Ind Pub Conf

November 8th-9th 2012 • The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne

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A new industry conference for independent publishers, November 2012, at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. ThorpeBowker

Registrations for this event are now open. Register today!

On the 8th and 9th of November 2012, SPUNC—The Small Press Network hosts an Independent Publishing Conference, Australia’s only industry-based conference aimed solely at publishers. copyrightagency Sponsored by Thorpe Bowker and supported by the Copyright Agency, the conference will feature an extensive program (see below) including a keynote address from Thomas Minkus, Vice-President of Emergent Media and English-Language Markets for the Frankfurt Book Fair and a frequent contributor to Publishing Perspectives. The conference marks the first of what will become Australia’s premier annual event for independent, Australian publishers. All members of the industry will be invited to attend.

The conference will comprise three streams:

a one-day program (Friday 9th) aimed at publishing-industry professionals from across Australia and overseas. Register for this part of the conference today.

an academic conference (Thursday 8th) for scholars researching Australian publishing (for details on the academic conference, click here.)

a public gala event (Thursday night, 6.15 p.m. Nov 8th), which will announce the winner of a new book prize: the Most Underrated Book Award 2012, and feature a literary debate featuring some of Australia’s celebrated authors, including Shane Maloney, Amy Espeseth, Jeff Sparrow and Wayne Macauley: Truth is Stranger Than Fiction. This event, which takes place in the performance space at the Wheeler Centre, is now completely booked out unless you have registered to attend either one or both days of the conference.

The full program of the the industry conference on Friday November 9th.

9.00a.m. – Registration and welcome

9.30a.m. – Keynote address given by Thomas Minkus (Vice President Emergent Media and English-Language Markets for the Frankfurt Bookfair): The rapid transformation from print to digital in the production, distribution and consumption of content creates enormous challenges and rewarding opportunities for all publishers. Thomas will share observations from Asia, Europe and North America on how publishers and startups cope with and, at the same time, shape a rapidly changing market place. There are some key findings that can be applied across markets, cultures and languages. Thomas will focus specifically on new approaches to management and marketing that he believes are relevant to publishers.

10.30-10.50 Morning Tea

10.50am – Digital Strategies – three sessions devoted to key areas in digital publishing

10.50-11.30 – Sales and merchandising, with Malcolm Neil (Kobo), Peter Haasz (Overdrive and Booki.sh) and more to be confirmed. Current trends and practices that are working best for publishers, and all the tips you need to know.

11.30-12.10 – Production and workflow – discussing conversion and workflow issues and print on demand models, with Duncan Blachford (Black Inc), Nerida Fearnley (Lightning Source), Sophy Williams (Black Inc). Brought to you by Ingram.

12.10-12.50 – Promotion, publicity and audience engagement with Estelle Tang (former online editor Kill Your Darlings), Jacinda Woodhead (deputy editor Overland magazine) and Louise Swinn (Sleepers Publishing).

12.50-1.30 – Lunch

1.30-2.15 Meet the Booksellers, brought to you by Readings: trends, statistics and changes in print bookselling with Jon Page (Pages & Pages), Martin Shaw (Readings), Tony Nash (Booktopia)

2.15-3.00 The children’s and schools book market – what can publishers learn from this robust and growing market and the publishers who specialise in it? With Andrew Wilkins (Wilkins Farago), Kirsty Wilson (Text Publishing) and Tye Cattanach (Penguin Australia)

3.00-3.45 MyIdentifiers: a special presentation on a new book data collecting and marketing system for Australian small publishers.

3.45-4.30 Conference industry wrap up and Q and A session

With thanks also to

More about the conference

SPUNC President, Emmett Stinson, says: “Independent publishing plays a key role in Australian book culture; the vast majority of titles written by Australian authors are produced by small and independent publishers. But despite the importance of Australian publishers to our literary culture, there are no annual events specifically held for independent publishers and their authors to discuss this important Australian industry.”

A public event and gala night will launch the conference, where the winner of a new prize for small publishers, The Most Underrated Book Award, will be announced. The Award, sponsored by Kobo, is the only book industry prize to award both the author and the publisher.

Kobo Australia’s Director for Vendor Relations, Malcolm Neil says: “So much of what happens in book publishing gets missed or hidden by the weight and noise from major publishing houses. Kobo loves these undervalued books and is excited to be part of a prize that clears away the noise and helps the reader find these gems.”

SPUNC is Australia’s only advocacy body for small and independent publishers. Founded in 2006, SPUNC grew from a series of informal meetings between publishers in Melbourne into a national organisation representing more than 100 publishing companies. It provides digital delivery solutions for publishers’ ebooks, sales and promotional support via ongoing bookseller relations and professional development opportunities. The Independent Publishers’ Conference has received some financial support from CAL (The Copyright Agency).

Ind Pub Conf

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