Aylia Harris
I love words. I love how you can change their meaning depending on their sequence in a sentence or by the placement of punctuation (and especially in those moments when alliteration just flows through you unexpectedly). That’s why I always knew I would have a career centered on them and why I enrolled to study publishing at Whitireia. I just didn’t expect it to happen so fast!
If someone told me at the beginning of my course that by the time I finished it I’d be working for a legal publishing firm, I would’ve been stunned. Though I had full faith in the programme, I never imagined I’d be prepared to go out into the big world of publishing with confidence and, more importantly, competence. After all, I certainly didn’t feel that way after I’d finished three years of university, so how was a 32-WEEK course going to give me that?
Well, spoiler alert, it did! The course takes you right from receiving that first manuscript, all the way through to the launch of the final book and, in terms of marketing, sometimes beyond. I learnt so much my mind was almost incapable of handling it all and, as I’m sure my fellow students can attest to, that first week was full of afternoon naps. As the year went on, naps were just not possible! Not because of all the work (though, do expect A LOT of work), but because somehow you have this crazy amount of energy that keeps you up and constantly doing; I guess that’s what happens when you do something you’re passionate about (who’da thought!).
My goal for the course was to have a job by the end of it. I know I said earlier I would have been stunned if I was working in publishing within 32 weeks, and that still holds true, but sometimes achieving your goals can be stunning. I went to LexisNexis for my first work placement and absolutely loved it. I wanted to work there, I let it be known, and within a month I was hired. Every day after class I would go there and help with editing, organising and office admin (my favourite part of the course was project management, so this was just brilliant!), then I would make my way back to class to help bring my babies to publication. There’ve been a lot of hard work and late nights that have paid off for me in ways that still leave me a little bewildered sometimes.
And though I love this course for what it has prepared me for and allowed me to do, the best part about it is the tutors and my fellow comrades. They were my biggest supporters, my very own cheerleaders, and the most loving and kind people I have ever had the honour of growing with. Without them, I can confidently say I would not be where I am today, and I owe all my successes to them.
In short, Whitireia provided me with the tools, knowledge, and support to go out and thrive within the industry I love. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re looking in the right place.
Olive Owens
Olive Owens graduated with the Graduate Diploma in Publishing (Applied) in 2019 and was selected for the Publishing Intern Programme, working with Massey University Press.
I scoured the Whitireia Publishing website, reading and rereading all the student profiles, course details and small print. I was obsessed, but it took years for me to pluck up the courage to finally apply.
On our first day of class, the tutors handed out cards describing stages in the publishing process with the intention we arrange them in chronological order across the floor. I was absolutely bewildered as to what order they were supposed to go in, but as the year went on, piece by piece, every single aspect of the publishing process was demystified.
I went into the course passionate to upskill in all areas and, like so many, with a particular interest in developing my editing skills. But the reach of the programme extends far beyond perfecting editing skills. My confidence grew in every area: I learnt all about design principles, typesetting, proofreading, project management, Photoshop, InDesign, paper stock, event management, marketing, social media, public speaking, the history of the book and so much more. I also developed amazing relationships with wonderful people, many of whom I now consider close friends. More than anything, I wondered why I hadn’t enrolled sooner.
During the year I was lucky enough to undertake two wonderful two-week work placements: the first with Huia and the second with Massey University Press. I loved every minute of my time at Huia. I’ve never met such a hardworking, supportive and hilarious team of people. The work they have been doing for decades for the revitalisation of te reo Māori, the sharing of Māori stories and perspectives and the uplifting of mātauranga Māori is phenomenal and has paved the way for many others. My time at Massey University Press was also inspiring. Under the expert tutelage of New Zealand publishing stalwart Nicola Legat, I was able to flex my muscles across a range of my newly acquired skills. For me, the work placements were the highlight of the year, and proved how in sync the course is with the realities of working in publishing.
Upon completion of the course, I was lucky enough to be offered an internship and then a full-time job at Massey University Press, and that’s where you’ll still find me, in our fifth-floor office with a wide view. No two days are the same, I get paid to sit around reading, and I’ve honed and utilised every single skill I learnt during the course.
