I will miss being a student, and especially my fantastic year on the MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University, but save for doing a PhD there wasn’t much studying left to do really! Now that the MA dissertation is in and my classmates are spread across the world, it really feels like that era has well and truly ended. And it does feel a bit sad.

I have been very busy over the last two weeks, because despite doing the MA and feeling quite prepared, there is always going to be so many new things to learn and adjust to, and it will always be overwhelming to start a new job. So far all my colleagues have been very friendly and helpful, so it’s been a promising start! I think I am really going to enjoy working in publishing.

The lucky company? Harcourt. They are running their Editorial Trainee Programme for the seventh time, and I have been incredibly lucky in being offered a place. Trainee Programmes and Graduate Schemes are few and far between in publishing, perhaps because publishers feel that in an industry where breaking in is so difficult, and there is such stiff competition for all attractive roles, investing in a Trainee Programme is unnecessary?

I beg to differ. Rigorous recruitment practices coupled with an attractive package will attract top talent, while running an attractive Trainee Programme with real opportunities and investment will retain this talent. In the end everybody benefits; the publishing house from attracting and retaining the best candidates, and the candidates themselves by being invested in and being provided with opportunities they might not have had with other publishing houses. The recruitment process itself goes a long way to ensuring that candidates will suit the company – a two-way process.

In business and many other areas Graduate Schemes and Trainee Programmes are common, but not in publishing. I wish to put forward the argument that more publishers would benefit from running these programmes. Any thoughts on this?

GoodReads is a website dedicated to your reading list. It’s easy to navigate and use, and a great way to see what your friends are reading as you can add them to your list and get updates on their reviews and added books. The website is also a highly useful way to keep track of all the books you have meant to read for ages, as you can use the shelves function to sort your books into “read”, “currently reading” and “to read”. My GoodReads profile.

LibraryThing, on the other hand, is dedicated to your bookshelf. The website doesn’t have a stunning design, but is easy to use, and I find that it’s a convenient way to keep track of the books I own. It’s also a fun way to see who shares the same bookshelf as yourself – you’d be amazed at how many people actually own the same obscure books as yourself! For example the website tells me that I share five books with exactly one other user: The Lovers’ Room, Mafalda & Friends: 3, Sola er en feit gud, Selling Rights and Det var en gang en bokhandler i Kabul (The Bookseller of Kabul in its original language). The absence of Selling Rights owners suggest that not enough people in publishing are on LibraryThing, so do join! My LibraryThing profile.

BookCrossing, lastly, is dedicated to sharing books. Unfortunately, I haven’t been as active here as I could have been, although I did go to one of the BookCrossing meetings in Oxford. Since I am a student and therefore a bit of a hoarder, I have only found it in me to give away one book so far, at the said meeting. But the idea is wonderful and I am sure I will participate more in the future! The basic idea is explained on the website, and I’d recommend you to have a look. My BookCrossing profile.

Do you have any book related websites that you would like to recommend?

The murders of human rights activist and journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Russia in October 2006, Russian dissident and writer Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006 and newspaper journalist and editor Hrant Dink in Turkey in January 2007 have drawn attention to the situation for many writers who are being forced into silence by persecution, threats and murder.

Silencing writers through persecution is widespread practice in many parts of the world. This denial of basic human rights does not receive the attention or funding necessary to protect lives and combat censorship. Cases involving assassinations of high-profile writers or journalists are reported widely by the media, while in the background there is an ongoing battle fought by international organisations and pressure groups, working relentlessly to protect writers across the world and promote freedom of speech.

My dissertation focus is on PEN and the ICORN network, and their work to protect persecuted authors, fight against censorship and promote freedom of speech, through creating Cities of Refuge, organising events and raising awareness. I am currently in Norway conducting interviews with ICORN co-ordinators and others, and have previously conducted interviews in the UK. If anyone reading this has any information relevant to censorship and persecution, please do not hesitate to contact me!

During my MA in Publishing I have so far attended the Frankfurt, London and now Bologna Book Fairs, and these are my impressions regarding atmosphere and location:

Atmosphere

Frankfurt was professional, hectic and huge, but a bit stressful. Moving between halls was a nighmare until we realised we should use the free shuttle buses. We considered ourselves young and healthy and thought we’d just “take a stroll” between halls, but after walking for 45 minutes to reach our first meeting we succumbed to the shuttle buses…

London was smaller, naturally, but also very hectic and professional. Generally publishers had a bit more time to spare for us MA students, or perhaps we just visited the right stands this time?

Bologna was completely different, with a much more relaxed atmosphere, lots of outdoors space, better catering (Italian icecream!) and people generally seemed a bit happier! We were really struck by how beautiful the fair was with big windows, natural light, wide aisles, benches and grass. Makes for a better working environment.

Location

Frankfurt is probably a nice enough city, but the fair itself was so hectic and packed that we really didn’t get to see any of it. Staying in a hostel located at the other end of the country (or so it felt) didn’t help, but we got the impression that even the delegates who lived in lovely hotels close to the fair worked extremely long days and that there wasn’t much time for sightseeing for anyone.

London is of course a great city, and although we weren’t around to witness the horrors of last year we did agree that this year it was a nice venue in an easy-to-reach location. London does require lots of energy so perhaps sightseeing after a long day at the fair is not exactly ideal?

Bologna wins on location by a good margin, because the city is beautiful, picturesque, with fantastic food and (while we were there) great climate! We even fit in a trip to the beach near Ravenna!

Conclusion

Well, I don’t really have one, because all the three fairs were a great experience and it was probably the last time I got to visit either one of them as a student and not while working!

Then the book was chosen as the March title for the SYP Oxford Book Club and I suddenly had both a very good reason and a deadline for reading it.

The story is set in Kalimpong in India, far north-east in the Himalayan mountains, near Bhutan and Nepal. I admit I had to look Kalimpong up on a map, as Himalayan geography was never my strongest subject. Reading about the area made the story feel more real, and gave me more insight into the conflict described in the book between Nepalese insurgents and the upper class Indians living in Kalimpong.

The story gripped me within a few pages and transported me completely and utterly to a tiny mountain village on the other side of the world. I could vividly imagine the shabby house where Sai, the main character, lives with her grandfather and their cook, the landscape, plants, smells, even the extreme humidity during monsoon season. I have missed reading stories like this!

The book gets under your skin, and it made me feel angry, sad, annoyed and nostalgic as the story progressed. The haunting loneliness that permeates the family lineage of all the characters, the extreme poverty and widespread injustice, the Nepalese insurgency — uncomfortable to read about but necessary for understanding the culture and history where the story is set.

The thing that made it so uncomfortable for me to read was the domestic situation for all the main characters. The extreme poverty — even of the “upper classes” — in Kalimpong, the domestic violence, the role of women, and the lack of close family ties, friendship and solidarity was difficult to come to terms.

The SYP book club meeting was a great opportunity to discuss the book with fellow young publishers, and gave me insight into issues I did not consider myself while reading the book. This is why I always read a few reviews after finishing a book — I admit that sometimes I miss quite obvious things!

It’s been several weeks since I finished the book but the story won’t let go, it’s playing on my mind and has inspired me to read more about India, West Bengal, Darjeeling and the conflicts in this area. Warmly recommended!