Oxford Brookes University | Publishing | Publishing Podcasts: Recent Episodes
Oxford International Centre for Publishing
Podcasts from the Oxford International Centre for Publishing at Oxford Brookes University. Speakers from the Publishing industry in front of an audience of students, lecturers and guests.
Ugne Matuliauskaite,Ciara Myton andAnnabelle Coleman all work at Sweet Cherry Publishing, a multi-award-winning children’s book publisher. They all share their experiences with our podcast host, Will Chalk.
Abby Shaw - is a recent graduate from Media, Journalism and Publishing at Oxford Brookes University. Abby is an Editorial Assistant at Bloomsbury, in the Childrens Division.
Helena Markou, Subject Coordinator for the MA Publishing in conversation with Claire Philip, Freelance Children's Book Editor and Career Coach.In this episode, we discuss resilience, positivity, and dealing with the emotional rollercoaster of hunting for a job in publishing. Claire and Helena bring in some statistics from the recently published FLIP Report: Workplace Survey 2024. Other links to items mentioned in this podcast:Children’s Book North mentorship scheme:Morning Pages by Julia Cameron;New York Times article Welcome to the London Book Fair where everyone knows their place
Children’s books that accurately reflect neurodiverse characters and themes have been hailed as “the latest publishing trend” in 2023, as publishers begin to realise the commercial potential of a previously underserved reading market. At a time when more and more school children are being diagnosed as having special educational needs, research shows that class study of neurodiverse books can be helpful to foster inclusion and greater understanding of these conditions. In this podcast, Richard Woolley asks to what extent neurodiverse books are making their way into secondary schools, with expert commentary from the frontline of teaching from Jen Owen.
In this podcast episode, Lily Carreiro covers the trends following the rise in popularity of Young Adult book subscription boxes among readers, from their redefinition of the book as an immersive, collectable product, to their ability to draw together an active community of bibliophiles on social media. The widespread book publicity and online exchange of ideas that have followed among new generations have urged industry professionals to reconsider the YA book market’s own trajectory, but what can publishers do to adapt and thrive in the face of tenacious and assertive young consumers?
In this episode ofOxford International Centre for Publishing Podcast, Associate Trainee Tugce Bicakci-Syed dives deep into the topic of inclusivity in children’s & YA publishing. Drawing on the results of CLPE’s Reflecting Realities research, Bicakci-Syed explores how simply increasing diverse representation is not enough on the journey towards true inclusivity, particularly for children with SEND. Featuring the publisher Sanjee De Silva from Sweet Cherry Publishing on a discussion about their new imprint Every Cherry, the episode highlights the significant role of real-life experiences in achieving authentic representation and the research behind designing an imprint tailored for children with SEND.
Can you read this text without a hitch? Many children worldwide cannot say the same. In this episode of the Oxford Brookes Publishing podcast, distance-learning Master’s student Stephen Flynn explores findings from UNESCO’s “2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, Technology in education: A tool on whose terms?” Together with colleague and researcher Chandni Jain, he discusses a variety of topics and their implications for improving children’s literacy levels, includingOpen Educational Resources, concerns for representation and linguistic inclusion, and community libraries, citing one suchinitiativein Kenya that brings students, caregivers and teachers together to create a culture of reading.
Join me, Becky Grace, and children’s author Gianna Pollero, the genius behind the hilariously funnyMonster Doughnutsseries, as we discuss what it takes to be a children’s author. Drawing on writer and editor Susan Greenberg’s study on editing and the relationships within that process, we take you from agent to editor to illustrator, to find out how that team can bring your story from concept to printed book.
In this podcast,Claire Philip(Children's Editor and Career Coach) talks candidly to Helena Markou, (Senior Lecturer, MA Publishing) about the publishing industry's worsening pay problem as announced by the latestBook Careers Salary Survey. Careers in publishing demand specific and often quitetechnical skills but the remuneration doesn't always match up. Claire and Helena talk through being strategic in prioritising long-term financial wellbeing, actions to progress your salary and career from when is it sustainable to accept low-paid opportunities to how to negotiate a pay rise in your current role?
