Monday, October 16, 2017

Start a new career in editing and publishing



Apply by 30 November 2017 for the Graduate Diploma in Publishing (Applied)

The highly regarded Whitireia publishing programme is New Zealand’s top training course for publishing. It teaches the whole publishing process, from manuscript to bookstore. Developed and run in partnership with publishers, the course is modelled on an apprenticeship. At its heart are practical experience, mentoring and industry contacts.

Our graduates populate the book trade and publishing sector in New Zealand. They have roles in all the major trade publishing houses as publishers, marketing managers, content developers, book editors, publicists and much more. They work for educators, promoters, policy makers and arts organisations. Many run their own businesses.

Perhaps above all, the publishing programme at Whitireia becomes a touchstone for graduates, a challenging and rewarding year during which they make friends for life.

Thomas Sutherland says:
For the two and a half years prior to undertaking the Whitireia publishing programme, I worked for Bruce McKenzie Booksellers in Palmerston North. I became well-versed in the day-to-day operations of a provincial independent bookshop, and came to know the names and faces of our regular customers and their varied taste in reading. I knew that I wanted to go further in the New Zealand publishing industry, so when enrolments for the publishing programme opened, I applied with confidence in my decision.

Approaching the programme from a bookselling background gives you an awareness and appreciation of the reality of being in the New Zealand publishing industry. You have an intuitive knowledge of which books on the shelf are likely to be acknowledged, and which will go unnoticed. You know the tight budgets that most New Zealand-based publishers, even the larger players, are operating within. You know the importance of maintaining strong professional relationships with your sales reps and the wider publishing community. New Zealand is a small country, and the publishing industry an even smaller fiefdom within it.

As ever, there is still more to learn and the programme quickly throws that fact into sharp relief. You will come to appreciate the fundamental principles of composition (editorially and typographically), how to approach and apply style to a manuscript, and the marketing methods publishers use to find their readership. It is also worth acknowledging the symbiotic relationship that exists between bookshops and publishers; dependent on one another to survive, though always looking to tip the margin in their favour.

If you are a bookseller looking to progress from selling books on the shop floor to making editing, design and production decisions, send in an application for the Whitireia publishing programme. The work is demanding, but the skills, experience and knowledge you gain are commensurate with the effort you put in.

Students undertaking this course are eligible for student loans.

Starts 5 March 2018. For more information check out:


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