University of Liverpool launches new MA Publishing Course for 2026

With a specific focus on academic and trade publishing, this brand new MA Publishing course at the University of Liverpool will offer in-house professional support alongside the industry knowledge of their course design and delivery partners at Liverpool University Press (LUP).

Industry Partners: Liverpool University Press

Liverpool University Press is the third oldest university press in the UK, and this new MA is the first in the Russell Group to be co-developed with an on-site academic publisher. It builds on the existing strong relationship between the Department of English and LUP, best exemplified by the successful and award-winning Pavilion Poetry imprint.

Emphasising Employability

Future employability is a key consideration when undertaking an MA or any educational programme. Students on this new course will have the opportunity to undertake relevant work experience and will also develop industry-standard digital skills (use of Adobe Creative Suite, for example). Career coaching will be provided by the LUP team, and you’ll be prepared for entering the job market with tailored support to develop your CV and participate in a mock interview. You’ll gain insight into editorial, production and marketing, and see the global publishing industry in practice through a subsidised visit to the London Book Fair.

What You'll Learn:

• The broad principles of contemporary publishing practices

• How to apply digital publishing technologies in the production of both books and journals

• How to source and evaluate appropriate material to assemble into a publishable collection

• An understanding of the roles and responsibilities in the industry, including editorial, production, and marketing

• How to plan and undertake an independent research or practical publishing project.

Course content

Compulsory modules on the course include:

• Commissioning and Production in Contemporary Publishing

• Sales and Marketing in Contemporary Publishing

• From Manuscript to Digital Print

• Genres in Contemporary Publishing

• Careers and the Future of Publishing.

• Optional modules include an embedded work experience placement, alongside modules from a range of other pathways including Translated Literature in the Global Market, Editing The Early Modern, Media and Cultural Change, Recordkeeping Theory and Principles for Heritage Professionals and Literature and Crisis.

Course Leaders:

Dr Alice Burns is a researcher and publisher, specialising in eighteenth and nineteenth-century women writers, literary landownership and ecofeminist approaches to cultural archives. She completed her AHRC-funded PhD at Liverpool in 2026, alongside her role as Marketing Executive at Liverpool University Press.

Dr Sophie Oliver is an interdisciplinary scholar, curator and writer, specialising in modernist women writers and artists, fashion, the feminist avant-garde, and feminist approaches to cultural history.

Alison Welsby is the Editorial Director and Senior Commissioning Editor at Liverpool University Press. Having worked as a commissioning editor for over 25 years, she specialises in history and heritage, leading on several initiatives in the scholarly publishing sector to support Early Career Researchers.

More information

For more information about the course, how to register and any other queries, please get in touch with the programme Co-Leads, Dr Sophie Oliver (Sophie.Oliver@liverpool.ac.uk) and Dr Alice Burns (alice.burns@liverpool.ac.uk).