On DBW, SXSWi, Upcoming Gigs and Steampunk

You’re losing control of your own destiny. Authors, distributors and readers are getting closer to each other.

–Shiv Singh, Engaging Readers in the Digital Age

Three weeks ago, when I last posted something here, I was on the verge of completely disappearing into Digital Book World, both the conference and the community that spun out of it, the latter now representing my day [and night, and some weekends] job.

So I’ve been pretty busy.

Thankfully, it’s been a good busy, and the next couple of months are going to be very exciting.

Digital Book World

The conference was a huge success by pretty much any measure — I had the extreme honor of giving the closing remarks, “The Future of Publishing is Bright” — and the community platform is quickly coming together, starting with a series of free WEBcasts; in-person seminars (Digitize Your Career); and more to be announced.

Our weekly WEBcast, The Roundtable has been especially fun, a 30-minute interactive talk show where I get to talk shop with some of the smartest people I know in publishing, while making good use of Twitter. It started out as a bit of a lark, but it’s turned into one of the most enjoyable parts of my job, not quite on the level of starting a basketball league, but definitely in the same ballpark.

One side effect of my being so deeply embedded in DBW is that this blog will suffer a bit, as most of my publishing-related writing will now be over there, and I haven’t yet figured out how to balance the two. Somewhat ironic considering…

SXSWi

I’ve been intrigued by SXSW for years (partly because I love any excuse to visit Austin), and after last year’s New Think for Old Publishers debacle, I was hoping to figure out an angle to attend this year’s conference. Thanks to the wonderful Emily Gordon, I’ll be participating on her panel “Why Keep Blogging? Real Answers for Smart Tweeple“. I’m planning to attend the full Interactive conference, and am REALLY looking forward to seeing Jaron (YOU ARE NOT A GADGET) Lanier’s presentation.

I might also be squeezing in a poetry gig down in San Antonio before heading back home, thanks to Vincent Toro.

Empire State Book Festival

I was invited to participate on a panel at the Empire State Book Festival in Albany, “The Future of the Book”, with Richard Nash, Jami Attenberg, Don Linn, Andrew Albanese and Ron Hogan. Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz will be hosting a poetry slam as part of the Festival, too.

I’m also hoping to meet Patrick Boegel in person so he can introduce me to some good regional craft beers.

MORE CONFERENCES

I’ll also be attending Tools of Change and Publishing Business Conference & Expo, both here in NYC. After this flurry of conferences, I’m going to need a serious vacation!

STEAMPUNK

Later this week, I’ll have an update on my 2010 Genre Tour, which got off to a good start as I discovered steampunk… but I may never get to another genre as it feels like I’ve discovered home! Check out my “steampunk” tag on delicious for a glimpse of the world I’ve stumbled into and might never leave.

Written by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is the Chief Content Officer for LibraryPass, and former publisher & marketing director for Writer’s Digest. Previously, he was also project lead for the Panorama Project; director, content strategy & audience development for Library Journal & School Library Journal; and founding director of programming & business development for the original Digital Book World.

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