MAPublishing

Source: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/courses/creative/publishing-ma/ Parent: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/courses/

MA Publishing

MA Publishing

Why study MA Publishing at Exeter?

• Develop the critical contexts and practical skills to engage with global publishing models across print and digital environments and familiarise yourself with the processes of commissioning, production, marketing, and distribution.
• Equips you to build your career in the fast-changing publishing industry to set up your own innovative publishing initiative with entrepreneurial support from SETSquared Exeter, or to undertake further research in this growing field of study.
• Draws on the teaching expertise of industry professionals and researchers, as well as providing the opportunity for you to undertake a work placement module and pursue either a practical publishing project or research-based dissertation.
• Join and network with a growing hub for the publishing industry and literary community in the South West, as Exeter develops as an UNESCO City of Literature.
• You will develop analytical and creative tools for innovation within and beyond existing publishing structures, with several optional, interdisciplinary modules from English, Creative Industries and Modern Languages departments.
• Our curriculum is guided by our Industry Advisory Board, which includes Valerie Brandes (CEO, Jacaranda Books), Anna Cohn Orchard (Director, Exeter City of Literature), Gracie Cooper (Publisher, Little Toller Books), Louisa Joyner (Associate Publisher, Faber & Faber), Sanphy Thomas (Managing Director, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Hachette Bristol), and Emma Shercliff (Literary Agent, Laxfield Literary Associates).
• By actively co-creating your learning experience with industry professionals we provide our graduates with the best possible education to enter the world of publishing.

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Select date of entry Sept 2026

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Contact

Programme Directors: Dr Kate Wallis and Dr D-M Withers

Web: Enquire online

Phone: +44 (0)1392 72 72 72

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Discover MA Publishing at the University of Exeter.

Develop transferable skills and specialist knowledge through interdisciplinary teaching

Focus on professional practice and the cultural management aspects of Creative Industries and Humanities

Industry placement options

Opportunities for study in the field

Entry requirements

We will consider applicants with a 2:2 Honours degree or above in a social science* or humanities subject. While we normally only consider applicants who meet these criteria, if you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.

Applications are encouraged from industry professionals or those with relevant experience in publishing, bookselling, or the literary and cultural industries, seeking to enhance skills or knowledge in this field.

Applicants may also be asked to submit a personal statement explaining their interest in the programme and how it fits with their earlier studies. However, this is not mandatory for your initial application. You are welcome to include a personal statement if you wish.

*Accepted social science subjects include:

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Area and Development Studies
• Criminology
• Demography
• Development Studies
• Economics
• Economic and Social History
• Education
• Environmental Planning
• Human Geography
• International Relations
• Law
• Linguistics
• Management and Business Studies
• Media and Communication Studies
• Philosophy
• Politics and International Studies
• Psychology
• Science and Technology Studies
• Social Policy
• Social Statistics, Methods, and Computing
• Social Work
• Socio Legal Studies
• Sociology

Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.

Entry requirements for international students

Please visit our entry requirements section for equivalencies from your country and further information on English language requirements.

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Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.

Entry requirements for international students

English language requirements

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course.

The required IELTS test scores for this course fall under Profile B1.

Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

The Publishing and Power: Black and Asian Literary Networks in the UK module taught us that there's so much more going on in this area of the publishing industry than we realise.

It covers the system of publishing and questions the biasness that prevails in the industry. Personally, if I decide to enter this field, I know I will be coming from a position of strength, as through this module I have gained knowledge about methodologies of publishing and its ways of operating, which is and will remain valuable professionally and/or in academia.

Read more from Vibhuti

Vibhuti

MA Creative Writing (studied Publishing and Power: Black and Asian Literary Networks in the UK module)

Course content

The programme is divided into units of study called modules which are assigned 'credits'. The credit rating of a module is proportional to the total workload, with 1 credit being nominally equivalent to 10 hours of work.

The modules below provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

Modules

Please note that the module information displayed here is from a previous year and is subject to change.

