Highlights of CPC 2011
The 100 students attending the course heard from over 125 publishing professionals this year.
Students in the 64th session of the Columbia Publishing Course were introduced to all aspects of book, magazine, and digital media publishing, from editorial and publicity to circulation and page views. Our 100 students heard from over 125 publishing professionals and leaders in the industry—writers, editors, publishers, design directors, advertising experts, and publicists—many of whom are also course graduates.
The 2011 book program covered every aspect of publishing a book, beginning with the author completing a manuscript and looking for an agent and ending with the creation of marketing and publicity plans to sell the finished product. David Young, Chairman & CEO of Hachette Book Group, delivered the keynote address on book publishing. Mr. Young offered an overview of the current state of the industry and set the stage for the next two weeks of book-related lectures.
One class period brought together the entire team behind a New York Times bestselling novel: Téa Obreht’s “The Tiger’s Wife.” The book’s editor Noah Eaker, publicist Jynne Martin, publisher Susan Kamil, and agent Seth Fishman joined Ms. Obreht (one of The New Yorker’s “40 under 40”) to discuss the behind-the-scenes story. Students also heard about developments in eBooks from Madeline McIntosh, Random House’s President of Sales, Operations & Digital. Editors Millicent Bennett, Brendan Curry, Kendra Harpster, Geoff Kloske, Helen Atsma, Marysue Rucci, Chris Jackson, and Vanessa Mobley met with students in small groups to discuss manuscripts that students read and reviewed prior to the start of the course.
Over the summer students read galleys of Chuck Klosterman’s new novel “The Visible Man” in advance of its publication and created publicity plans for the book. Kate Lloyd, Publicity Manager at Scribner, met with students at the course to discuss the tour and promotions she had arranged for the upcoming book launch.
Chip Kidd, Associate Art Director at Knopf, Sessalee Hensley, Barnes & Noble’s Fiction Buyer, Morgan Entrekin, President and Publisher of Grove/Atlantic, and many other notable guest lecturers offered insight into the book publishing industry on all fronts; and a visit to HarperCollins Publishers let students observe the day-to-day operations at a publishing house. Students also gained practical skills like running profit & loss statements and reading a contract that they will use on the job whether they go on to careers in editorial or production.
The magazine and digital media portion of the course covered print magazines, iPad apps, and websites. Editors from Marie Claire, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, Essence, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, New York, and Slate.com worked with students in small groups on editing for both print and web. Scott Dadich, Executive Director for Digital Magazine Development for Condé Nast, and Wyatt Mitchell, Design Director for Condé Nast’s Editorial Development Group, demonstrated the potential of magazines as interactive apps. Students also heard about the design, editing and business plans of websites from The Awl, The Paris Review blog, New York magazine’s Daily Intel blog, and many more. Tina Brown, founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast website, took students through her illustrious career, including time at The New Yorker, Talk and Vanity Fair, and spoke about how she’s been updating Newsweek magazine.
Any Columbia Publishing Course graduate would tell you that the two hands-on workshops are the heart of the Publishing Course. Students spend a week simulating the operations of a book publishing house as well as a week launching a new magazine and/or website. In the book workshop, students first create six original book ideas then design covers, project profit margins, design publicity tours, and stipulate productions specs for these invented titles.
In the magazine and digital media workshop, students are responsible for launching a new magazine or website. From choosing a URL to finding appropriate advertisers, students built comprehensive websites. Magazine groups concentrate on developing a strong editorial concept for a niche market and devising a business model that supports ad sales and circulation.
Job market preparation is done throughout the course. Each student receives individualized feedback on their resumes, cover letters, and interview responses from Ellen Reeves, author of “Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?” Book, magazine, and digital media publishing companies attended the career fair to meet and recruit recent Publishing Course graduates. By the time of the career fair, each student has a flawless resume and good answer to the question, “Why do you want a career in publishing?”
In the last week of the course, students also receive advice from recent alumni on everything from navigating the job market to finding an affordable apartment in New York City. Becoming part of the Columbia Publishing Course alumni network, from San Francisco to New York, is one of the greatest benefits of the program.