My deepest gratitude goes to the wonderful tutors.
Hannah Bennett
After finishing my honours degree in English literature, I had two choices: become a teacher, or do something else. That something else ended up being the 2007 Publishing Programme, which was an excellent decision. Throughout the year, the course offered fantastic exposure to the full scope of the publishing process; this wide range of experience thoroughly prepared me for taking my first steps into the publishing industry.
I was offered one of the PANZ internships at the conclusion of the course, and spent a year working as the publicist (among many other things!) at small, but mighty, Awa Press in Wellington. The internship programme provided an excellent chance to begin my publishing career. I moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 2009 and took up a job at John Wiley and Sons as an editorial assistant. After less than a year I was promoted to development editor on the For Dummies imprint, meaning I was responsible for the structural edit and project management of the 15-20 For Dummies books published in Australia and New Zealand every year. Without the background from the Whitireia course, and my subsequent internship, I have no doubt that I couldn't have made such a large step upwards so early in my career.
Being naturally inquisitive, working as an editor gives me a chance to learn about topics I'd never dream of reading about. But what I most love about publishing is being given a unique chance to make a difference, through producing (or marketing, or selling) books that affect people's lives, in whatever small way.
Matt Comeskey
I vowed to become an editor after getting flummoxed over a simple English grammar question while teaching in Japan.
I signed up for the publishing course, hoping to learn about the finer points of punctuation. What I got instead was a comprehensive A-Z of publishing. During the course, I realised that editing was just one part of a much larger process. Being able to study all aspects of publishing helped me to figure out what I wanted to do for a career.
In my first week employed at Wellington educational publisher South Pacific Press, I was handed a major international project to publish. Since then, I have managed the publishing of resources, both hard-copy and digital, for American, British, Australian and New Zealand schools. I am now their publishing manager.
Hannah Newport-Watson
I studied for the Diploma in Publishing in 2011 after a BA in English Literature and Politics and an MA in Creative Writing. Like many students who go on to the diploma directly after their degree, I was in my fifth consecutive year of study, so could easily have felt impatient to finish and graduate. But in fact, the opposite happened, and the year went by in a flash, as it was so immersive and engaging.
The distinguishing and most valuable feature of the course was its strong connections with the real people and organisations within the New Zealand publishing industry. The work placements, guest speakers and opportunities to take part in industry events and discussions were all examples of this. Although carefully organised and orchestrated, the course always felt lively and fresh; open and connected to timely events and trends happening in the wider world of publishing. I suspect it is never exactly the same two years in a row, or even for two students in the same year. There was also the definite sense that you got out what you put in, which is not a bad thing to carry with you into the ‘real world’.
Not too long after graduation, I was thrilled to start working at Te Papa Press as an Editorial and Publishing Assistant. I was with Te Papa Press for 4 years, as an Editor and eventually Senior Editor, and having an amazing time in illustrated non-fiction publishing.
In 2017, I am a Senior Production Editor at Oxford University Press, working in a team dedicated to producing the most complex and demanding of OUP’s academic and trade books. The subjects range from ancient Greek inscriptions to the history of the English language, to popular science. I love that the skills I learned at Whitireia have taken me to such a fascinating job on the other side of the world.
Nicola Hill
I graduated from the publishing course in the 1990s. The publishing world I walked in to over 15 years ago was certainly very different from the industry today. But Whitireia gave me skills and confidence to try anything and be flexible in my approach.
I've worked in a variety of companies and roles, from the wonderful Godwit (still, then, independent) to Little, Brown UK, and now am the marketing director at Penguin Books UK. In 2013 we won 'best marketing campaign' at the British Book Awards! I love publishing as much as ever and always love to hear from new Whitireia graduates who are testing out the British book industry. My New Zealand publishing experience set me in good stead for working in London.
Jason Darwin
Since Jason Darwin graduated from the Publishing Programme in 2004, he has become one of the book industry's go-to people for e-books and digital publishing. Most recently a digital publishing architect at Learning Media, he has worked for organisations such as the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre and CWA New Media, and on his own digital projects. His work has ranged from one-off e-book projects to creating online publishing systems to make many thousands of pages of content available on the web.