In this episode MA Publishing student Meri Millan discusses why publishers should care about preserving linguistic diversity and what role children’s picture books play in achieving it. She touches on some publisher-led initiatives to publish in the Ryukyuan languages, endangered languages native to Okinawa, Japan. As well as recommending her two absolute favourite picture books.
In October 2022, MA Publishing student Lucy Derges travelled to the Frankfurt Book Fair to investigate the current health of the children’s and young adult market, the coming global challenges it could face and how incorporating diversity, equality and inclusion though requiring additional investment offers opportunity.
This video is a recording of the recent ‘Discovering Sanxingdui’ event from the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes University and SouthwestJiaotong University. The event was hosted for 180 attendees and was moderated bysinologueand historian, Dr Frances Wood (吴芳思). During the event, participantsviewedimmersive virtual toursshowcasingthe museum andthe extraordinary finds from the Sanxingdui culture.Dame Jessica Rawson from the University of Oxford and Associate ProfessorHaoZhao (赵昊) from Peking University discussed the special artefactsfrom the site.
Join author Xiang Jen Yao, translator Robert Hall and editor Angela Koo to celebrate the English edition of The Art of Chinese Living (2022). Together they discuss with journalist Samantha Harman of Oxford International Centre for Publishing and Dr Zhu Zhu, researcher in Translation Studies of University of Aberdeen, their experience working on this large translation project. In particular, focusing on how the author, translator and publisher work together in overcoming various challenges to shape the final product for readers..
With the numbers of children and young adults getting diagnosed with mental health conditions increasing, it’s more important than ever that we have open and honest discussions with our young people about mental ill-health. Mental health illnesses have for years, been shrouded in secrecy, with negative discourse surrounding them. So, how can the publishing industry destigmatise and encourage constructive conversations about mental health through our young adult books and begin a dialogue with our young people about their own mental health?
Join me, David Rogers, and my guest, literary agent James Catchpole (http://www.thecatchpoleagency.co.uk) as we discuss what illustrators and authors need to succeed in contemporary children’s publishing. During our talk, we consider four key principles of finding success: the importance of having an individual voice, how vital it is to know the audience and industry you are writing or illustrating for, the significance of a good story, and an appropriate consideration of societal issues, such as diversity and representation. Examples of successful children’s and YA books are also provided, and further insights are referenced from a range of industry professionals.
Audiobooks for children. Are they beneficial for literacy or are they just a lazy way out of reading? This is the question we will be trying to find answers to in today’s episode. Are there any advantages of audiobooks over physical books? Are they more attractive for children? What about reading levels, does the auditive dimension overcome this barrier? Should we feel like we’re cheating if we encourage children to listen rather than read books? We will be looking at research from the National Literacy Trust that analyses this issue. Tune in to find out more.
In this podcast episode, Publishing Studies MA student Stacey McDevitt explores four key areas of children’s non-fiction publishing relevant to today, reporting on the thriving UK and USA markets and delving into trends in children’s non-fiction, formats, diversity and inclusion, and new highly anticipated non-fiction imprints to look out for such as Hardie Grant’s Bright Light and Macmillan’s Neon Squid Books.
In this podcast, Sophie Jones explores the UK market for picture books in translation and why so few mainstream publishers are engaged in this area of children’s publishing. In an interview with Greet Pauwelijn of Book Island, she discovers the key role played by small, independent publishers in increasing access and bibliodiversity, and learns about the difficulties they face in bringing picture books from abroad into the UK market.
Picture books are an excellent way to start conversations with young children about mental health issues that affect us all. It can be a difficult topic to approach, especially if you are not sure how to initiate or explain the subject. In this episode, our podcaster will share their top picture book recommendations for discussing mental health with children, as well as why addressing it is important for their emotional intelligence.
An online webinar on the value of literary festivals and their future in a post-Covid world. Bothacademics and practitioners discussed the challenges faced by literary festivals in the time of the pandemic, and what lessons can be drawn for how events are run. Speakers from Ireland, Italy and the UK included Sally Dunsmore, Guido Guerzoni, Miriam Johnson, Catherine Moylan, Julianne Mooney, Bernadette Quinn, Giulia Rossetti, and Michela Zin.
