Thursday, 24^th May 2012 (London)

Guest of Honour: Richard Mollet, Chief Executive, The Publishers Association

This seminar will offer a timely opportunity to consider the current and future challenges posed by structural change in the publishing industry emanating from the increased popularity of the eBook, declining sales of physical books and the rise of supermarket retailing. Timed to follow the consultation on Public Lending Rights from library loans and the coming changes to copyright law following the Hargreaves Review, it will address emerging issues concerning the future of book revenues in an already pressured market.

Delegates will assess future trends in book retailing, with planned sessions exploring the maturing eBook market, the growth of the tablet and mobile internet, and how they will affect the future of the eReader. The agenda includes discussion of the effect of reduced sales on publishers and authors, as well as high street, independent and online booksellers, and the future role of the book shop as retailers choose new, diverse models for book promotion, discounting and improving customer experience.

For more details or to book click here.

Laura talking BookMachine at the London Book Fair (photo © Toby Rhind-Tutt)

BookMachine YourEvent

At the packed, and mighty fine INPN session held at this week’s London Book Fair, we were excited to announce our new project ‘YourEvent‘ .

This gives you the chance to hold your own BookMachine social, and have it promoted on this here site.

It could be a book launch, you might be starting a new company, or maybe you’d just like a good excuse to have a shindig with publishing-types in your town… either way, your party will be plugged in to the BookMachine network!

If you reckon this sounds good, you can find out more and sign up here.

It’s been said, that it’s the most fun you can have in publishing with your clothes on.*

It’s been said, that if you can talk books, digital publishing, politics, haircuts, music or… anything, then this is the place to be.**

You can sign up here:

BookMachine @ Porter’s Bar (The Green Man), 383 Euston Rd, London, NW1 3AU

23rd February 2012, 6.30pm

I’ve blogged for BookMachine before about the value of an MA in Publishing, an issue that was debated further by a lecture-hall full of publishing academics, publishers, industry representatives and other interested parties last week. The Are publishers born or made? symposium at Kingston University was designed to provide a forum for discussing the value and content of academic publishing qualifications, how industry and academia might work more closely together and what publishing-related research is – and should be – undertaken. If that all sounds a bit like academic navel-gazing, the presence of Richard Mollet (CEO of the Publishers Association) along with a number of professional publishers demonstrated the practical relevance of all this.

This is our first ever Christmas party in Edinburgh, and while we can’t say for sure that it’ll be greatest publishing shindig of our times, we can strongly hint at it.

Amble along to the fine establishment that is Carter’s Bar on Morrison Street from 6pm tonight and join us for drinks, chat and other such things. Meet new people, old people, work people, feast on festive toasties and Tunnocks chocolate products.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

This event is hosted by those fine (and mighty generous) folks at Bright Red Publishing, who will be standing a glass of bubbly and mince pie for all arrivals.

Sign up here, and find out who else will be there:

Tahira Rahemtulla is one of the City University project leaders for Publishing Now 2011. A week on from the big event, Tahira reports on happenings over the weekend…

This past Friday saw another of our regular Twitter debates on the state of publishing, in advance of this coming weekend’s Publishing Now conference. The topic this time was how innovation is adding value to publishing. What follows is a selection of highlights; all contributions are available on Twitter through the hashtag #pubnow (which, incidentally, was also the first two words out of my mouth when I finished trawling through all the tweets).