Alexandra Briggs

I am a 3rd year MA (Hons) English Literature student at the University of Edinburgh, set to graduate in 2026. Throughout the two- and a-bit years I’ve so far studied at Edinburgh, I’ve only grown more interested in literature and the ways it connects us to the human experience across different historical, cultural, and emotional contexts.

I am looking for work experience in the business of publishing.

This passion starts with my fundamental love for books. I am looking to secure a career involving the selection and evolution of a book from the creative vision to the collaborative product involving editors, designers, and marketers etc. to the point of publication.

I’m most curious how the publishing industry has and continues to play an intrinsic role in not just literary but cultural and historical discourse, deciding which voices are heard and the development of the publishing industry itself, in its effort to break free from the bounds of traditional canon formation and make strides towards reclaiming lost voices through diversifying literary representation.

In this way, I’m interested in the role of the publishing industry as both a business and a cultural institution, and balancing the tensions which exist between a work’s artistic, cultural, and financial value.

Literature continues to explore and influence culture, politics, and education, alongside our collective and individual perspectives. So, to play a small role in an industry which displays true power to shape the world around is a prospect which greatly excites me.