Day 1, 9/1/25

Before I begin, I apologize for the late post. My wifi at Exeter does not support my blog website, which is unfortunate as I rarely have time to leave the college to post elsewhere! Although I wanted to post often, they will now most likely be limited to once or twice a week. 

Now that we have that covered, I can finally say that after months of waiting (eight to be exact), I have officially begun the Columbia Publishing Course. Day one was entirely overwhelming – in the best way possible of course. Starting at 8am and ending at 7pm every day, lectures and Exeter dining hall meals will take up the majority of my time here, more so than I originally thought. While this is…fine, I definitely believed that I would have more time to explore. No matter, though – waking up at 6am for morning walks and using my weekends wisely will hopefully scratch my adventure itch. 

Our first lecture started with the Senior Commissioning Editor at Scribner (Simon & Schuster), Joanna Lee. I won’t get into the details of all that I learned, as that would take paragraphs upon paragraphs, but what I can say is that my idea of what this industry is about is already shifting. Once our second lecture, by Mo Hazeem of Faber & Faber, had ended, I can confidently say that I have a much more clear image of what an editorial position would look like – and how different it is from my original understanding. 

Both speakers were surprisingly young, both in their late twenties, but had already established impressive careers and portfolios as commissioning editors. This was encouraging to see for all of us young, hopeful professionals. Our third lecture was given by Barbara Clark, who has simply been categorized by CPC as a “publishing veteran.” She is basically God in the CPC’s eyes and we were immediately told to listen to every word she had to say. 

Blah, blah, blah – enough of all that boring stuff. I’m sure I will have much more to say about our lectures soon enough, but I will try to keep from monologuing about my publishing thoughts – at least a little bit. 

After lectures and dinner immediately after, I was exhausted – physically, mentally, socially. But the show must go on! Even as a natural introvert, my fear on this first day was that without trying to make friends, I would fall behind socially very quickly. It’s a silly thought because truthfully, everyone in this program is not only extremely intelligent but also friendly and inclusive. Alas! The mind of an anxious introvert never ceases its spinning.

Regardless of my trepidation, I got one (1) drink at the King’s Arm, a popular university pub around the corner from Exeter, with several other students and discussed future goals, past Covid nightmare stories, and current fears pertaining to publishing and beyond. My first venture out into the pub world was both relaxing and eye-opening, and instead of ordering my classic vodka cran (yes, I’m looking at you, Ian), I will be moving onto the classic English G&T. 

I fell into bed with my head spinning (and not from drunkenness, I swear). All of the information that I took in needed to be consolidated in my memory, ASAP. After finishing an assignment and trying (failing) to post on this blog, I fell into a dreamless slumber. 

Overall, as first day’s go, this one was particularly invigorating. And although it may be exhausting, I am mentally preparing myself for an informative, grueling next four weeks. I am incredibly excited to be a sponge and soak up this experience. 

As the British would say, cheerio! 

From Oxford, With Love,

Haley