Prior to enrolling in the Publishing Programme, I had worked in print production and in commercial IT. My introduction to publishing came through working on Critic newspaper while at the University of Otago, then I moved into digital pre-press as desktop publishing was transforming the industry.
I'd always been interested in literature and the production side of publishing. Completing the publishing course seemed like an ideal way to both get a rounded education in publishing and find out about local opportunities.
Publishing is one of those fields where there's a wide range of skills and niches, and the Whitireia publishing course was a great way to be introduced to many of these. I'd always enjoyed the sense of accomplishment and achievement that comes from making ideas available to a wide audience, but recognised that if I wanted to be part of this, I needed to find out more about tools, techniques and conventions that are involved.
Two years after graduating, I founded meBooks, a company that provides ebook conversion and retail services for New Zealand publishers, and I recently developed a new open-source e-reading system, Readk.it.
Jd Nodder
For years I was uncertain how to turn my love of language and books into a career. First I was going to travel and teach English as a second language and then I decided I would be a high school English teacher. Both options appealed to me, but they didn’t excite me. It wasn't until halfway through my second year at university, when a friend told me about the publishing course at Whitireia, that I knew I’d found what I wanted to do. She told me all about how the course was taught, how everyone went on placements to great publishing houses in the country and how the selection process for entry was really competitive. It sounded perfect. What better course to take than one where you learn everything you need to know by actually publishing books with a select group of people who are just as passionate as you are.
So for two years I worked my butt off to complete my degrees and get accepted into the publishing programme – and boy did it pay off. From hand-making journals on the very first day of class through to working with cover designers and editing a novel about an Assyrian family’s struggles in Iraq, the publishing course has been all I could have hoped for. Not to mention learning from some of the best publishers in the industry and getting paid in books for any voluntary work done!
This year I have gained more practical skills and knowledge than from my four years at university, made life-long friendships and had endless amounts of fun. I’ve also been lucky enough to have a part-time job at Gecko Press, get work experience at Hachette NZ, Penguin NZ and Huia Publishers – and next year I will begin an internship with Huia! The opportunities offered by the course are countless, and I’m so excited to head off into the big, wide world and start my publishing career.
Ros Fogel
My background was in television production, but in 1998, with a young family at home, I was working part-time in a bank and getting very frustrated with the quality of written material that was being circulated nationwide from so-called 'Communications' divisions. I knew I had the capacity to do better.
I completed the Whitireia Publishing Programme the next year - the course was a real buzz from beginning to end - then I worked for the New Zealand Book Council and as a technical writer before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
I now manage all of the Ministry's publications and its 34 websites, am responsible for standards of use for Ministry identity and copyright and manage its internal and off-site printing facility.
I've drawn upon and developed everything I learnt on the course in this role. In the early months at MFAT, I referred often to notes taken during the course. If in doubt I sought advice from others in the industry - the relationships I formed during the course were very valuable.
Andrea Eames
Before entering the Whitireia Publishing Programme in 2008, I was working as a writer and editor at TML Publishing in Christchurch — a small publishing house that produced advertisement-driven travel and lifestyle guides. While working, I found that my heart lay with books, not publications with a short shelf life, and I quit my corporate job to take the online, full-time version of the Publishing Programme while working part-time as a book buyer.
I loved doing this course! It was a huge change of pace from my BA degree — a lot more practical and hands-on. I could see very clearly how each skill could be applied in the real world and, on finishing the course, I felt very well-equipped. I rave about the course to anyone who is even vaguely interested. It's the best pathway into the industry available in New Zealand, I think.
It's not the kind of course you can coast through — which is a really good thing! Every assignment was a challenge, and I felt like each one had a purpose and taught me something really valuable. There was no 'busy work,' which I really liked. If you decide to take on the publishing course, be prepared to work. Hard. I particularly enjoyed learning about the production process, and I learned to appreciate the design and marketing aspects, with which I had never really been involved.
