Meet The National Trust Publishing Project Group, the fourth team in our Collaborative Project Series
From left to right: Juliet Robertson, Rosie Tanner, Chloe Francis, Sidonie Baylis and James Cavanagh
Our 3rd years are leading the second round of original collaborative projects
This term, for the second year running, our third-year students are hard at work with a range of collaborative projects. These student-led projects are part of a module where they consider the writer’s role as part of a creative eco-system, and literature’s role in the creative economy through working on a collaborative project.
In our fourth interview of the year, we talked to The National Trust Publishing Project Group about their experience so far.
Describe your project
Our project is the National Trust Publishing Project, which is a collaboration between Falmouth University and the National Trust to publish a story set in a National Trust location. We have commissioned an author and an illustrator to work on the book with us. This year’s author is Natasha Carthew, a Cornish writer of YA and adult fiction, and we are all very excited to be working with her!
Chloe, why did you decide to do this project?
I decided to choose this because I want to become an editor, so this is a perfect opportunity to gain experience and get an insight into the world of publishing, as well as being able to work on a live brief.
Rosie, what do you want to gain from it?
Mostly, I want to gain experience. It’s such an amazing, exciting opportunity to understand the ins and outs of the publishing industry, and the experience I’ll gain from it will hopefully give me a good indication as to whether I’ve got what it takes to try and continue working in the industry. I think I also want to gain confidence. I really want to challenge myself, and I feel that this project will give me the confidence I need to do so.
Juliet, what are you most excited about?
Apart from the exciting opportunity to work with an amazing Cornish author and esteemed professionals within the industry, I am looking forward to holding the finished product in my hand and seeing my name in the acknowledgements. From what I know of the story already, I am sure it will be original and exciting, so I’m also excited just to sit down and read the book!
James, what has been the most enjoyable part of the project so far?
Learning about the different stages and skills needed to publish a book. Seeing how each role affects the next and the one after that, as well as what needs to be thought about - like things you wouldn’t have considered, paper type and how to use InDesign. I’m excited to learn more and find out more, to see a printer in action and see what adds to the costs, to start marketing the book itself. Most of all I’m excited to see the finished product and know how much work we put in to create it.
Sidonie, what is next for your project?
The next big milestones for us will be having a first draft of the manuscript to edit and seeing the illustrations that will go with it. We’re hoping to have it designed and finished by December/January to be able to send it off to the printers. In the meantime, we’re researching the history surrounding the themes of the book and the places it’s set around and working on a variety of ideas for promoting it in the run-up to the launch at the end of May.
Stay tuned for our interview with author Natasha Carthew coming soon!
by the FalWriting team