Angus Phillips in conversation with Nicolas Cheetham, CEO of Head of Zeus and the publisher of Liu Cixin’s works in the UK. Nicolas talks about the success of the books, SF in China, and future publication plans. Liu Cixin was the first Chinese author to win the prestigious Hugo Award. President Barack Obama praised hisThe Three-Body Problemas ‘just wildly imaginative’ and Mark Zuckerberg recommended it to his Facebook followers.This webinar was an event for the Book Club established by the Confucius Institute at Oxford Brookes.
Angus Phillips in conversation with Richard Lennon, Publishing Director at Penguin Random House Audio. Richard talks about trends in the UK audio market, some recent bestsellers, and the kind of projects that work well as audiobooks.
Nitasha Devasar is Managing Director, Taylor and Francis India & South Asia, and President of the Association of Publishers in India (API). Her bookPublishers on Publishing: Inside India’s Book Businessgives a panoramic insider view of Indian publishing. We hear about the landscape of publishing in India, in particular academic publishing, and of developments in research and higher education.
OICP's Angus Phillips and Alexandra Shakespeare recently took part in a panel discussion for Oxford schoolwww.doverbroecks.comon how to break into the Media, Journalismand Publishing industries.
Catherine is Head of Sales and Marketing at the independent children's publishing companyNosy Crow. She talks about trends in children's publishing, the success of middle grade books, and issues such as diversity and the impact of the corona virus.
Daniel Bunyard is a Publishing Director and Head of Non-fiction publishing at Penguin Michael Joseph, a division of Penguin Random House. He talks about the motivations behind the purchasing of books and what kinds of purchases are being made in a time of corona virus.
Samantha Harman is the editor of the Oxford Mail. She discusses regional journalism, making it pay, trust in local news and the effects of the covid-19 virus.
Mike Shatzkin is a respected commentator on the book business. He covers a wide range of topics from digital change, ebooks and the supply chain to the future of the Big Five publishers.
Jonathan Glasspool is Managing Director of Bloomsbury Academic & Professional and President of Bloomsbury USA. He is interviewed by Angus Phillips of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing at Oxford Brookes University.He offers his expert view on non-consumer publishing including academic and specialist publishing. He predicts a further shift towards digital, for example in the library market.
Andre Breedt shares recent trends in the UK book market and internationally. He discusses genres and categories in the consumer market, and shows 2020 sales data from Italy during the virus lockdown.
Mariana runs her own company, Fruto. In this talk Mariana explains all about her company and how they work with clients on their user experience projects.
James Quinney, Content Architect, andSean Pankhurst, Senior Digital Content Controller, Oxford University Press explain their roles within the digital content delivery team at OUP and talk about practicalities of digital workflow and digital issues faced by this publishing house.
Carl has been in publishing since1995 and has worked for PearsonEducation, Macmillan Education andOxford University Press. At Ixxus,Carl’s focus is upon helping clientslook at business vision, goals andstrategies around their contentand tooling to enable flexibility andreadiness to meet the ever-changingdemands of the digital market.
Mark Allin, was CEO of Wiley from 2015 to 2017. He was the guest speaker during the Working in Publishing Day.
Marc Bloch, Head of Digital Learning Services, Pearson Educationand Sze-Kie Ho, Product Manager at Pearson talk about creating digital products for the educational market.
Gathering meaningful metadata, granularity, analytics, and how usage statistics inform commercial decisions in publishing.
Camille Mari introduces the audience to some very useful techniques to make better use of Twitter to market ourselves, our books or our company.
Meeting the challenge of publishing blended products and services for GCSE Science. Changing how we work and shifting to continuous delivery of content to meet customer needs.
Guy talks about some ofthe latest digital developments and how they impact storytelling and the publishing industry.
