The Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing is a professionalizing program for an international audience that has the unconditional support of the main institutions and companies in the sector. You will take a detailed tour of the operation of publishing and the publishing sector, and acquire practical and in-depth knowledge about the book industry.
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing is a 100% professional course of recognized international prestige. It is the only master's degree in publishing considered by the Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking, where it appears at number 32 in the World Top 50 for cultural management/management of creative industries. It offers a detailed tour of the functioning of the publishing sector while presenting practical and in-depth knowledge about the publishing industry. It provides strategies necessary for the creation of a publishing company or project or for working in companies or institutions in the publishing world.
The program, taught by an exceptional teaching team made up solely of influential professionals from the publishing world, explores the different areas of the sector, going from the general to the specific: editorial lines (company creation, catalogue creation), negotiation and contracting (literary agencies, foreign rights departments), the operation of new startups (market place, app creation, communication), production in different media (paper, digital, audiobook, app, enriched pdf, etc.), distribution, promotion, and marketing.
Some 25 years after its foundation, the Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing maintains different collaboration agreements with the main institutions and companies in the publishing sector, especially in the city of Barcelona, which consolidates the national and international projection of the course and reinforces its highly professional and practice-oriented approach. Among the world top 35 masters in its field according to the leading ranking Eduniversal Best Masters, and the only Master in Publishing.
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing is endorsed by Pompeu Fabra University, the 1st Spanish university and the 15th best university in the world (of those with less than 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education ranking. In addition, UPF Barcelona School of Management has EQUIS accreditation, the most prestigious institutional recognition for business schools globally.
Collaborators:
Why choose this program
Links with the main institutions and companies in the publishing world
Since its inception, the master has had collaboration agreements with the main institutions and companies in the publishing sector, which consolidates its national and international projection and reinforces its highly professional approach, focused on the needs of publishers.
Teaching team made up of active professionals from the publishing sector
Benefit from an exceptional teaching team made up of professionals who are in relevant positions within the publishing sector, mainly in Barcelona.
The benchmark Master's in the sector
After 25 years, some 800 professionals endorse its long history and solid reputation. Most of the alumni currently hold important positions in the publishing sector or have created companies that they have established in various countries.
A Master's in tune with publishing innovation
This master deals with publishing in a practical and constantly updated way. You will become familiar with cutting-edge and latest generation programs for publishing: tablets, audiobooks, PDAs, smartphones, apps, and e-readers, among others.
A complete immersion in the book industry
The Master's undertakes an intense practical analysis of all the trades connected to books.
Direct access to the profession
A large majority of the students carry out internships in the main companies and a high percentage of Alumni are today professionals of reference in the sector.
International recognition
Study at a school accredited by EQUIS, an international distinction that guarantees the quality of our institution and makes us the 1st school of management linked to a public university with this accreditation in our country.
Who is it for?
The course is aimed at young graduates or graduates who want to enter the publishing sector with a solid base of knowledge and experience, young publishing professionals who want to consolidate their knowledge about the sector, as well as publishing professionals who want to systematize and update their skills in the publishing world.
25th anniversary of Master in Publishing
The program reaches its first quarter of a century after having promoted more than 50 companies in the book sector and having trained many professionals in the Spanish and Catalan publishing sector, as well as numerous professionals from Europe and around the world. To commemorate its anniversary, the master organized an institutional event on October 2021:
Tools
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing offers the following tools:
- MEDI Files
- Centro Internacional de Estudios del Libro de Barcelona
- The Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing has created an English-Spanish Spanish-English Dictionary of Publishing in collaboration with Google
- MEDI News
Curriculum
The Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing curriculum has been designed by a team of experts to provide you with a detailed tour of how the publishing industry works, while allowing you to gain in-depth, practical knowledge of it. Come and find out more.
