The publishing industry is one of the UK’s key creative industries, generating billions of pounds every year in print, digital and audio formats across fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, and academic content. The industry employs tens of thousands of people – but getting your foot in the door can seem like an impossible task. This talk will offer an overview of the UK publishing industry, shedding light on different roles, departments and market sectors, along with plenty of insight and advice on finding an entry-level role – and how, as a writer, to approach editors, agents, and publishers.

Dr David Barker is Senior Lecturer at the University of Derby and Programme Leader for MA Publishing. Previously, he worked in the publishing industry for 20 years, starting out as an editorial assistant in London in the 1990s before moving to New York to work for Continuum there, becoming Editorial Director. When Continuum was acquired by Bloomsbury in 2011, David became Publishing Director for the Humanities and Social Sciences and moved back to work in Bloomsbury’s London office. He has been at the University of Derby since 2017.