Sally Bayley is a Lecturer in English at Balliol College, Oxford and the authorof the crowd-funded bookThe Private Life of the Diary,published by Unbound. Sally talks to Beverley Tarquini about both this new book and also her other writing projects, includingherwork on Sylvia Plath.She shares her thoughtson howauthors operate and in particular, how they interact with their editors.
Made in Memake innovative and inspirational apps, games, websites, books and videos. Eric will talk about his career in book publishing, brand development, TV, gaming and the world of children’s entertainment. He will demonstrateMe Books: the ultimate collection of digital books and comics for kids and tell you the story behind the product.
Michael considers what publishers have always done and asks is this the same today, using case studies from the industry. He examines key trends that we should pay attention to amidst all the noise, in an attempt to predict the future.
At the End of the 'Working in Publishing' day at the OICPS, Jo Prior gave a fascinating talk on the future of publishing as seen from Penquin Books.
Dale Peters is Head of Corporate Development(RM Education) and presents RM Books a system for delivering eBooks into schools.
David talks about gathering meaningful metadata, granularity, analytics, and how usage statistics inform commercial decisions in publishing.
The publisher is responsible for a product from concept to delivery:
Concept to high quality product or service Creation in a timely way to budget Providing something that people want to buy Ensuring we make a profit!
… so what’s different in the digital worldcompared to print?
‘Have you considered what a career in production might look like in the digital age? The size, number of opportunities and ex-perience gained in new technologies for such a role are worth considering in the age of electronic content, where attention to detail is critical and delivery nearly instantaneous.
‘Being published’ is traditionally a seal of the quality and authenticity of research, and has been since the 17th century. If you thought academic publishing was stuffy, think again: things are changing rapidly; and people are now sharing knowledge and consuming content on the Internet for free. How does an academic publisher respond and add value beyond the written word, what is the author’s point-of-view in these transactions, and how does it contribute to the furthering of knowledge as a partner to academia as well as a player within it? As publishers cope with this change, we too must manage the change hap-pening around us as new job roles are created, and new technology is adopted. Is content still king? Come and find out! Moderated by Angus Phillips, Oxford Brookes University.
Publishing is well known as a competitive industry. And Atwood Tate is one of the most recognisable names in Publishing Recruit-ment. With years of experience matching the right people with the right jobs, Claire Louise and Kellie are here to share their expertise on the best ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Come and meet them from 11am, and make the most of their knowledge of the recruitment processes of leading Publishing Houses.
You can be guaranteed that a life in publishing will bring with it some rather exciting and interesting stories. In this seminar, two publishers (one turned publishing consultant) will share their own stories of how they got their breaks in the industry, the different paths they’ve followed and the exotic locations they have stopped-in along the way. Including Hollywood!
Change is inevitable. And for Osprey, change was embraced to ensure future success. Listen to Osprey’s CEO, Rebecca Smart, weave an engaging and honest story of how the company’s growth was as much a process of discovery as it was a strategic decision that would ensure its survival, and demonstrate that managing yourself for and through change can help lead others through the same process. Samantha Missingham will then share her ideas on how the ‘cream doesn’t always rise to the top’; how people (young pub-lishers specifically) need to get their hustle on - using social media. Samantha will then present some tips for creating and getting your dream job, building credibility, and getting exposure.
With the growth in the use of tablets to consume media, including books, what is happening to the boundaries between books and games? There are now books of games, and games of books – what, for example, do we call an interactive children’s product, and does it matter? An expert panel from publishing and the games industry examines a range of topics including our continuing need for exciting stories on which games can be developed, and how publishers are looking to develop a digital strategy across media platforms.
Richard Charkin is theExecutive Director of Bloomsbury Publishing and gave this talk as the final session for the Working in Publishing event in the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies. The talk is introduced by Angus Phillips, head of the OICPS and was attended by students, lecturersand guests.
Not every idea for a book will be developed into a manuscript. Sarah explained that all new proposals must be reviewed internally and externally and a strong business case put forward before a contract is signed and the content written. This means that she has to keep a regular stream of new ideas flowing into the process.
