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![]() THANK YOU! And thank you to every speaker, panelist, and moderator/facilitator who gave up your time to prepare and share your knowledge and experience with attendees. None of this would have been possible without an incredible number of hours/weeks/months of planning by our 2021 Conference Committee. You created content that kept us excited and engaged over three days, gathering experts from all corners of the industry, and addressing concerns on everyone’s minds. We raise a glass to you! Amy Barrett-Daffin, C&T Publishing • Helena Brantley, Red Pencil Publicity + Marketing • Robyn Crummer-Olson, Ooligan Press • Colleen Dunn Bates, formerly of Prospect Park Books • Laura Esterman, AAHA • Bill Fessler, American Traveler Press • Brad Lyons, Chalice Press • Cynthia Sherry, Chicago Review Press • Kevin Smokler, Author/Speaker • Miriam Warren, No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guidebooks | California Bill’s Automotive Handbooks SUPPORTING SPONSORSVIRTUAL EXHIBITORS |
Tuesday, February 2 |
8:30 - 10:00AM | Welcome & Keynote A Conversation with Jelani Memory, CEO and Co-Founder of A Kids Book About
Moderated by Kelly Barrales-Saylor, Editorial Director, Sourcebooks. |
10:30 - 11:00AM | Coffee Break Social Hour |
11:00AM - 12:00PM | Expo Open — Visit Our Exhibitors! |
12:00 - 1:00PM | New Strategies, Tools, and Tips to Promote Books and Authors... NOW. Tired of hearing about how book publicity and marketing is different, has changed, not effective? Ready for a conversation with specifics about what authors, publicity and marketing teams are actually doing to promote books...now? What’s working? What’s not? Join our conversation that will include short case studies about new and proven tactics, tools, strategies and technologies in author and book promotion. If we meet the objectives of this panel, publicity and marketing teams will leave with new ideas, tips, tools and strategies to consider and test for yourself. |
—concurrent with— | Couples Therapy 1, Booksellers and Publishers: How to Achieve the Perfect Marriage If there ever were a match made in heaven, it's the one between booksellers and book publishers. And yet.. as both struggle to survive in a retail-challenged landscape, conflicts are inevitable. Booksellers say they need more publisher support to make it, and smaller publishers say they can't possibly make the concessions that the Big Five can. This honest, informed conversation will work to break down misconceptions and shore up what is, deep down, a beautiful marriage. |
1:30 - 2:15PM | Speed Dating with Exhibitors |
—concurrent with— | Design Roundtable What challenges are designers facing today? What tools and best practices are helping us stay on top of our game in the ever-changing publishing world? Consider these and other questions in a moderated conversation with fellow travelers in the worlds of book design and production. |
2:45 - 3:30PM | Contracts for the Book Publisher: Managing to Add Enterprise Value
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—concurrent with— | Printing Roundtable |
4:00 - 5:00PM | PubWest Book Design Awards |
Wednesday, February 3 |
8:00 - 9:00AM | Why Trade Reviews and Trade Publications Still Matter What is the purpose of trade media? What is the value of a trade book review? Who writes those trade reviews? How are the key book publishing trades similar and different? What do trade media outlets, book publishers and authors miss about their role in the digital publishing landscape? What should we know about each other, as we all navigate our way in a post-Covid publishing world? |
—concurrent with— | Couples Therapy 2, Libraries and Publishers, What Is the New Normal with Libraries: How Can We Make it Work? How has 2020 shaped the relationship between libraries, librarians, and publishers? What do we predict for 2021? Ultimately librarians and publishers want the same thing for their customers — to read and develop a love of books. How can publishers and librarians work together both within their communities and at a larger scale to benefit our audiences and each other during this current transformation of the book industry. |
9:30 - 10:30AM | Speed Dating with Exhibitors |
—concurrent with— | Editorial & Acquisitions Roundtable If you work in editorial, here's your chance to learn and get inspired in conversation with your peers, on topics ranging from acquisitions in times of uncertainty to the eternal challenge of finding good freelancers. Colleen Dunn Bates of Prospect Park Books will facilitate this lively discussion. |
12:00 - 1:00PM | Audiobook Supply Chain & Distribution Roundtable |
—concurrent with— | Business & Finance Roundtable |
1:30 - 2:30PM | Jack D. Rittenhouse Award |
2:30 - 3:30PM
| Expo Open — Visit Our Exhibitors! |
4:00 - 5:00PM | Networking Happy Hour |
Thursday, February 4 |
8:00 - 9:00AM | Speed Dating with Exhibitors |
—concurrent with— | Amazon Boot Camp: All the Free Ways You Can Drive Sales at the Biggest Retailer in the World
This session will cover:
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9:30 - 10:30AM | Social Media Matters: How to Use It to Build Your Business and Sell and Promote Books Social media has fundamentally changed the way we publish and market books and the recent pandemic has sped up this change in ways that are here to stay. Discover your next bestselling author online. Prioritize finding your company voice and creating consistent content. Make the most of your author’s social platform. Develop a social media strategy that’s adaptable to the changing publishing landscape and work with influencers to drive sales.
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—concurrent with— | Couples Therapy 3, Working with your Distributor: How Have We Adapted?
In the challenging environment of the last year we’ve relied more than ever on the strong relationship distributors have to help us reach the book sellers and, ultimately, the book buyers. How have distributors adapted to the changes faced? How have we adapted? What can we do to strength our partnerships and think outside the box to ensure sales stay strong and our titles get noticed? Let’s get real! |
11:00 - 11:30AM | Membership Meeting, Members Only |
12:00 - 1:00PM | State of the Industry |
1:30 - 2:30PM | Closing Session Bill will ask his questions – and take yours – in this session that invites you to look to tomorrow with an industry visionary. |
3:00 - 4:00PM | Networking Afternoon Break |
—concurrent with— | Head of House Roundtable Join your fellow heads of house — whether it's a house of 1 or 100 — to share ideas, challenges, inspirations, solutions, and more. Open to publishing heads of house only, please. |
—concurrent with— | Expo Open — Visit Our Exhibitors! |