I met so many wonderful people — even while doing the course online. The tutors Paula Wagemaker and Coral Atkinson, in particular, inspired me, and Coral remains a friend and mentor to this day. The online option is a really excellent one if your family, work or financial commitments make it impossible for you to be on campus, and I highly recommend it.
On completing the publishing course, I took a slightly unconventional route. For me, the course solidified my desire to take a chance on my dream and enter the industry as an author, armed with my better knowledge of how the whole system worked. I completed an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Canterbury and wrote the novel that became my first published work as an adult. The Whitireia course gave me an excellent grounding in the practicalities and processes of the book world, which proved invaluable when I signed with my agent and publisher. I felt like I had a much better handle on the concrete aspects of the industry.
So far, two of my novels have been released in the UK and around the world: The Cry of the Go-Away Bird and The White Shadow, both published by Harvill Secker, a division of Random House. I am currently working on a third.
Sarah Yankelowitz
At the end of 2015, I completed the Whitireia publishing course and dived straight into a 6-month internship at Penguin Random House New Zealand. At the time, I felt super nervous to be going into such a large international publishing company, but I also felt confident with my Whitireia training. Almost two years on and I’m still at PRHNZ, working as a project editor in the local publishing department. Essentially a project management role, I make sure books go through all the production stages of editing, design and proofreading and still get to the printer on time (not always an easy task!). What I love most about my role is the enormous variety of books I get to work on. In the last few months I’ve worked with writer and illustrator Gavin Bishop on a landmark children’s title and on another children’s book that used glow-in-the-dark ink; I have also recently worked on a high-end photographic book celebrating a Hawke’s Bay vineyard and a pared-back lifestyle book for those seeking a calmer, simpler way of life.
The Whitireia course was the springboard I needed into the publishing industry. The practical, hands-on learning was refreshing after five years of theoretical study. On this course, you learn in the deep end of the pool. You’ll edit, proofread and design, organise book launches and wrestle with ebooks. It’s a completely collaborative process – by the end of the year, you’ll have made fast friends that will grow with you in the years to come as you all find your way in the world of publishing. My best advice would be to rely on and confide in your tutors. They are steeped in the industry they teach and have a passion for passing on their knowledge.
Jane Arthur
On completing an MA (Hons) in English, I, like many arts graduates, flirted (rather hopelessly) with the idea of being either a lawyer or a primary school teacher.
In the meantime, my love of books led to a job in an independent bookshop. There I heard about the Whitireia Publishing Programme and everything fell into place for me. Of course, I should have a future working with books and words.
I chose to study online while working as the manager of the bookshop. Keeping that connection with the book trade was invaluable, and I was impressed with the online programme's coverage and flexibility: I could work on weekends and after work. I found the content so interesting and varied that it was never a chore.
On graduation, I took up a publishing internship at Gecko Press, which went so well it led to a permanent position, confirming that children's publishing is the place for me.
Jane Arthur is now an award-winning poet and the co-owner and manager of Good Books in Wellington.
Sucheta Raj
Sucheta Raj graduated with the Graduate Diploma in Publishing (Applied) in 2017 and was selected for the Publishing Intern Programme, working with Allen & Unwin.
I began the Whitireia publishing programme with a love for books (it’s an unwritten prerequisite, trust me) and an interest in developing a career in the industry. Just over one year later, I’m happy to say that the former remains unchanged and I’m well on my way with the latter. The course comes up quite a bit in conversation, and it always thrills me to hear how well-regarded and recognised it is within the industry. For me, the year I spent as a publishing student was very rewarding. The tutors and guest speakers have a wealth of knowledge they are happy to share, and the class environment is so collaborative. In my time there, I learnt about and participated in just about every aspect of the publishing process – editing, typesetting, marketing and publicity, project management, organising launches... the list goes on. All of that learning resulted in three amazing projects that I helped publish. There’s no describing the feeling of holding a book you’ve worked on for so long and finding your name in the imprint page and the acknowledgements – you’ll have to experience it for yourself!