Dr Liz Marchant is Head of Publishing: Science and ICT(Pearson Education), and her talk focusses on Digital Publishing
This talk was given as part of the conference: Progressing Book History and Publishing Studies as Disciplines a British Academy Funded Event on Wednesday October 24th2012 The purpose of this event was to discuss and agree a set of objectives that will enable us to further the progression of Publishing Studies as an established field of research and teaching.
How should the role of a Digital Publisher/Product Manager be defined and what does this involve? Matt Kibble's talk will cover a number of different roles (technical, business, editorial, marketing) and address the fact that the job is defined in different ways at every company. Matt will illustrate these points with a range of products from the major online publishers and explain what is involved in bringing these products to market. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear about structure and responsibilities of digital roles from someone working in a publishing company that is clearly integrating digital at the heart of its corporate development strategy.
Leander Reeves, Senior Lecturer in Publishing, was interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford on Friday 14 September 2012 about the publication in France of the topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge. The magazineCloserwas the subject of legal action regarding the pictures of Kate Middleton. Thank you very much to BBC Radio Oxford for allowing us to use the recording of this interview.
For World Book Day, 1 March 2012, the lunchtime show on BBC Radio Oxford looked at key developments in the story of the book. These included the development of printing, the paperback revolution of the 1930s, and the present growth in the popularity of ebooks. Both Jane Potter and Angus Phillips from the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies were interviewed for the programme by Jo Thoenes.
Self-publishing, eBooks, Amazon, piracy - the threats to trade publishing are numerous but the opportunities are too. Publishers need to be creative and agile in order to adapt to the rapidly changing retail and consumer environments we currently face. Thinking about content creatively and taking risks on new formats and retail channels is vital. Kay will talk briefly about what Random House is doing in this area and will also touch on how other trade publishers are evolving from the traditional book publishing model into the multi-platform 'content' model.
Chris is a technologist first and foremost. Chris studied on the Modular Course at Brookes between 1993 and 1996, his main subjects were Computing, Intelligent Systems and Bodrum Kebabs.The inspiration for Bardowl came from years of listening to audiobooks and podcasts, knowing they could be delivered better. Chris has only ever worked in mobile, starting his career at Orange in 1997 and has worked at the most exciting mobile companies since, pioneering the mobile internet and apps ecosystems. Chris cannot quite believe his luck that his two passions of Books and Mobile have intersected as industries and enabled him to start Bardowl. Chris also organises conferences and barcamps such as The Power of One, The Big M, openMIC and BathCamp. Chris lives in Bath, is married with 2 children, has a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon-Do and supports Tottenham Hotspur. Chris tweets far too much at @bookmeister.
The age of the manager is coming to a close. Doing, not directing, is the secret to making a difference in organisations - particularly those in a mature industry coming under increasing fire from newcomers and disruptive technologies. You, personally, need to be able to not only use but invent leading-edge technological solutions. Emma Barnes, co-founder and MD of innovative indie publisher Snowbooks, will share some real-world examples of the sorts of problems facing the modern publisher, and how technological competence can overcome them.
Publishing On-demand: just in time , not just in case
Print on-Demand eBooks Print on-Demand and eBooks: Publishing On-Demand
One workflow, multiple outputs
Liz Marchant linforms us about some of the digital projects she has been involved in at Pearson Education. The talk will focuses primarily on digital delivery of science and ICT related products for secondary schools. Dr Liz Marchant is Head of Publishing: Science and ICT(Pearson)
Lindsay Mooney of Kobo talks about their partnership with WH Smith’s and how Kobo can work with publishers in the UK to distribute ebooks both here in the UK ad worldwide.
Linda Bennett of Gold Leaf to provide an overview of the UK ebook market and emerging models including ebook borrowing
John discusses what it means to be Green in publishing. He addresses global issues as well as how to apply green approaches to the business of publishing. He talks also about his experience of running a small ethically-minded publishing company for over 20 years and the lessons he has learned. The talk explores how things are changing in the broad current economic and environmental climate and how this might affect business in general in the future.
Juliette will talks about her experiences of the commissioning process, seeing a manuscript through from start to finish and different approaches to editing. She will also touch on dealing with authors and agents and launching the book into the world.
