in English Literature. Erica completed a placement at Collected Books, a new independent bookshop in Durham City specialising in work written by women. Over the course of five weeks, Erica experienced day to day running of an indie bookshop as well as running author events.  

“My experience doing a placement at Collected books was enlightening, educational and a lot of fun!  

I served customers, recommended books, processed orders and stock, organised displays and wrote recommendation cards for certain titles. I was also able to sit in on some author events which were incredibly interesting and engaging. I gained many skills in terms of using software that is used to process stock and gained an understanding of what is required to run an independent bookstore. My knowledge of the book industry has certainly improved as I was able to learn how publishers and booksellers interact and work together to get books on the shelves. 

I am much more aware of the scope of the role of bookseller and their importance within the industry through promoting authors and creating communities. My placement at Collected helped me to develop my career goals, as I came to enjoy the community that is formed around an independent bookstore. Going forward I will seek out opportunities where I can work closely with the public and customers.”

Leyla Mariam Ferrand, Prototype Publishing

Leyla Ferrand is from Uruguay and Pakistan and is currently studying at Newcastle University. Leyla completed her placement at Protoype Publishing, an independent publisher of fiction, poetry and interdisciplinary projects based in London. 

“I was always considering a future in the publishing industry as I love reading, editing and working with new people. Prototype Publishing was in the middle of preparing their 6th edition of their yearly anthology. I organised the contents, author biographies and copy edited the submissions.  I also wrote a brief marketing strategy to push their subscriptions and copyedited some of their future publications.   

As Prototype is a small-scale publishing house with only two permanent workers, I learned of the small details that have to be considered, the quick turnaround times of agent approaches, and how to communicate with authors. Additionally, the publishing house looks for genre bending work, meaning that it was a new form of editing, which had to consider different deliberate choices. 

As a competitive industry, I know that having prior experience will set me at an advantage when applying to future work. The experience was absolutely delightful and educational.”

Jessica (Jay) Barber, Inpress Books

Jessica (Jay) Barber is originally from Stockton-on-Tees. They are currently studying International Marketing MSc at Newcastle University and are interested in pursuing a career in marketing within publishing. Jay completed a placement with Inpress Books. Based in Newcastle, Inpress works with some of the best and most vibrant independent presses in the UK. 

“It’s my dream to work in publishing but I know how hard it can be to break into the industry, especially outside of London. I worked in-office under the supervision of Lucy Rose (sales and marketing assistant). I helped with a range of marketing and administrative tasks. 

I learnt a lot through the placement – I think the most important skills/information I learnt were to do with Consonance (as I’d never heard of it before) and the importance of advance information sheets. I was also able to sit in on team meetings that were really insightful. 

The placement definitely solidified the fact that I want to work in publishing, specifically as a marketer. It gave me experience that will help me find other opportunities in the future. I learnt a lot, grew in confidence, and felt like I genuinely helped out during my time with Inpress – It was amazing.”

Laura Kasongo, Out-Spoken Press

Laura Kasongo is from Manchester. They are currently studying English Literature with Creative Writing at Newcastle University and are interested in pursuing a career in publishing. Laura completed a placement with Outspoken Press over five weeks. Out-Spoken Press is a London-based independent publisher of poetry and critical writing. It was founded in 2015 with the aim of challenging a lack of diversity in publishing. 

“During my time placement, I proof-read poetry, worked on social media marketing and began a catalogue for the work published by Out-Spoken Press. Each week, I had a remote meeting with one of the publishers, where I learned about the behind the scenes of her work as well as discussing what I had been working on. 

I learnt the process of how an independent publishing house like Out-Spoken Press produces a pamphlet/book, from the drafting process, to creating ISBNs and book covers. I now know more about the reality of poetry publishing. 
  
It has allowed me to consider a career in publishing itself, as well as producing my own poetry, and made the prospect a lot less daunting. I feel as though I have made contacts in the industry now, and Out-Spoken Press have offered me many opportunities already, from book fairs to attending Out-Spoken Live events in London. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement with Out-Spoken Press as it was eye-opening, welcoming, and encouraging.”

Daniel McEwan, Gordon Burn Prize

Dan is from Oxford and is currently studying Media and Cultural studies at Newcastle University. Daniel completed a placement with the Gordon Burn Prize, which has motivated him to continue working towards an events career. Over five weeks, Daniel worked with New Writing North to help manage the promotion around the Gordon Burn Prize shortlist. He also assisted with the announcement of the Gordon Burn Prize event in Newcastle, in March 2024. 

