Journalism alumnus publishes first book

Date: 14 December 2009

A Journalism graduate will celebrate an exciting literary milestone in January next year when his first book is published.

The book, Cycle Touring in Ireland (Cicerone Press ISBN 1852845627), was a three-year labour of love for Tom Cooper, a freelance writer who now lives in London, England.

Tom graduated from USQ with a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) in 2002, after undertaking his studies via distance education.

'I owe a lot to USQ,' the 45-year-old said.

'Like many people in their mid-30s I was in a bit of a career slump doing a job I didn't particularly enjoy; in my case, working in IT. USQ gave me the flexibility to retrain in a new direction while still keeping up my income from my existing job.'

During his studies Tom won the university's David Kilmartin Literary Award for academic achievement in English literature.

'The journalism training I received was second-to-none and made me stand out when I started looking for a job as a journalist. Added to that, the degree structure which made me study other majors too, gave me a sound academic training which really came in handy when researching and writing a big project like this book.'

Tom found his first journalism job advertised on USQ's website: a trainee reporter at the Gatton, Lockyer and Brisbane Valley Star.

Later, when he moved back to England to be closer to his family, Tom found his journalism training stood him in good stead.

'My first editor in England was a bit hesitant about giving me a job, but he didn't regret it. He later told me that however it was they trained journalists in Australia, they must be doing it right,' he said.

Tom is currently the editor of UK hockey magazine PUSH, a job which took him to Holland for the European championships last year and should be taking him to the India for the World Cup in 2010.

'It just shows that if you are determined, and get the right training, you can change careers successfully,' he said.

Contact Details:
Media Contact: Madeleine Tiller, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 1163 or 0400 025 429