Jon Dodd foundedBunnyFootin 1999, in the early days of usability, we were the first consultancy to offer professional accessibility services and the first to offer eyetracking as standard. They concentrate on user centred design and usability, and also offer specialist eyetracking services to ad agencies and for market research.
Many companies appreciate the necessity to engage with social media, including blogs, Twitter and Facebook. What is the marketing strategy behind this engagement and what kind of results can be expected? Publishers may be building their brand online, creating communities, or aiming to drive the sales of individual titles. Three experts explain the range of benefits from using social media. This seminar is chaired byAngus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes University. He is the author ofInside Book Publishing(with Giles Clark), the editor ofThe Future of the Book in the Digital Age(with Bill Cope), and the Editor-in-Chief of the journalLogos.
What is the carbon footprint of a printed book, and how does it compare with the carbon footprint of an e-book or an e-reader? Is digital more environmentally friendly than print? Should publishers stick with print, or lead the rush to digital? These questions are of serious concern to those in the industry as well as to authors and readers, as e-books and e-readers start making significant inroads into the domain of the printed book; where countervailing claims are easy to make, hard to prove, and even less easy to interpret. The seminar brings together an expert panel from the publishing industry to look at the current issues thrown up by the digital/print debate, to explore the extent to which the publishing industry has gone to reduce its carbon footprint, and to assess the options for not only reducing it further but for making it really green and sustainable as well.
An irreverent romp through 40 years of analogue and (from 1984) digital publishing – which should prompt some career ideas or at least cautionary tales. Based on his current business, David will also suggest how a growing number of 21st-century publishing businesses and careers will look radically different from the current ‘norm’.
This talk was given as part of the New Product Development module on the Masters courses in Publishing
What has to change for traditional publishers as they migrate to digital publishing? What stays the same? And can they make the transition without losing themselves in the process? Alison Jones is Director of Digital Development Palgrave Macmillan
Richard Hart gained a law degree from Cambridge University, then briefly worked as a university lecturer in law before getting his first job in publishing with Professional Books. In 1986 he was appointed Law Editor at OUP, and in 1996 left to launch his own publishing company, Hart Publishing – where he is currently Managing Director. In this talk, Richard Hart depicts the role of independent academic publishers within the publishing industry and speaks about how smaller academic publishers can indeed compete with large corporations and sometimes even do a better job than big businesses.
ActiveTeachwas a landmark product forPearson. The launch of ActiveTeach changed the entire market dynamic, making an equivalent digital component essential for any new course. This product is demonstrated during the talk, which covers the development of the idea and the execution of the product creation. Further information about ActiveTeach can be found on the Pearson web site
Suzanne Wilson-Higginshas over 20 years experience in publishing, bookselling, print-on-demand and ebooks. In January 2011 she was appointed Sales & Marketing Director at Lion-Hudson plc a publisher of Christian books and general books based on a Christian ethos for adults and children. As Commercial Director at Lightning Source UK Ltd, she launched print on-demand and e-book services to the UK market in 2000 and over 9.5 years developed the business from start-up to a broad customer base across Europe. Previously she served 5 years on the board of bookseller and library supplier BH Blackwell Ltd with responsibility for electronic service development, marketing and publisher relations. And prior to that served 5 years with Reed-Elsevier plc subsidiaries commissioning business books, auditing digital rights, and championing digital publishing. Suzanne has also undertaken projects for leading internet retailer The Book Depository and an electronic technology service provider the Ninestars group based in India.
Toby Mundyis a leading figure in the publishing industry. After training as a graduate recruit at HarperCollins, where he was editorial assistantto Stuart Proffitt, and later took on responsibility for Fontana Press, he joined Weidenfeld & Nicolson as editorial director in 1998. In 2000 he becamemanaging directorand publisher of newly formed Atlantic Books, whose bestsellers include the Booker winningThe White Tiger,by Aravind Adiga,and recent titles such asThe SlapbyChristos Tsiolkas.