“I did a multitude of tasks on my placement, the majority focusing on the promotional and marketing aspects of the Gordon Burn Prize. I also learned many different skills including how to create a press release and how to run a social media campaign. I learnt how an event comes together and all the work that is required beforehand in order for the event to succeed. It was really rewarding and interesting seeing everything people had been working on for months come to fruition.  
 
This internship with the Gordon Burn Prize has validated and solidified that a career in creative events is what I aim to achieve. Everyone on the team taught me something new about the events/book world. It was also refreshing working in a team with people who shared mutual career-interests.  

It greatly exceeded my expectations and taught me so much more than I could have ever envisioned, I actually couldn’t fault it at all as I enjoyed every second!”

Zahra Hanif, 404 Ink

Zahra Hanif is a student at Newcastle University and is originally from Leeds. They are interested in pursuing a career in publishing after graduation. Zahra’s work placement was with the Scottish independent publisher 404ink. Zahra worked with 404 Ink one day a week over five weeks and was able to see in detail the publishing process for an upcoming title. Zahra also assisted with the development of several ‘Inkling’ releases.

“What benefitted me the most was the opportunity to see all the different departments and have my input in them. During my placement I got an insight into all stages, from reading book pitches to cover design, proofreading and marketing. It has given me a better idea of the departmental roles within publishing and left me with a better indication of what specific role I want to undertake (editorial). 

I really appreciated this opportunity, specifically because publishing sometimes seems limited. It seems that the majority of opportunities are down South, but this placement opened my eyes to opportunities up North, both in publishing and as a creative.  I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the publishing industry.”

Grace Lowthian, Poetry Book Society

Grace is originally from County Durham and moved to Newcastle to study at Northumbria University. Grace is enthusiastic about working in the publishing industry and is a lover of poetry and poet herself. Grace completed a placement with the Poetry Book Society and had the opportunity to work in PBS’s Newcastle office and be a part of delivering the Newcastle Poetry Festival. 

“During the placement I helped out in the office, including admin work, content creation, critical analysis and review writing. During Newcastle Poetry Festival, I oversaw daily operations of the on-site bookshop, including customer service, sales, and inventory management. 

The placement has allowed for in-depth industry knowledge – I now know the process and care behind poetry selection. I learnt the importance of team work and time management and the  placement pushed me out of my comfort zone to adapt to a new environment.  

I now have the confidence to pursue a career in the industry. It was fun, rewarding, introspective, insightful. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, thank you!”

Georgina Abram, The Braag

Georgina is from Lancashire and is currently studying English Literature at Newcastle University and pursuing a career in publishing. The Braag CIC is a publisher of speculative fiction and poetry chapbooks and of the quarterly journal Carmen et Error. It supports emerging writers in the North East of England through publications and events. It focuses on weird, wild fiction and poetry, and aims to produce beautiful things on a small scale.

“I carried out a variety of tasks on the placement, including: proofreading, first reading magazine submissions, making social media posts, contacting bookshops, making invoices, editing graphics, documenting sales and aiding in the running of a book launch. The placement has made me more aware of the processes involved within the industry and the opportunities. It also allowed me to meet many people involved in the field and see how they advanced to where they are now. It has been an invaluable experience overall that has allowed me to engage with a variety of tasks.  

I enjoyed the flexibility that was involved as there was a real allowance for me pursuing areas I was more interested in and space to receive feedback on this.  I’ve greatly enjoyed experiencing the industry first hand and felt supported throughout, developing skills and understanding that will be crucial to a further career.”

Katerina Gort Tarrús, The Braag

Katerina Gort Tarrús is from Spain. They studied English Literature at Glasgow University, and are currently working at Newcastle Castle as the Marketing Officer. Katerina is interested in pursuing a career in the editorial publishing. The Braag CIC is a publisher of speculative fiction and poetry chapbooks and of the quarterly journal Carmen et Error. It supports emerging writers in the North East of England through publications and events. It focuses on weird, wild fiction and poetry, and aims to produce beautiful things on a small scale.

“I was hoping to get experience in the publishing world as I recently graduated university and was struggling to get any interviews in the field. I am aware that it is highly competitive, so I believed a placement like this would give me some valuable experience that might later result in a job within the publishing industry. I did a variety of tasks for the Braag including proofreading a manuscript, admin work (emails, invoices, data collection) and market research. I also learned how to use affinity publisher and created graphics for socials. 

I most enjoyed getting a feel for what goes on behind the scenes at a small publishing press and how I might be able to fit into that world in the future. I especially enjoyed proofreading and working with affinity publisher and am keen to continue learning more about these in my free time to keep improving.”