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UNC Wilmington Gives Voice to Young Writing Talent

The University of North Carolina Wilmington’s creative writing department and publishing laboratory enhanced their innovative programs by forging a partnership with HarperCollins Publishers, which gives students access to crucial publishing industry information and individuals.

For students interested in pursuing careers in writing and publishing, UNCW has developed unique programming that allows them to gain exposure for their work as well as learn the ins and outs of the publishing world. Recently, the school developed a partnership with publishing giant HarperCollins that will give students direct access to leading industry professionals typically unavailable to students outside the New York City area.

UNCW has a publishing laboratory and several courses that prepare students for careers in publishing. There are also two in-house literary magazines as well as a literary book imprint, Lookout Books, which gives the bachelor’s and master’s students the chance to be part of a fully functioning publishing house. The one thing the school lacked in its career fair was representation from the big five publishing houses from New York.

“By establishing this partnership, senior professionals at HarperCollins will be Skyping with our classes to offer mentorship,” says Emily Louise Smith, director of the Publishing Laboratory. “We started the partnership with a HarperCollins representative being part of a publishing career panel during writers’ week. [Students] had the chance to meet with him one-on-one. At the graduate level, students will have the opportunity to send various HarperCollins representatives their résumés and cover letters, which we hope will lead to positions — at Harper or [elsewhere].”

While students have studied all aspects of publishing, some have not decided what specific area of the field they want to enter. This will give them an opportunity to receive high-level feedback on where their strengths lie.

UNCW’s publishing program was founded to demystify the publishing process. As aspiring authors, the creative writing students have the chance to see behind-the-scenes from the art to the business of publishing. Smith says it empowers them as authors to be better informed.

“It also helps our students who want to go on to careers in publishing create a more diverse spectrum of publishing interests. I mean that from editorial through marketing, promotion and book design. How can they find homes for their work? If those publishers aren’t out there, maybe they become those publishers and start their own presses or found imprints within the big five [publishing houses],” says Smith.

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