The DK Experience: A First Step into Publishing

Posted on June 8, 2026 in INTO, Wales

If you’re a publishing hopeful residing outside of London, you more than likely know how difficult it is finding work in your area. Such was the case for me, someone who had grown up in South Wales. I always had a deep love for the written word, so it was only natural that I eventually found my way to the publishing industry.

Last year, I directed my job search into the field of publishing in earnest. It wasn’t until May that I received my first opportunity: I was selected to participate in the DK Experience, a two-week remote programme taking place in June. This was my third time applying, and the following month, I embarked on an insightful adventure into the world of publishing that would shape my career ideals for months to come.

Unlike other publishing work experience programmes, DK aims to offer their placement to underrepresented candidates who also originate from or currently live outside of London and the Home Counties. For my fellow Welsh hopefuls, this means you! Everyone in my cohort brought a unique perspective because we had come from such different places.

If I had to sum up the experience in one word, it would be comprehensive. I worked with the DK Knowledge team, with a focus on creative and editorial tasks. Once my cohort had been briefed, we jumped straight into meeting publishing professionals, balancing individual tasks with our overarching project.

Over the course of the programme, I was partnered with two other interns to produce a book pitch presentation for our final day. Our genre was children’s non-fiction, which proved to be an interesting research project with plenty of opportunities for innovative ideas. Most of all, I enjoyed getting to know my team; because of our different careers and locations, from radio to academia to retail across Wales, Scotland and England, we divided our work appropriately while contributing to each other’s ideas.

Each day was packed with activity—each morning started with a project meeting and research, followed by regular check-ins with our hosts. Being able to share our experiences with our hosts allowed them to alter the programme to suit our needs. The rest of my day would contain team meetings and independent tasks. We got to hear presentations from departments across the company, from Sales to Data Analytics and even Sustainability. Each meeting offered the opportunity to ask more about the different roles and responsibilities in each division, learning about DK but also publishing as an industry.

Between meetings, I completed tasks from proofreading to writing pitch documents, as well as performing market research. My favourite part of the experience was getting creative with project ideas, including creating moodboards and pitching add-ins for books and other products. Most importantly, working remotely eliminated the stress of a long commute or arranging temporary accommodation, which gave me the freedom and energy to get truly stuck into my work. I got to liaise with staff across the company, learning about their journeys into publishing and building confidence as I realised I was on the right track.

As part of our book pitch presentation, our hosts gave us the opportunity to visit our local bookshops and gather information on our prospective competition’s titles. We found this particularly enlightening because each of our locations had vastly different approaches to their children’s literature sections. A perfect example of this was that bookshops in South Wales promote Welsh language children’s books that aren’t even accessible in the Midlands or Scotland. Our unique placements allowed us to gather broader data across the UK.

The key to a great internship is a combination of supportive hosts and being curious, which means asking everything you’ve ever wanted to know. Whenever you have a question, no matter how small or seemingly unrelated, jot it down and ask—everyone will be happy to share their experiences and knowledge! Whether you want to learn how to approach a career in design or the step-by-step process of a marketing campaign, every moment is a teachable one.

In a world of competitive publishing careers, the DK Experience was the perfect introduction to publishing for a Welsh candidate trying to break into a London-centric industry. Although publishers have begun to decentralise from London, I hope to see more opportunities arise for those of us outside the capital in the near future.

Written by Cerys Wheel