Event News

Hot Topics Debated at The Digital Roundtable
DBW's interactive webcast is a live and lively forum for publishing professionals

NEW YORK – January 13, 2010 – "All in all, 2009 may have been the most painful year of a disruptive decade for publishers. But it was never dull." – Publishers Weekly, Better Luck Next Year

How consumers interact with eBooks vs. print books is one of this week's hot topics at  The Digital Roundtable—a free, live and interactive webcast presented by Digital Book World that takes place weekly on Thursdays at 1:00p.m. EST. Register now.

The Digital Roundtable will gather some of publishing's most outspoken industry professionals to debate the hottest issues being discussed that week in traditional media, the blogiverse and on Twitter. Continue Reading...


Publishers Fight Back: Can the Industry Defeat Piracy?
Digital Book World speakers share eBook strategies and models

New York—December 17, 2009—Back in September, Macmillan CEO John Sargent reported that pirated versions of 90% of Macmillan's frontlist titles could be found online, stirring much conversation about what, if anything, the book publishing industry can do about piracy.

Timing of eBook releases, pricing and digital rights management are all topics that will be discussed at Digital Book World. The new conference on publishing and digital change will take place January 26-27, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City, and will offer consumer book publishers information and insights to enable them to craft strategies for adapting to, and embracing, digital change.

On the first day of Digital Book World, Brian Napack, President of Macmillan, will deliver a call to arms for publishers to fight what Macmillan sees as a mortal threat: piracy in the eBook space. In Digital Book Piracy: It's Here. Let's Deal with It, Napack will describe Macmillan's view of what each publisher can do and what the industry should do to fight a problem, which, in his company's view, could threaten the underpinnings of publishing as a commercial enterprise. Continue Reading...


Strategies and Solutions for Consumer Publishers at Digital Book World

NEW YORK—December 10, 2009—Access to key product and service providers to the book publishing industry will add to the networking opportunities at the upcoming Digital Book World conference. “Practical, actionable takeaways are the focus of this conference,” explains Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Director of Audience Development for Digital Book World. “In addition to our outstanding program and expert speakers, our sponsors and exhibitors offer our attendees the tools they need to implement the strategies they’ll learn about.”

Co-sponsoring the conference is Publishers Lunch, the industry's “daily essential read” for more than 40,000 publishing professionals. The conference program was created by Conference Chair Mike Shatzkin of The Idea Logical Company with the guidance of the Conference Advisory Board—all well-recognized thought leaders from across the book supply chain.

Supporting associations and groups include the Book Industry Study Group, Independent Book Publishers Association and New York University School of Continuing and Special Studies. Continue Reading...


Is Publishing Ready for the Digital Transition?
Digital Book World focuses on the unique challenges
consumer publishers face in transforming the business model

NEW YORK – November 16, 2009 – Marketing costs are rising. Sales channels are shrinking. Google is looming. And now, politicians are entering the debate about book pricing.

Are publishers ready for the future?

Digital Book World will address the radically evolving consumer publishing environment, offering strategies to meet the challenges of developing a viable digital strategy while fundamentally transforming the business model. Attendees will represent multiple disciplines across the industry including senior management, editors, agents, marketers, production, eMedia, and digital strategists.

Mike Shatzkin, Conference Chair and digital strategist, with an Advisory Board featuring industry's leaders from publishers of all sizes, have created a compelling program that addresses the unique needs of consumer publishers. The Conference opens with a keynote presented by Shiv Singh, Ad Age Media Maven and VP and Global Social Media Lead at Razorfish. Following his keynote, Dominique Raccah (Sourcebooks) will present a progress report on the innovative vertical community, PoetrySpeaks.com; Amanda Edmonds (Google) will discuss books in “the cloud”, and Brian Napack (Macmillan) will tackle the controversial issue of piracy and eBooks. Continue Reading...

Consumer Attitudes Toward eBook Reading
BISG Report to Debut at Digital Book World

NEW YORK – November 9, 2009 – As eBook sales continue to grow, many publishers are finding themselves in new and unfamiliar territory: What do readers want; which formats do they prefer; and how much are they willing to pay for digital content?

