M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media
Alumna, Class of 2010
Laura De Silva, 24, wrote more than a dozen freelance articles for dance and high-end lifestyle magazines during her undergraduate career. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English and a desire to become a publisher.
While pursuing the M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media at NYU-SCPS, De Silva learned how the dynamic world of bookselling is being transformed by what has become her professional passion: eBooks. It was during her class in Book Sales and Distribution that Random House executive and adjunct instructor Jacqueline Updike illustrated the vitality of book publishing by explaining the strategies for distributing author Dan Brown’s blockbuster, The Lost Symbol. Updike discussed the process of print and eBook sales and marketing as it was happening. "We got the sense that publishing is real, not the dying industry the media makes it out to be. It was encouraging and refreshing," says De Silva.
She met former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman at an NYU-SCPS event and was intrigued by Friedman’s vision of marketing digital books by authors whose works are neglected on sellers’ shelves. De Silva was hired as an intern at Friedman’s company, Open Road Integrated Media, and was promoted to associate digital marketing manager.