“I’m delighted to be inducted!"
"I have really fond memories of my time at Napier, and being inducted into SACI Alumni Hall of Fame makes me feel like the university is proud to have had me, which is this lovely warm feeling. I hope that my inclusion might make people think a bit differently about retraining, as it can be very scary to risk a life you’ve built for yourself. But I thought it was well worth the risks.”
Kay Farrell left a secure job in administration to embark on a new career path in publishing. Edinburgh Napier’s strong industry links appealed to her, and Kay enrolled on the MSc Publishing course, graduating in 2015. Kay is now Assistant Publisher at award-winning publishing company, Sandstone Press, where she edited the International Booker Prize-winning book, Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi.
Kay recalls her time at ENU
“I loved the exchange trip to Mainz – we got to see a Gutenberg Bible which was the highlight of my nerdy book-loving life. I also remember my first London Book Fair - that amazing feeling of being part of this huge international industry really sinking in. And working on the MSc Publishing magazine, Buzz Magazine, and holding in my hands a physical product I helped to create – just fantastic.”
Kay’s first graduate job was with Palimpsest Book Production where she was responsible for checking typeset manuscripts. This role allowed Kay to gain key insights into book production and design which gave her a good grounding in the industry, before joining Sandstone Press.
“I got lucky - I had interned at Sandstone Press as part of my degree so when a new role with them came up, I already knew the people and how they worked. I joined them less than a year after graduating and, because it’s a smaller company, I’ve had a chance to really develop my own role, taking it from a job focused on supporting the directors into editing and managing production processes.”
Sandstone Press is an independent publisher based in the Scottish Highlands. They have been selected for many awards, including the Saltire Society Scottish Publisher of the Year 2014 and 2019, becoming the first company to win this award twice.
Kay offers her advice to anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps
“It’s important to have a clear idea of where you want to go. The course will teach you how to get there but it’s up to you to take the time and make the effort, listen to what the industry professionals have to say and carve out a path for yourself.”
Life as an Assistant Publisher goes in cycles. Kay’s day varies from working on an edit to reading submissions to consulting on cover design. In simple terms, she is in charge of taking books from acquisition through to print.
One highlight of her career so far has been when Celestial Bodies by Omani writer Jokha Alharthi won the International Booker Prize.
"I was the first advocate for that book in the company and I worked hard on the English language edition and so to see it touch so many readers was a real gift.”
Kay has faced challenges too – one of the biggest ones being the decision to go to university.
“The hardest thing for me was making the decision to take the course in the first place. I had a mortgage and a decent career in administration and it was a lot to risk to quit that job and know I’d have to work my way up again. I’m so relieved it worked out!”
SACI Alumni Hall of Fame is one more accomplishment in Kay’s career that proves she made the right choice in following her dream.
A plaque will be installed at Edinburgh Napier’s Merchiston campus to signify Kay’s inclusion into the Hall of Fame, joining the other alumni who have previously been inducted. Each plaque has an object attached which is unique to the inductee. Kay has chosen an octopus holding a book as her plaque object.