What aspects of publishing are you particularly interested in?

I enjoy having a hand in all aspects of it. If I was to pick I'd say I was really interested in editorial, art direction and production. If I could find a job that brought these three things together I'd be in publishing heaven.

What was the initial attraction of publishing?

I've always been an avid magazine enthusiast. I especially enjoy finding, reading and appreciating new independent media as I feel it's unconstrained by traditional magazine rules of style and format. My first degree was photography, but a career in that field seemed a really lonely existence. I knew that to succeed and really enjoy a creative career I would have to work with other like minded folk. Linking in with my interest in visual arts, I also see magazine publishing as an exercise in curation; the pages are the white gallery walls waiting to be filled.

Once your dissertation has been handed in in October, you've officially finished your course. What are your plans next?

I'm currently working as a freelance web tech/designer for artists and spent a few months interning for a couple of different magazine titles earlier in the year. I was also part of a pilot project group working as production manager on Knack Magazine which brought together students from different disciplines across the college. I'm currently working with another MA student on a collaborative magazine project called State of Independents based upon our dissertation research.

What made you do the Publishing MA?

I needed to make a career jump. Working at an arts centre box office, I began to appreciate the skill of arts administration and also how much I enjoyed being a part of it. I also worked to set up the collective Nottingham Craft Mafia which gave me the confidence I needed to make my decision about embarking on an MA course. I wanted to learn the ins and outs of the industry before leaping head first into it. I'd heard great things about the course, especially the print and production facilities at LCC and the more practice led curriculum

What did you get out of it?

I was nervous when I started - I had no idea whether I had made the right decision. After the first term, thanks to the encouragement of my course tutors and countless 'networking' events, I felt settled and knew this was the right place for me. I've met great people, some I imagine will be friends for life as well as good contacts for the future. I also got to produce Pica Pica Magazine with a team of 7 others as an experiment in project management. It was a great success and looked beautiful - I really hope there'll be an issue 2 one day.

Any advice to fellow publishing graduates?

I think one of the major things I've learnt this year is that an MA is what you make of it - you're not spoon fed. You really have to push yourself hard to get where you want to be - the same can be said for any creative course I think. You should take every opportunity that comes along but also be confident enough to create them for yourself. It's also helps to immerse yourself in the industry - I blog, I tweet and I'm always up to date with new posts and industry news which helps keep my passion alive. Also, through talking to publishers and those already in the industry, you discover that they're not all that scary really - they're in it for the same reasons you are and are usually totally approachable and helpful.