Stage 1: 120 credits of compulsory modules, 60 credits of optional modules

Compulsory modules

Optional modules

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Fees

2026/27 entry

UK fees per year:

*£12,650 full-time; £6,325 part-time*

International fees per year:

£25,550 full-time; £12,775 part-time

Scholarships

The University of Exeter offers a wide range of scholarships to support your education, with £7 million available for international students applying to study with us in the 2026/27 academic year, including our prestigious Exeter Excellence Scholarships *. We also provide awards for sport, music and other achievements, as well as regional and partner scholarships with organisations such as Chevening, The Beacon Trust and the British Council. For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.

University of Exeter Alumni Scholarship

We are pleased to offer University of Exeter alumni beginning a standalone postgraduate programme in 2026/27 with us a scholarship towards the cost of your tuition fees. Full details can be found here.

*Terms and conditions, including deadlines, apply. See our website for details..

Find out more about tuition fees and funding »

We have designed this programme to address the full spectrum of diverse skills required for working in the publishing industry today.

From developmental editing and working with writers to the layout, production, and marketing that are part of a book’s path to its readers, we teach skills that will make you a qualified candidate for many jobs—or refine the skills you might already have.

The publishing industry is increasingly acknowledging that hiring people with a diversity of experience leads to a more representative, just, and robust industry. This programme operates with a similar ethos and is committed to helping the industry reconceptualize how it operates by training its next generation of employees and leaders.

Read more from Dr Kate Wallis

Dr Kate Wallis

Director of MA Publishing

Teaching and research

Learning and teaching

Drawing on the teaching expertise of industry professionals and researchers, as well as providing the opportunity to undertake a work placement module and pursue either a practical publishing project or research-based dissertation, this MA Publishing cultivates excellence through industry connections, research, and the acquisition of professional skills.

This programme looks to combine academic theory, with regular industry input and relevant placements and practical projects to provide a holistic learning experience, which builds industry relevant academic knowledge as well as a strong set of soft skills to support employability. You can also learn about the publishing industry through the archive, with sessions taught using the Agatha Christie business papers.

You can undertake a publishing work placement and will have opportunities to network with industry professionals. You can also choose to tailor the programme by choosing a research-based dissertation which could also support a route into further research.

Research

Established by the University of Exeter’s Department of English and Film, currently fourth in the UK for research power, this programme of study benefits from the following strengths:

• Research expertise and Special Collections in publishing practices and histories across the Victorian, Modernist and contemporary periods
• A vibrant Creative Writing department working across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s writing and well-networked with publishers across the UK
• Cutting-edge research aligned with the agenda of decolonizing the curriculum and concerned with Publishing Studies as a methodology that makes visible the structures of power out of which literature is produced
• A growing World and Postcolonial Cultures research group with expertise in global publishing practices that moves beyond dominant Euro-American models to study innovative publishing initiatives from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Dr Kate Wallis

Director, Senior Lecturer in Global and World Literatures, English department

Dr Katie Brown

Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies within the department of Modern Languages and Cultures

Dr Helen Vassallo

Senior Lecturer (French)

Professor Sam North

Associate Professor

Anna Kiernan

Senior Lecturer in Creativity and Innovation and Co-Director of MA Creativity

Dr Kate Wallis

Director, Senior Lecturer in Global and World Literatures, English department

Kate is an editor and literary producer with twenty years’ experience of working in the publishing industry. She was previously Head of Humanities at Palgrave Macmillan, responsible for paperback publishing across history, literature, theatre and language. She worked for four years as an Editor and Producer at Kenya’s leading literary publisher Kwani Trust. She is currently a Director for Kigali-based publishing company Huza Press and an Editor (and co-founder) of www.africainwords.com. She also regularly curates workshops and festivals, and is the co-founder and co-producer of Africa Writes–Bristol and Africa Writes–Exeter. She part of the Steering Group for Exeter’s UNESCO City of Literature programme and is a member of Bristol’s Literature Development Board.  Kate’s research focuses on Africa-based publishers and festivals, and global literary networks.

