MA Children's Publishing

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Bath Spa University launches world’s first course in children’s publishing

A British University has launched the world’s first Master’s degree in Children’s Publishing in response to significant growth in international demand for UK children’s books.

The course at Bath Spa University has been developed to help meet the rising demand from countries like India and China, which contributed to a 34 per cent increase in UK exports in 2016 to £116 million (source: Financial Times). Figures released by The Publisher’s Association in April also highlighted the boom in the industry, with the revenue from the sale of UK children’s books increasing by 16 per cent to £365 million in the past year.

Katharine Reeve, Subject Leader in Publishing at Bath Spa University, commented: "Books for children and young adults are high-growth areas of publishing in terms of innovation, revenues and employment, encouraged by bestselling authors such as JK Rowling and David Walliams, and illustrators like Quentin Blake and Lauren Child. We want to play our part in developing the creative publishers of the future.”

The course will cover key publishing knowledge and skills such as editing, marketing, rights and contracts, illustration, design and print production, business strategy and digital product development.

The Course Leader, Dr Laura Little, holds a PhD in children’s picture book illustration and is the author of several international articles and book contributions on the subject.

Dr Little said: “The course will offer a unique immersive learning experience across all areas of children’s publishing.  Students will be free to experiment and to create their own exciting projects, from pop-up books to digital story apps, reimagined fairytales from around the world, to non-fiction illustrated books, with support from expert tutors and specialist technical staff.”

Bath Spa University has a specialism in Children’s and YA publishing and writing. The MA Children’s Publishing has been designed to offer students from across the world the flexibility to explore their own interests and to achieve their ambitions.

Anyone interested in applying for the course which begins in September 2018 should visit the MA Children's Publishing course page.

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