Module 1
Module 2
- The legal framework and copyright
- Intellectual property law
- Negotiation of copyright
- Buying rights: parameters and strategies
- The publishing contract: clauses and conditions
- Transfer rights: primary, subsidiary, and other transfer modalities
- The contractual management of digital rights
- Literary agencies
- The agency as a company
- The figure of the literary agent
- The agency contract. The author's contract
- The sale of rights: negotiation and strategies
- Cultural differences in negotiation
- Contracting of rights and market
- Scouts
Module 3
- The publishing project. Between company and culture
- From the catalogue to the collection and the singular book
- Criteria and practice of preselection and reading of originals
- The professional reader and reading reports: from literary to commercial evaluation
- Professional reading: criteria for editing
- Literary publishing. Fiction and non-fiction
- Commercial, mainstream and best seller publishing
- Children's and youth publishing
- Kiosk and packaging publishing
- Digital publishing and audiobooks (online and offline)
- Others: comic, bibliophile, commissions, etc.a
- Paper format
- Digital format, offline and online
- Audiobook format, offline and online
- The publishing calendar versus the natural calendar and the ephemeris
- The calendar at the service of the contractual and productive processes of the book
Module 4
Module 5
- Editing: objectives and techniques
- Editing criteria
- Orthographic correction. Correction techniques
- The composition of the text
- Review of pages and press proofs
- Drafting of back covers and flaps
- Bibliographic and typographic terminology
- Typographic design
- The letter: types and bodies
- Measurement of bodies. Typometry
- Design of the insides. Proportions
- The book as an aesthetic object
- The design of collections and image as a distinguishing feature of the company
- The cover
- The composition of the text: the mock-up
- Graphic design: basic InDesign skills
- Publishing outside the publisher: external trades (reading, proofreading, production, layout, and other freelance tasks)
- The paper production process. Direct printing
- Structure and materials of the book. The 'anatomy of the book': paper, colour chart, insides, sheets, covers
- Calculation of production costs: pricing
- The figure of the production manager
- Traditional printing (plates and photoliths)
- Digital printing
- Paper calculations. Runs, losses, and defects
- Types of binding and finishes
Digital publishing. Book 2.0, and digital technology and cybersecurity Google and publishing Media and reading modes
Module 6
- Distributors, distribution networks, and logistics.
- Sales clearance
- Billing
- The marketing plan: strategy and business plan
- Waterfall versus global launch
- The danger of the "bargain bin" effect
- Pricing policy
- Advertising and merchandising
Module 7
Introduction to the economic management of the company. Specificities of the publishing company
Ideal balance sheet structure and equity analysis ratios: solvency, indebtedness, and capitalization
- Income, fixed and variable expenses, results and impact on the price of the book
- Reading and analysis of the operating account
Module 8
From strips and displays to presentations and press conferences
Note on the Curriculum
Complementary activities
The NAME also includes the possibility of participating in practical activities and activities for personal and professional growth such as:
- Compulsory Workshops: The Master's includes three compulsory workshops within the usual hours:
- Practical workshop on book anatomy, on its structure and materials, in which practical exercises and sample analysis are carried out
- Practical workshop on creating a publishing company
- Practical workshop on the functioning of literary agencies
- Editing workshop
- Optional workshops: Furthermore, the Master's also makes three other optional workshops available to participants, at a different time than usual:
- Practical workshop on spelling correction: 2 ECTS
- Practical graphic design workshop: InDesign: 2 ECTS
- Practical finance workshop for non-financial people: 2 ECTS
Total optional workshops: 6 ECTS
Despite being a basic training complement, attendance is not mandatory in this case, and a minimum quorum of 15 participants will be required for the sessions to take place.
- Round tables: Throughout the course, round tables can be offered with prestigious professionals.
- Visiting plan: Thanks to its collaboration with the Gremi d'Editors de Catalunya, the Master's in Publishing offers its students the possibility of attending The London Book Fair and the Frankfurter Buchmesse with the same conditions and bonuses as member editors, provided that travel restrictions and corresponding authorities allow it. The visit is carried out under the guidance of a prestigious professional from the sector.
The Master's programs a compulsory guided visit to the INDEX printing press.
In any case, these trips will take place in a different time slot than usual to adapt to business hours. - UPF-BSM Inside: is a group of interdisciplinary subjects (applied data, communication, creativity, innovation and project management, sustainability and leadership among others) that, if you take this program, you can access at no additional cost. They are 100% online and you can take them throughout the academic year at your own pace, as they have been designed as self-study subjects.
- International mobility: The UPF Barcelona School of Management offers you the possibility of expanding your training and international vision through the International Mobility Programme. Extend your studies extracurricularly, during the academic year following the completion of your Master's, at a top-level institution. Limited places.
The Master is conducted in Spanish and Catalan. Some sessions may be given in English.
Videos
20th anniversary MEDI
MEDI and the Frankfurt Book Fair
MEDI at Cayfosa printing company
MEDI always tuned
MEDI at Índice printing company
Qualification obtained
Once you have passed the program, you will receive the following electronic degree certification (eTítulo©): Lifelong learning master's degree in Publishing, awarded by Pompeu Fabra University. The eTítulo© will be issued in Catalan, Spanish and English.
The electronic degree certification (eTítulo© ) is an authentic digital degree, issued in pdf format and electronically signed, with the same legal validity as if it were in paper format.