During the course, I had the opportunity to work for both LitCrawl Wellington and Mākaro Press. The two roles allowed me to really get involved in Wellington’s literary scene, meet and make connections with industry folk and, most importantly, put my new skills to practice. I knew pretty early on that I wanted to work in commercial publishing, so being selected for the internship at Allen & Unwin NZ was something of a dream come true. I’m six weeks into my internship now, working in the sales and marketing departments and doing a bit of publicity work as well. Because I’m working on multiple projects at the same time, each day brings something new, which I love, and I thank the publishing tutors for preparing me for this! It’s fast-paced, it’s big, it’s exciting, and I can’t wait to see where my career in publishing will go from here.
Anna Hodge
I completed the Whitireia Publishing Programme in Auckland in 2003, in a draughty little house on the side of Mt St John in Epsom, alongside nine other aspiring publishers. The skills I learned and the people I met during that year helped me get a job in 2005 at Auckland University Press, where I worked until October 2016 as an editorial assistant, editor and senior editor. There I was involved with the production of more than 250 history, biography and memoir, poetry and politics, Māori and Pacific studies, and art and architecture titles, and worked with a terrific array of wonderful, stroppy and learned writers and academics.
Now I work as a freelance editor and consultant for a range of different publishers, art galleries, magazines and museums, but I’m still aiming for pleasant communications, efficient systems and the most effective partnerships of content and display – all things I was taught to strive for back in that little wooden house in Epsom.
Timothy Vaughan-Sanders
After completing half a law degree, I veered off course in 2007 to follow a passion for books and editing promised by a diploma from the Publishing Programme, only to end up right back inside legal circles as an editor for the publisher LexisNexis. The publishing course equipped me with the skills needed to work in a demanding and technical field of publishing from keeping up with fast-paced changes in the law and online content to maintaining editorial consistency over thousands of pages of intricate text in very specific subject areas.
I had an old-fashioned idea of publishing before starting the publishing programme: some sepia photograph of a pile of manuscripts beside an old armchair, a pipe and maybe some whiskey, and all the time in the world to read and edit some soon-to-be masterpieces. The course proved that the real world of publishing is far more colourful. But I still got to play with that old-fashioned idea at LexisNexis, as legal publishing is populated with authors who have been in the business a long time and some things are still done the old way. Four times a day, I'd receive beautifully handwritten memos by fax with directions for updating a looseleaf text that had been the authority in land law for over 25 years. These would be followed up with congenial phone calls going into the finer points, and every now and then a 200-page fresh handwritten manuscript would appear in the mail, wrapped in a manila folder, which needed to be deciphered and typed, then edited and typeset, to eventually become a book. I loved that our office had a fax machine almost solely for this author relationship, and I came to really cherish the collaboration which was like plotting the next great novel - except this one was about commercial leases, covenants and types of tenancies.
The publishing programme was a brilliant year for me and has led to great opportunities and memorable encounters.
Jeremy Sherlock
Jeremy Sherlock hails from the Coromandel, of Tainui and Ngati Awa descent.
Before publishing, I struggled to find a line of work that matched my interests. But the publishing course at Whitireia solved that problem and led to a strenuous but deeply rewarding period of study.
After graduation, I was offered one of the three places on the publishing intern programme - six months' work at Zenith Publishing. That led to an editorial position at Reed Publishing, then Penguin Group (NZ), where I work today as a commissioning editor.
I still regard my year on the course as one of my most cherished. It led to being employed by one of New Zealand's best publishers - and I formed some lasting friendships.
Scilla Askew
Scilla Askew graduated from the Whitireia Publishing Programme in 2010 and is now a content strategist at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
When I finished the publishing course I didn’t really know what I would do next. I was quite keen to do something webby and wordy, and something that allowed me to combine my strategic and mess-sorting skills. My first job – wrangling the content for a revamped government website – fitted that description pretty well. It was only after I finished the contract that I discovered that some of what I had been doing was called a web content strategy.
Content strategy is reasonably new. It defines and then implements the why, who, what, how and when for a website. This is vital for content-heavy websites but is also important in commercial sites where the emphasis is more on finding and creating content to attract people to the site.
