Katie graduated in 2009 with a BA English and History of Art in 2009, and is now working as a Senior Production Editor for Oxford University Press.
How did your degree help prepare you for your career?
“My challenging joint honours degree prepared me brilliantly for juggling the many tasks and responsibilities in my current role. I am now a Senior Production Editor and work on larger projects and developments, as well as managing a varying list of journals. However, no one has managed to pry my art and design journals from me yet!”
How did you get your current role?
“I first decided to get into publishing as a result of the English side of my degree, and after being Chief Editor of the English society’s literary magazine. I was eager to get into academic publishing to utilize my experience and knowledge gained at Birmingham, and to remain within the academic sphere. After graduating, I almost immediately started a paid internship at a small academic publisher, Berghahn Books, which I landed by just emailing round a list of Oxford publishers and asking for some work experience. I enjoyed working in production during my internship, so I started applying for jobs in this area, and eventually was successful as an Assistant Production Editor in Journals at Oxford University Press.
What does your role entail and what do you enjoy most about it?
“I was initially given a varied list of journals to manage the production for, with subject areas ranging from medicine to sociology. I soon took the initiative to ask for journals that reflected my background, and was given Oxford Art Journal and the Journal of Design History in return. I now have a fantastic relationship with the editorial offices of these journals due to my enthusiasm for the subject area. I most enjoy working closely with authors on the layout of their manuscripts, and also getting involved with cover design.”