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Dr Kate Wallis

Director, Senior Lecturer in Global and World Literatures, English department

Kate is an editor and literary producer with twenty years’ experience of working in the publishing industry. She was previously Head of Humanities at Palgrave Macmillan, responsible for paperback publishing across history, literature, theatre and language. She worked for four years as an Editor and Producer at Kenya’s leading literary publisher Kwani Trust. She is currently a Director for Kigali-based publishing company Huza Press and an Editor (and co-founder) of www.africainwords.com. She also regularly curates workshops and festivals, and is the co-founder and co-producer of Africa Writes–Bristol and Africa Writes–Exeter. She part of the Steering Group for Exeter’s UNESCO City of Literature programme and is a member of Bristol’s Literature Development Board.  Kate’s research focuses on Africa-based publishers and festivals, and global literary networks.

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Dr Katie Brown

Senior Lecturer in Latin American Studies within the department of Modern Languages and Cultures

I specialize in contemporary Latin American culture, with a particular focus on Venezuela. My main research interests are the circulation of people (travel, migration and exile) and of texts (publishing, cultural policy and translation), especially how the two relate to each other and to questions of identity.

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Dr Helen Vassallo

Senior Lecturer (French)

Dr Helen Vassallo graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1999, with a first-class Joint Honours degree in French and Hispanic Studies. She completed an MA in Literary Translation and a PhD in French, before joining the Department of Modern Languages at Exeter in 2004. She teaches a range of modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and supervises PhD research in each of her areas of expertise (women's writing, translation, and contemporary French/Francophone literature).

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Professor Sam North

Associate Professor

Sam has extensive experience in both publishing and the written word. From 1997-2000, he was a Director of the literary agency AP Watt (subsequently bought by United Agents), and from 2000 to 2005 he helped to found the literary agency Conville and Walsh. Sam has also written eight novels, two books on the craft of writing, and two films. In 2010 he won an Eric Gregory Award; his novel The Unnumbered was long-listed for the 2004 Man-Booker prize and his first novel won the Somerset Maugham Award.

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Anna Kiernan

Senior Lecturer in Creativity and Innovation and Co-Director of MA Creativity

Anna is a creative strategist, writer and publisher with over twenty years’ experience of working in the creative and cultural industries. Previously, Anna was the creative and editorial director at Stranger Collective, a creative content studio, a national advisor for Arts Council Wales and a Trustee for the Cornwall Film Festival. She recently acquired The Literary Platform, which the Guardian Professional/h.Club 100 listed as “one of the most innovative and influential” businesses in the creative industries. Anna delivers training and consultancy for clients including Lush cosmetics, The Guardian, Arsenal FC, the NSPCC, The National Trust and the Department for Transport. With a background as a fiction editor at Simon & Schuster publishing, Anna co-founded the MA in Publishing at Kingston. She thrives on curating collaborations and is experienced in partnership brokering, event programming, organisational change and business development. Anna’s research primarily focuses on writing culture and cultural value.

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D-M Withers

Lecturer in Publishing

Amina Yaqin

Associate Professor in World Literatures and Publishing

D-M Withers

Lecturer in Publishing

D-M Withers is director of Lurid Editions, a micro but culturally ambitious publisher of books that have fallen out of print, and memory. D-M's current research focuses on the life and career of Bengali folklorist Deben Bhattacharya and late twentieth century publishing histories. D-M has published extensively on the cultural activism of feminist social movements, and is the author ofVirago Reprints and Modern Classics: the Timely Business of Feminist Publishing and Feminism, Digital Culture and the Politics of Transmission: Theory, Practice and Cultural Heritage.