Websites are unlike print publications in that they are always in editing mode. Part of the job of a content strategist (as for any good publisher or editor) is to be an advocate for the reader. This means that every aspect of the website content – navigation, structure, text, images and much more – needs to be guided by very comprehensive design, style and maintenance decisions in order to achieve coherence across hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pages. Making the website content fit for purpose can also be a bit of a challenge because you work with lots of subject-matter experts and hardly any writers.
To do this job I need many of the skills I learnt on the publishing course – ranging from all kinds of editing to relationship management. However, I also need to understand what my colleagues who work on user research, web design and techie things are doing – a great way to keep on learning.
Because I live in Wellington, most of my work has been in government departments, and I’m currently working on a start-from-scratch project to replace Immigration New Zealand’s website.
Do I miss paper? A little bit, but at least I still look forward to reading a good novel.
Kylan Luke-McKeen
Straight up, the Whitireia Publishing Programme helped get me my dream job. The national organisation I work for initially needed someone with design, editing and writing skills, and all of those I could offer confidently because I was fresh from graduating. Within three months on the job, I had shown the company what I could professionally deliver and I was given a permanent position. This never would have happened if it wasn't for the dedicated tutorship and relevant practical application that was taught on the publishing course. Today, I still implement the design, editing, proofing and project managing skills I learned on the course, and I apply them in the publishing jobs I do on the side. It's still exciting to be a part of this creative world. I would recommend this course to anyone thinking about it. Are you? If so, do this course. Your future will thank you for it.
Holly Hunter
A week ago, I was standing with fellow Whitireia graduate Sarah Yankelowitz at a Publishing Association of New Zealand networking drinks in Auckland. We were in our best dresses and only minutes away from heading to the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, where our publishers, Victoria University Press and Penguin Random House, had books nominated across categories. I remember Sarah saying to me, ‘Who would’ve thought, two years ago, that we would be here now.’ Really, it was wild. By some stroke of fortune and a lot of hard work, our internships following the Whitireia publishing course had transformed into real editorial jobs.
I started the publishing course hoping I would learn practical skills to complement my degree in English Literature, and then I left with what I thought at the time were too many skills – surely there was no way I’d ever need to know all this? Every day on the course was packed with guest speakers, lessons and project work. The breadth and depth of course material was exhausting and exhilarating – and honestly, there is no one learnt a skill that I haven’t since used in my current job. Hearing from and being trained by experienced people from across the industry means the publishing course is always fresh, relevant and undiluted. On top of that, the hands-on, project-based aspect of the course, where you publish books under the Whitireia Publishing name, is such a vital part of the graduate diploma. The crash-course lends you the chance to botch things up, grow from your mistakes, and graduate knowing more fully what to do next time.
Since completing the course, I’ve worked full-time as an assistant editor at Victoria University Press, which eventuated after I was paired with the press through the Whitireia end-of-year Creative New Zealand internship programme. The internship is another blessing of the course: over six months working for a publisher you learn the ropes, make mistakes, bounce back, and soon enough feel less of a gimp than when you started. In 2016, VUP published 36 books, more than in any previous year, and now in 2017, we’re doing 43 and counting. The output is visible in the Ockham Awards, which I attended last week, and where we won three of the four main categories and two of the best-first-book awards. It’s such an exciting time to be working at VUP, where we genuinely believe in the books we publish and their deservedness to be out in the world. Being in Auckland for the Writers Festival, around other booklovers and bookmakers, gave me a new appreciation for why we spend our day's nit-picking commas and mixed metaphors.
The best thing about working for a small publisher is that I get to do a little bit of everything. In any given week I’ll edit, typeset, do image work, read and assess manuscripts, reject submissions (not the most joyful task), proofread and keep my projects on track. Every so often while fact-checking an edit, I’ll find myself in the footnotes of a Wikipedia article on knitting techniques or two pages into a Google Image search for Weddell seals and will be reminded that holy hell, this is my job.
But you don’t have to end up working in publishing in order to publish something. Six months after completing the publishing course, I started a journal for emerging artists and writers, called Mimicry, and I know of other 2015 graduates who have started their own publishing ventures. The thing is, once you’ve published books under Whitireia Publishing, you realise what you’re capable of doing; it’s like you’ve learnt an instrument and now you get to play it, improving with each new song.
