Publishing

The course covers all types of publishing, from trade and specialist publications to novels and non-fiction, providing a thorough grounding in the drivers of commercial success for both print and digital products.

It is taught by publishing practitioners who share their specialist expertise and up-to-date industry knowledge. Each module includes case studies and projects, most with the active involvement of industry sponsors.

Core Modules (taken in terms 1 and 2)

PBM001 - Business and Marketing in Publishing
The module aims to provide an effective working knowledge of the business and marketing principles and practices of the publishing industry across different marketplaces and sectors, and how they apply in different types of publishing organisations in both domestic and global markets. By the end of the module, you will be able to define strategic responses to realistic industry conditions, including investment, marketing and business development opportunities; and apply theoretical models to detailed analyses of industry practices in different strategic contexts.

PBM002 - Creating and Managing Intellectual Property
Working with authors and others to generate and manage intellectual property is the core activity of the publishing industry, and functions within the complex legal environment of copyright law. In this module, you will be encouraged to develop an applied, analytical understanding of how publishing projects are conceived, developed, managed and launched, and how publishing contracts reflect legal frameworks in the UK, Europe and other jurisdictions.

PBM003 - Digitisation and Publishing
Changes associated with digitisation touch on every stage of the publishing process, including how we relate to, interact with and consume published products and services. Some sectors of the industry, especially academic and educational publishing, have long-established and successful models of digital delivery and services. Innovations in others, notably consumer publishing, are closely associated with technological changes. This module explores this rapidly evolving area of practice with reference to analytical tools and research frameworks drawn from business studies and other disciplines, including sociology and cultural studies. You will review changes in authorship and product models, working practices, the supply chain, marketing, and commercial measures; and identify the effects of the associated disruptions in the publishing value chain. The module considers the broader cultural and global impact of the interactive technologies and new models of digital consumption, and develops insights through both an industry-facing project and a summative essay assessment.

PBM004 - Publishing History and Culture
The module aims to develop an informed, critical understanding of books and print media in their historical and social contexts. You will review a range of literature essential to an understanding of the history and cultures of publishing, including the impact of printing technologies; the commercialization of publishing; authorship and copyright; and the cultural, social, and political impact of literacy. The module will also encourage you to apply insights from theory and research in the humanities and social sciences to the analysis of the evolution and impact of publishing upon the formation and development of modern societies.

Students must also complete four optional taught modules from this list.


PBM006 - Developing Creative Content
This module aims to provide you with a strategic and a practical introduction to the challenges and opportunities the publishing industry faces in responding creatively, commercially and culturally to current disruptions in the publishing value chain; enable you to apply the knowledge you gain to critical and comparative analyses of industry practice; and provide an applied experience of current challenges and opportunities in responding creatively to the publishing marketplace.

PBM007 - Managing the Publishing Value Chain
This module aims to provide you with a strategic and a practical introduction to the challenges and opportunities the publishing industry faces in responding creatively, commercially and culturally to current disruptions in the publishing value chain; and to enable you to apply the knowledge you gain to critical and comparative analyses of industry practice.

PBM011 - Designing Interactive Media
An applied, critical understanding of the disciplines which inform the effective design of interactive and visual content is a key requirement for the development of an interactive media artefact or website. This module provides a hands-on introduction to the skills needed to plan, design and render visual layouts for interactive content, particularly on the web, and encourages you to apply the knowledge and skills you will gain to your own professional development.

AMM421 - Digital Cultures
This module will explore the sorts of roles new communication technologies - and in particular digital media, social media, and the Internet - play in the transformation of cultural, economic, political, and social structures and practices. Students will review the key theoretical debates around new media and critically evaluate the claims being made about their influence and impact. Are they representative of a shift toward more democratic and participatory engagement? What happens to the 'when and where' of this engagement? How is the policy changing in order to reflect this paradigm shift? What are the implications for cultural managers? Questions such as these will be investigated using examples from a range of cultural and creative industries.

INM380 - Libraries and Publishing in an Information Society Gives a broad understanding of the ways in which the publication of recorded information is changing, and the impact which this will have on publishers, libraries, other information providers and society in general. These issues are related within a framework of forces for changes: technical, economic, social and political.

Finally, all MA students complete the Major Project

PBM008 - Major Project
You will identify, research, articulate and write-up a substantial major project or piece of research related to your programme of study which reflects your interests. This element of the programme will allow you to apply and further develop the knowledge and skills gained through the taught modules, and add to the literature related to your programme of study. The project can take the form of either professional practice or research. Your related skills will be developed through lectures and seminars, and you will work with a supervisor who will support you through the period of developing and writing up your project.

Part-time students

Part-time students take the course over two years and normally chose an equal number of elective modules between the two years.

Core Modules

* PBM001 Business and Marketing in Publishing (Year one, term 1)
* PBM002 Creating and Managing Intellectual Property (Year one, term 1)

* PBM003 Digitisation and Publishing (Year two, term 1)
* PBM004 Publishing History and Culture (Year two, term 1)
* PBM008 Major Project (60 credits, Year two)

PBM005, the Placement module, will only be available as an elective in year two of the programme.