D-M Withers

Lecturer in Publishing

D-M Withers is director of Lurid Editions, a micro but culturally ambitious publisher of books that have fallen out of print, and memory. D-M's current research focuses on the life and career of Bengali folklorist Deben Bhattacharya and late twentieth century publishing histories. D-M has published extensively on the cultural activism of feminist social movements, and is the author ofVirago Reprints and Modern Classics: the Timely Business of Feminist Publishing and Feminism, Digital Culture and the Politics of Transmission: Theory, Practice and Cultural Heritage.

Amina Yaqin

Associate Professor in World Literatures and Publishing

Amina Yaqin is Associate Professor in World Literatures and Publishing at the University of Exeter.  Her monograph Gender, Sexuality and Feminism in Pakistani women's poetry is forthcoming with Anthem Press in 2021. She is co-author with Peter Morey of Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 911(Harvard University Press, 2011) and has co-edited, Contesting Islamophobia: media, politics and culture(IB Tauris/Bloomsbury 2019); and a number of other books, special issues and articles in peer reviewed journals and chapters in books. She is a globally recognised scholar on Pakistan and its diaspora. Her commentary and interviews have been published by the BBC, SkyNews, EuroNews, TRT World, Indus News, Pakistan Television Network, The National UAE, Daily Pioneer, The Times Higher Education, The British Film Institute and The Conversation. She co-edits a book series on Multicultural Textualities with Manchester University Press with inter-university colleagues, is on the advisory board of scholarly journals including the Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies, Journal of Research (Humanities) Punjab University, Sindhu: an interdisciplinary Journal of South Asian Studies and the Journal of Commonwealth Literature,and has curated a global festival of ideas on Decolonising Knowledge at SOAS in 2020.

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Facilities

Alexander Building

As one of the largest and best-equipped Drama programmes in the country, we have excellent teaching and performance spaces. Our course is part is part of the Communications, Drama and Film Department, including facilities for film and TV film, media suites for post-production, a screening space, a podcast recording studio, and state-of-the-art studio spaces for training and performance.

The Drama Department is based on the Streatham campus. All of the practical spaces are for use only by Communications, Drama and Film students, giving us a high degree of flexibility.

Alexander Building

The Alexander Building was custom-designed for Drama and was opened in 2007 to great acclaim. It houses the main reception for students, staff offices, 2 brand new sprung-floored studios, 3 additional studios (including filming studio and screening space), 2 seminar rooms, 2 sound studios, meeting rooms, computer suites, workshops and a large costume store. The postgraduate computer suite is accessible 24 hours.

White House

The White House is a mansion building containing many original architectural features, and now contains 3 large airy rehearsal spaces and staff offices.

Roborough

The Roborough Studios provides three large fully-equipped adaptable studio spaces along with a seminar room and technical facilities (including a podcast recording studio), and is used for large-scale performances and events as well as regular rehearsals and practical sessions.

Careers

Exeter has a strong track record in supporting its graduates into work. In addition, the HESA destination of leaver’s data from master’s degrees in publishing shows an exceptionally high number of graduates securing full-time employment following this qualification. This is reflective of the MA Publishing as a qualification that the industry recognizes and values.

This programme prepares graduates to build careers with major publishing houses and small presses. It is designed to enable students to secure entry-level roles, but also to progress faster through the industry and become innovators and leaders. Graduates will be equipped to take on roles in the industry from editorial to marketing to sales to production, and to work across print and digital, literary and popular, trade and academic, book and journal, fiction and non-fiction, children and adult publishing. Throughout the programme, you will be offered opportunities to build professional networks with industry and our alumni community.

The programme explores entrepreneurial skills in the context of the publishing industry and therefore equips graduates with the skills to set up their own publishing companies or literary initiatives or to take on publishing roles within charities, government bodies or other cultural organisations. It also provides skills that are highly transferable (from project management to digital literacy to team-working) and relevant to securing and building roles in the literary, digital and creative industries more broadly. All of these skills will ensure that graduates are able to succeed well beyond graduation and their first role in industry.

As part of this programme, graduates will have benefitted from a complementary set of employability workshops designed to help graduates to successfully compete in the labour market after graduating.

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