John Thompsonis Professor of Sociology at Cambridge University and Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.Recent publications includeBooks in the Digital Age(2005) andMerchants of Culture(2010). He was awarded the European Amalfi Prize for Sociology and the Social Sciences in 2001 for his work on political scandal. In his bookMerchants of Culturehe provides a fascinating account of the high-risk culture in consumer publishing on both sides of the Atlantic. Revealed is the world of agents and scouts, of auctions and deals, often with large sums of money paid out to authors, as publishers gamble in the hope of signing the next Harry Potter or Dan Brown.
Barbara Trapidois an internationally successful author, renowned for her dark satirical comedies. She has writtena number ofnovels, includingBrother of the More Famous Jack(1982), which won the Whitbread Special Prize for Fiction,Temples of Delight(1990), shortlisted for theSunday ExpressBook of the Year Award,Juggling(1994), andFrankie & Stankie(2003). In its mix of people from different spheres,Sex and Stravinsky, published by Bloomsbury in May 2010, throws up the complexity, cruelty and richness of the global world while, as a sequence of personal stories, it comes together like a dance; a masquerade in which things are not always what they seem.
Beverley Tarquini, Senior Lecturer in Publishing, Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, was the chair for this seminar. The 3 speakers were:
Jonathan Ferman, Business Development Manager, Creative Solutions Adobe Systems Europe Ltd Robin Harvie, Editorial director, The Friday Project at Harper Collins
Alison Jones, Director of Digital Development, Palgrave Macmillan Publishers
Michael Bhaskar is the current Digital Publishing Manager at Profile Books, where he is developing their ebook programme. Previously at Pan Macmillan from 2007 to 2010, he developed the digital programme from scratch. He will be talking about the challenges for big and small companies in the digital world, and how, when it comes to ebooks, publishers are misinformed. Michael also writes for BookBrunch.
From the micro-blogging wonder of Twitter, to the media sharing experience of Flickr, through to the omnipotent social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace; it is a veritable multi-media minefield out there! To shine a light on this brave new world, Sam Missingham, Director, Lounge Marketing; Head of Audience Development for The Bookseller Magazine and http://www.thebookseller.com, and Davina Quarterman, List Marketing Manager, Life Science Journals, Wiley-Blackwell will be talking to us about how publishers can take advantage of social media platforms to develop their titles and to connect with their audience. Speakers Sam Missingham —Director, Lounge Marketing; Head of Audience Development for The Bookseller Magazine and http://www.thebookseller.com (See presentation -PDF) Davina Quarterman —List Marketing Manager, Life Science Journals (See presentation -PDF)
Emma Barnes is Co-founder and Managing Director of Snowbooks, an independent publisher, and is Director of OnixCentral, a xml-based software supplier to the publishing industry.
Dr Simon Juden is the Chief Executive, Publishers Association. This talk was given as a Digital Lunchtime Seminar in the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies.
Stuart Lee is Reader in E-learning and Digital Libraries and Project Director of the First World War Poetry Digital Archive digitisation project and Great War Archive Initiative
Before joining Lightning Source UK in July 2000, Suzanne worked for 5 years as a company director with B.H.Blackwell Limited, the book retailer, international library supplier and subscription services company. While at Blackwell’s she was the director responsible for marketing communications, electronic product development and publisher relations.
Christopher Davis is uniquely positioned to tell the story of DK's rise and fall. He joined the company at its foundation and in due course became Group Publisher. The narrative he provides is a dual one, encompassing the visionary genius of Peter Kindersley and the publishing revolution he fomented, and charting the remarkable, sometimes precarious, frequently hilarious, roller-coaster ride as the company grew from a handful of people in a studio in South London to a substantial global business.
Wendy Cope, celebrated poet and author of acclaimed collections of her poetry ('Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis') joins Will Atkinson, Sales and Marketing Director of her publishers, Faber & Faber. This event was organised by OPUS but took place at the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes University.