Faculty
The teaching staff of the Master in Publishing is made up of active professionals from the publishing sector with long experience. Their vision of the subjects is eminently practical and is adapted to innovations in the publishing sector.
Academic directors
Coordinator
Faculty
Collaborating faculty
- Miguel Aguilar
Literary Director at Debate, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Pep Amargant
Commercial Director of the Literary Division at Grup Enciclopèdia. - Juan Jesús Arrausi
Graphic designer, Professor of the design school Elisava and of the Pompeu Fabra University.
CEO of Teachingdesigners Alliance. - Ferran Brunet
Director of Legal Advice at RBA. - Marià Capella Pifarré
Lawyer at Capella law firm. - Gemma Cera
Founder and Director of Somnins - Juan Cerezo
Editor at Tusquets Editores, Grupo Planeta. - Álvaro Colomer
Journalist and writer. - Antonio Corzo
Rights Manager at IMC Literary Agency. Roger Domingo.
Editorial Director at Deusto, Gestión 2000, Alienta and Para Dummies, Grupo Planeta. - David Esbrí
Editor and Project Manager at Devir - Ismael Fàbregas
Sales agent for Índice Arts Gràfiques and QPprint. Previously served as the Sales Director of Cayfosa Impresia Ibérica. - Mauricio Fernández Armenta
Marketing and Communication Coordinator, Grupo Planeta. - Josep Maria Ganyet
Computer engineer specialized in Artificial Intelligence. CEO of the digital agency Mortensen and professor of Audiovisual Communication at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. - Josune García
She has been Director of Ediciones Cátedra, Grupo Anaya. - Luiz Gaspar
Research Director, NIELSEN BOOK. - Edgar Gasòliba
Director at Deleatur Editorial Services. - Eva Giménez
Co-founder and Director of Flamboyant editorial. - Marta Grau
Former Director of the Human Resources Department at PRHGE. - Andreu Graupera Sardà
Economy and Business Associate Professor of Pompeu Fabra University. - Laura Guilera Vella
Responsible for the digital catalog of Grupo Planeta and Grup 62. - Luisa Gutiérrez
Editorial Director of General Edition, Grupo Anaya. - Nahir Gutiérrez
Communications Director at Seix Barral and Communication Coordinator of the Editorial Division of Bookstores, Grupo Planeta. - José Hamad
Editor at Sexto Piso. - David Hernando
Editorial Director at Comics Department, Grupo Planeta. - Laura Huerga
Director and founder of Raig Verd/Rayo Verce. - Enric Jardí
Graphic Designer. Director of the Master’s on Advanced Typography at the EINA University School of Design and Art of Barcelona. - Paula Jarrín
Owner of the children's and youth bookstore Al·lots. - Ana Jiménez
Responsible for Realization of the International Area, Esencia and Tusquets, Grupo Planeta. - Josep Lafarga Sarrà
General Secretary of Gremi d'Editors de Catalunya. - Pilar Lafuente
Foreign Rights at Grupo Planeta. - Lucía Luengo
Literary Director of Penguin Random House Editorial Group's Pocket Division. - Aurelio Major
Literary Scout. Editor of the magazine Granta en español. - Gerardo Marín
Deputy Director at Alfaguara and Taurus Hispánica, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Juan José Marín
Lawyer. Professor of Civil Law. - Mònica Martín
Director of MB Literary Agency. - Noemí Mercadé
Editorial Director at Editorial Casals. - Alfredo Molina
Director at Dextra Editorial. - Antoni Montagut
Controller at Grupo Planeta de Agostini. - Pep Montserrat
Graphic artist, illustrator and teacher at Escola Massana. - Mercedes Morán
Lawyer at CEDRO. - Diego Moreno
Editor at Nørdica. - Lilian Neuman
Freelance editor and critic for La Vanguardia newspaper. - Berta Noy
Editorial Director at Ediciones B, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Jordi Panyella i Carbonell
Member and editor of the publishing cooperative Pol·len edicions. Promoter of the Institut de l'Ecoedició de Catalunya. - Geòrgia Picanyol
Rights & Permissions Manager, Grupo Edebé. - Rafael Pozo Puértolas
Printer. Director of Graphic Production Consulting and Editing at CPG.
Director of the Master in Graphic Production and Packaging of ELISAVA.
