Is the Publishing Innovation Forum an event the industry really needs?
15 years ago, the original Digital Book World was announced via press release in the midst of a disruptive time for the trade publishing industry. Change was inevitable and technologists were loudly proclaiming the death of print, the death of traditional publishers, and the democratization of everything at various conferences and on various websites — most of whom were happily chasing tech companies’ sponsorship and ad revenue.
DBW was a breath of fresh air at the time for an industry that felt like it was under siege — produced by and for publishers with skin in the game rather than consultants and pundits with snake oil to sell, and I had the privilege of having a front row seat as one the main people running the show its first two years.
Unfortunately, DBW is long gone, including several years as a zombie brand after it was sold to new owners, and nothing’s really come along since to fill the gap. PubWest and IBPA, in particular, put on good events, but they don’t have the reach DBW had at its peak, serving publishers of all sizes while also bringing a strong mix of industry partners to the table, nurturing practical, collaborative conversations.
Is the Publishing Innovation Forum an event the industry needs right now? I think so.
Produced by Firebrand — one of my favorite industry partners over the years — they’ve lined up a solid roster of speakers and sessions, featuring experienced practitioners focusing on (mostly) practical topics. Unlike DBW’s first year, libraries even made it onto the agenda!
Disclosure: I’m speaking at the event, presenting and moderating the “Partnering with Public Libraries: Acquisitions, Discovery, and Reader Engagement” session. I’m really excited to be able to put Nashville Public Library in the spotlight at an event in their own backyard, particularly because the PW feature I wrote about them happened right before the pandemic locked everything down, and this will be my first time back in Nashville since then.
I’m particularly looking forward to Mary McAveney’s keynote, as I’ve been a fan since her days at Open Road and have been intrigued by the recent changes at Abrams under her leadership. Kobo’s Michael Tamblyn always has interesting data and insights to share on the ebook side of things.
The “Book Marketing at Any Budget” session should be a good one, partly because you rarely get to see comics marketers in the mix on non-comics industry panels. I also can’t miss BISG’s Brian O’Leary talking about transforming the supply chain, nor the “Distribution in the Digital Age” panel discussion — both of which are relevant for the day job.
I was really tempted to participate in the Ignite session, but having produced a few Pecha Kuchas back in my DBW days (including performing in one of them), I know how much time it takes to prep if you’re being serious about it. I also don’t trust myself to tackle the “handling change” topic delicately when AI is on the agenda and we’re also in the midst of a heated Presidential campaign the industry seems to mostly be sitting out.
Ultimately, a conference isn’t solely judged by its speakers and sessions, but also the audience it attracts and how engagement is nurtured, especially now that social media has imploded and scattered people across platforms. I miss the “old days” of being able to follow events via hashtags, or live tweeting them myself — participating in the larger conversation beyond the confines of the conference itself. I’m curious to see how Firebrand and the attendees handle it, and I’m not sure yet what I’ll be doing beyond taking as many barely legible notes as possible.
If they get everything right, though, I can see this becoming a useful annual event on the industry calendar.
Learn more at publishinginnovationforum.com.
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::liking:: (since the button is not available to me)
Another Jetpack issue that I’m starting to think isn’t theme-specific.
It sadly looks that way.