Recent communication with graduates from the MA in Publishing who did not already have a job in the industry before they started the course has revealed that they have achieved a 100% success rate in getting work in publishing.

Samantha Rayner, course leader, said that she is thrilled with this result, which comes less than a year after the students have finished: "What is particularly exciting is that the students have found jobs in very different publishing enterprises, from major trade publishing houses, like Pearson, to smaller bespoke ones like MG Car Magazine. One has even started their own publishing venture (The International Student Times). This is fantastic for the MA, as it shows that we are equipping our students with the professional tools that will unlock opportunities across the publishing industry, and that we have successfully given them an understanding of that industry as an incredibly diverse, rapidly changing environment where thinking creatively and innovatively about opportunities is a crucial aspect to securing that elusive first post. We were very fortunate to have such a fantastic first cohort of students, and their success is testament to their own very positive input into the course and its shaping."

This year's group is looking no less determined or ambitious, with several emerging stories of success: Kim Sutton has started her own publishing company, Safkhet Publishing, Sian Jenkins and Teresa Martins have scored jobs at Waterstones and Heffers, and Jane Harman has won a prestigious offer of an internship with the boutique hotel group, Mr and Mrs Smith. Several members of the group have been working with the Folk Museum in Cambridge to redesign and rebrand their guidebook (more news on the launch of this coming soon) and others have been pursuing work experience with companies big (Hodder Headline, CUP) and small (Salt, Hart McLeod, CottierSidaway).

This year has also seen the pilot launch of our short courses in Editing, Magazine Publishing, and InDesign Training, which will be running again after Easter (contact Samantha Rayner if interested) as well as a collaboration with Cambridge University Press on the Production module. This collaboration was suggested by Tom O'Reilly, who is a part-time student on the course as well as a CUP employee, and as a result the Head of Production at CUP, Dr Nancy Roberts, has been working with Samantha Rayner to put together a masterclass model across the 12 weeks of the module that has brought in top class industry experts to deliver sessions on each different part of the production process. Several CUP Production staff have been attending this module, as it is hoped that this will become a flagship CPD training programme for industry, and the collaboration has been a fantastic success:

"Nancy's contacts within the publishing industry have meant our students have benefitted from very senior professional input on this module - something we would not have been able to achieve without her help. It wasn't all one way, though - Anglia Ruskin's own expert in Typography, Will Hill, was part of the reason Nancy wanted her own staff to take the module. We were able to share resources, and the result has been a fantastic experience for everyone."

Students have also been examining the Business of Publishing with Dr Leah Tether, who has brought in experts in business plan writing, marketing, and customer loyalty schemes this semester to widen understanding of the competitive nature of the book marketplace. A highlight was a field trip to London, where students visited Penguin books, as well as the offices of Nectar. One of their assessments is to build an idea for a publishing related customer affinity scheme. "We know that in a digital age, customer data is the new oil", said Samantha Rayner. "Our students need to be able to show employers that they can use this knowledge to help support and develop their business."

The MA in Publishing offers 2 scholarships for applicants, and is recruiting now. For further details on anything in this article, please contact course leader Dr Samantha Rayner.

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