Doctor in Communication from the Pompeu Fabra University. - Silvia Querini
She has been Editorial Director at Editorial Lumen, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Antonio Ramírez
Manager at La Central Bookshop, Barcelona-Madrid. - Elena Ramírez
Editorial Director at Seix-Barral and Director of International Fiction, Grupo Planeta. - Cristina Ramos
Technician at Barcelona Activa. - Alberto Reboredo
Head of Marketing and Digital Communication at División Editorial, Grupo Planeta. - Joan Riambau
Literary Director of Rosa dels Vents, La Campana and La Magrana, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Marc Rocamora
Director of Marketing and Communication of the Editorial Division of Libraries, Grupo Planeta. - Rosa Samper
Literary Director of Montena, Molino, Random Comics and Penguin Kids, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Marta Sanllehí
Educational Project Manager at Vicens Vives. - Isabel Sbert
Literary Director at Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Silvia Sesé
Editorial Director at Editorial Anagrama. - Joan Solà Domingo
Executive consultant at Abol Consulting (logistics and operations) and associate consultant at Roca Junyent Business Consultants. - Luis Solano
Publisher, Libros del Asteroide. - Joan Tarrida
Managing Director of Galaxia Gutenberg. - Núria Tey
Former editorial Director at PRHGE. - Txell Torrent
Agent at MB Literary Agency. - David Trías
Executive Director at Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial. - Francisco Vázquez
Purchasing Manager, Grupo Planeta.
Methodology
The Master in Publishing offers a detailed tour of the book publication chain through practical classes, specialization workshops, and the development of the Master's Final Project.
Throughout the course, the program covers the different areas of the publishing sector, both the most general and the most specific areas, providing the necessary strategies to create a company or your own publishing project.
Videos
Book icons on MEDI
MEDI leads Forum Edita
MEDI and the publishing business
Learn with professionals in the publishing sector
Our teaching team is made up of professionals from the sector who transmit to the participants knowledge acquired over years of experience in the publishing world.
Professional focus of the course
The sessions combine the necessary theoretical knowledge typical of a university with an eminently practical approach that allows to show in depth the challenges and difficulties that publishing professionals face on a daily basis.
The Master's Final Project connects theory with practice
The Master's Final Project that is developed throughout the course responds to a professional challenge linked to the reality of the publishing world. With the help of a mentor, the student will link what they have learned in class with the professional practice of publishing.
Barcelona, international capital of publishing in Spanish and Catalan
The student will live and work in Barcelona, where they can enjoy all the resources that the master's degree and the city make available to them to learn and be part of the nerve centre of publishing in the Spanish and Catalan languages.
CEDRO awards
Thanks to the close collaboration of CEDRO, the Master in Publishing offers 3 awards to the best publishing projects of each course.
Evaluation
The Master in Publishing applies a continuous evaluation system through the exercises and exams corresponding to each subject, the development of the Master's Final Project, and other factors such as attendance and contribution in the classroom.
To obtain the corresponding qualification, it is essential to pass the Master's Final Project, attend classes regularly (a minimum of 80%) and pass the practical exercises and compulsory work, whose delivery conditions and preparation is indicated by the professionals who commission them, in each case.
Tools
Project-oriented learning and the combination of lectures and active methodologies such as case studies, flipped learning, solving real problems and professional simulations allow the student to connect theory and practice, acquire advanced skills and achieve learning which is transferable to work.
You will have:
- Master's Final Project (TFM) or Postgrad Final Project (TFP)
- A personal mentor to monitor your final project (TFM or TFP)
- Digital resources to achieve transversal skills
- Interdisciplinary activities and workshops
Professional Future
In the Master in Publishing you will share a classroom in Barcelona with students from different national and international backgrounds, which will allow you to grow not only academically, but also culturally and personally.
The participants of the master come from various academic and business areas. This contributes to creating a multidisciplinary and collaborative spirit in the classroom, which is enriching for everyone.
Student profile
The Master in Publishing brings together students from all over the world with a very heterogeneous profile in which three large groups stand out: recent graduates in Humanities or Social Sciences who aim to make the leap from the university to the professional world and enter the publishing sector; young people who are already working as professionals in the publishing sector and who want to advance in their professional career, and independent professionals or professionals with accredited experience in the publishing sector who want to expand their knowledge to start and create their own publishing company or literary agency.
Average age
International participants
Previous studies in Letters (Humanities, Applied Languages, Philosophy, etc.)
Previous studies in Journalism and Communication
Previous studies in Law
Career opportunities
In the more than 20 years of the master's, two out of every five of our students develop a prestigious professional career in publishing companies of the highest international level. Their presence in positions of high responsibility in large corporations is numerous and recognized.
One in 10 students creates their own company in the publishing sector.
The network of Alumni of the master's is extensive and international and encourages meetings and professional exchanges between former students of the master's degree.
- Publisher in a publishing company
- Create your own publishing company
- Literary agent
- Marketing in Publishing