Meet our team: Sarah Marks & Elizabeth Eagan – Communications Managers

#NapierBigRead ‘Meet Our Team’ is back. This week we’re talking to postgrad students Elizabeth Eagan and Sarah Marks about what they do and why you should be excited for the release of Detective McLevy’s Casebook. We’re also revealing how you can get involved and even offering a few lucky people the chance to get your hands on a copy of the book before it’s been released.

Describe your role in the Big Read. What do you do?

Both: We manage Communications for #NapierBigRead. It is our responsibility to keep track of the activities and progress of each team and to keep everyone well informed. Being a small team, this requires effective planning, coordination, and sometimes, deadlines! Our main tasks involve liaising between teams and departments, scheduling and planning, and keeping an updated database of Big Read contacts. As the Big Read is a collaborative project, we are also members of #NapierBigRead’s Social Media Team, regularly engaging with our followers on Twitter.

Why did you decide to volunteer for the Big Read scheme?

E: Dedicating time each week to support the Big Read scheme, and contribute to the promotion of this year’s book Detective McLevy’s Casebook was an easy decision for me to make. I am enthusiastic about the scheme’s aim to inspire and bring together students and staff in the university through reading, creating a sense of community. I share the Big Read’s belief in the power of reading to positively impact people’s lives, and I thought it would be a great way to get to know and work with my fellow students.

S: Having the opportunity to get hands-on experience with projects like this is one of the reasons why I chose to study at Napier. It’s really rewarding to work as a team towards a tangible goal and it gives us as students the chance to explore different roles in publishing before we leave university.

What are you most excited about for the Big Read?

E:  I love the fact that anyone in the university can participate and enjoy this reading scheme, not just the typical booklover. This is a fantastic chance to be a part of something in the wider community of the university and to get to know other students and staff also reading the book. If you live in Edinburgh and enjoy exploring, then this is also your opportunity to visit some of McLevy’s old haunts, and some truly interesting spots!

S: Detective McLevy’s Casebook is right up my street. I love reading about real life historical characters and can’t wait to share that with other people! It’s amazing getting to see what old Edinburgh was like through the eyes of the #RealSherlockHolmes. Plus, I love the sassy lady thief that McLevy describes in the first chapter, you can tell he secretly admires her ingenuity and skill!

Why do you think this project is important for the university?

Both: The shared reading experience that this project represents holds so much potential for students and staff. It’s a great icebreaker and an easy way to get people talking across departments. It also provides international students with an engaging means of getting to grips with the city, its history and culture. And of course, the close ties to Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes have definitely helped us garner a really enthusiastic response to the book so far. It’s all very exciting!

How can students get involved?

Both: Students can get involved by engaging with our various social media platforms. Find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @NapierBigRead. This is where you will hear about #NapierBigRead related events and the eagerly awaited release date of the book.  Of course, we’re also very open to potential collaborations. If students in other schools within the university are interested in working on the project with us, then simply get in touch with your ideas. We’ll be happy to chat with you!

We’d also love to know what you think about the book. So if you just can’t wait to get your hands on #DetectiveMcLevy’sCasebook then get in touch via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tell us why you should be given pre-release proofs and the chance to review the book before it hits campus!

Just for fun, what are you reading just now?

E: I’ve only just got around to starting The Wiseman’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I love a good fantasy book and really enjoyed The Name of the Wind, the first novel of the series, so very happy to get stuck into this one.

S: I’ve actually just finished reading Pat Barker’s Regeneration which is set, coincidentally, here in Edinburgh – at Craiglockhart actually. It’s the story of a psychologist working at the hospital there during the First World War and features Siegfried Sassoon quite heavily. It’s a great book, one that negotiates the issue of war in a really sympathetic and interesting way.  

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