To answer these critical questions, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) recently launched a research project, “Consumer Attitudes toward eBook Reading”, to evaluate readers’ actual interest in and preferences for digital content, and the factors that influence their reading habits and purchasing decisions. The initial look at the first round data from the ongoing survey will be presented at Digital Book World on January 27, 2010, as part of a morning program that will address the issue of eBooks: Opportunity or Threat? Continue Reading...


The Price is Right: Not Just an eBook Issue
Digital Book World addresses pricing issues and offers strategies for moving forward

NEW YORK – November 2, 2009 – "While I take a back seat to no one in arguing that publishers owe it to readers to provide books in all formats at reasonable prices, and that the customer ultimately drives the business, it's important to remember that publishers have another set of customers who are in play and upon whom they are equally dependent" says Don Linn, former Owner/CEO of Consortium Book Sales & Distribution. "Those customers are called authors and creators and we need to balance their economic realities with those of readers."

The impact of pricing on midlist authors, the workhorses of most publishers' backlists, is the topic of discussion in Linn's op-ed, Caught in the Middle: Publishing's Other Customers, published today on the Digital Book World blog.

"We need these writers and a significant component of a publishers' role is to sustain, encourage and build their careers," Linn explains. "When content's price and value is pushed below a sustainable level for publishers, these writers will suffer." Continue Reading...


Shiv Singh, Ad Age Media Maven and Social Media Expert at Razorfish, to Give Keynote Presentation at Digital Book Word 2010
Social influence marketing for consumer publishers

NEW YORK – October 27, 2009 – NEW YORK – October 27, 2009 – "Social Influence Marketing offers new opportunities for marketers to engage consumers with a brand,” says Shiv Singh, expert on digital strategy and social influence marketing. Singh will be the opening keynote speaker at Digital Book World 2010. A 2009 Ad Age Media Maven, Singh is the VP and Global Social Media Lead for Razorfish, an interactive agency that helps their clients innovate and build brands by creating engaging consumer experiences in the digital world. Singh advises clients such as Victoria’s Secret, MillerCoors, and Levi Strauss & Co on social influence marketing—how to incorporate social media and social technologies to support marketing and business objectives.

Singh will speak on the first day of the Digital Book World conference, presented by F+W Media on January 26-27, 2010 at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Digital Book World is the first conference of its kind designed to help consumer publishers maximize their assets in the short term while developing and executing a digital strategy. Continue Reading...


MORE EVENT NEWS

Hear from DBW's Speakers

That’s When I Reach for My Revolver
by Kassia Krozser, BookSquare.com

You want to see a woman scream and tear out her hair? Watch me as I read or listen to a publishing professional explain why ebook prices are so high. It’s the advances! It’s the pirates! It’s the business model! It’s because we have to protect hardcover sales! It’s about preserving value!

Yes, yes, I say, by all means, do your best to alienate people who want to buy your books. Make it hard for them, make it as hard as possible. Hold back on releases, use DRM, ignore quality control issues, set prices out of line with what the reader gets. Do all of this. It can only help in a time when the reading customer is faced with so many other options.

Go ahead, focus on the wrong problem(s). It’s okay. There is plenty of competition ready to capitalize on your mistakes. Continue reading...

MORE SPEAKER COMMENTARIES

Digital Book World in the News

“We are very, very excited about this new conference! Go to the website, learn more, attend.”
– BookSquare.com

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Publishing Perspectives:
What’s the Buzz: Pynchon’s Trailer; Digital World Book Conference

A few days ago, Mike Shatzkin hinted in his blog that his new project would soon be made public. That project, the Digital Book World Conference, was announced on August 4, through co-sponsor Publishers Lunch. With an impressive advisory board and a lofty promise to “shape your future publishing program, forever” you should keep an eye on this two-day event in January 2010. Follow the updates on Twitter or subscribe on the website to get email updates.

Continue reading...

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Folio: RBI’s Variety, F+W Launch Industry Events
Despite economy, publishers expect several hundred attendees to turn out.

Enthusiast publisher F+W Media said it will produce the “first-ever” Digital Book World Conference, an event addressing the evolving commercial publishing environment, targeting publishers of consumer books and their trading partners.

F+W, which publishes Writer’s Digest and Writer’s Market, said it expects between 400 and 450 people to turn out for the event, which is scheduled for January 26 to 27 in New York City.