Join Bridget Shine, Executive Director of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), as she outlines the current state of the book trade and its impact on independent publishers. Bridget will provide insight from the front lines of the industry and will look at how independent publishers are weathering the recession. She will also show how the IPG is supporting its members. Giles Lewis, Director of How To Books, will join her and provide the case study of an independent publisher trading in the current climate.
Vanessa Lafaye from Wiley-Blackwell introduces the Online Compass Journals. The Compass journals publish state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed survey articles entirely online, there is no print version. This innovative product is demonstrated and the use of technology explained. Here is the link to the online Journal.
Publishers are increasingly being forced to respond to seismic changes in their environment: can they evolve to survive in the new information landscape, and what challenges and opportunities do they face? Alison Jones is Director of Digital Development at Palgrave Macmillan
During this presentation Richard Orme, the Head of Accessibility for the RNIB, explains his organization's role as an alternate format publisher. He shows how they work hand-in-hand with other publishers, to improve the way their books can be made available to all.
In this talk, Antony Harwood, a leading literary agent, will introduce the business of the literary agent, examining agents' relationships with the rest of the publishing industry, with related media industries,and with authors. He will also discuss some of the current issues in the publishing market affecting the business of the literary agent. Antony Harwood began his publishing career as a Production Assistant at Chatto & Windus, later becoming head of the Publicity Department and eventually Commissioning Editor (working with authors including Angela Carter, Toni Morrison and Iris Murdoch). He then moved into literary agenting, working at Gillon Aitken and the Curtis Brown Group before founding his own agency in 2000, which has been based in Oxford since 2003. His clients include literary, mass-market and young adult authors, including Alan Hollinghurst, A L Kennedy, Louise Doughty, Dorothy Koomson, George Monbiot and Garth Nix.
Outlining three exciting recent experiments in open-access literature, Simone Murray's illustrated talk investigates what the digital future of literature might look like, and what its impact will be on writers, publishers and readers. Developments around online publishing, electronic-books, print on demand and digital libraries see publishers facing challenges on every side. How might publishers' traditional role as gatekeepers of literary culture be similarly usurped in an environment characterised by networked books, wiki-novels and fictional ‘rip and burn' practices?
Harry Bingham is the author of five novels (The Money Makers, Sweet Talking Money, The Sons of Adam, Glory Boys and The Lieutenant’s Lover), all from HarperCollins, and a non-fiction book, This Little Britain (Fourth Estate), an entertaining, argumentative romp through British history, full of surprising facts. Harry is also the Editorial Director of The Writers’ Workshop, a company which offers editorial advice to writers, screen-writers, & poets. Read more about The Writers’ Workshop on their website http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/
Dr Danielle Fuller is Senior Lecturer in Canadian Studies at the University of Birmingham and Director of the Regional Centre for Canadian Studies at Birmingham since 1997. Her research centres around reading, writing and publishing communities. Her publications including Writing the Everyday: Women’s Textual Communities in Atlantic Canada. She is Director of Beyond the Book, an AHRC-funded research project investigating mass reading events and contemporary cultures of reading in the UK, USA and Canada.
Clare Christian has experienced both. First, by working for several large corporate publishing companies, and then by establishing her own company, The Friday Project. In this talk, she will look at the pros and cons of both environments; explain the excitement of setting up a new business; and explore the ways in which The Friday Project intersects with new media.
Angus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, appeared on Radio Oxford's Danny Cox show on 17 October 2007, talking about ebooks and the future of the book. Angus is the editor (with Bill Cope) of The Future of the Book in the Digital Age (2006), and the author (with Giles Clark) of the new edition of Inside Book Publishing (2008).With the kind permission of BBC Radio Oxford, and thanks to Danny Cox.
Is publishing about culture or commerce? Should publishers prioritise the dissemination of art, information, and education, or the making of money? Who, ultimately, should publishers be responsible to - the general public, shareholders or the aesthetic good? Andrew Franklin discusses these issues, drawing on his own experience working for a small independent and a large corporate publisher.
Green Futures aims to lead the debate on how to achieve a sustainable future. It raises questions such as ‘How green is my gap year?’, interviews leading figures about environmental concerns, and explores issues including paper and ink use in the printing industries and sustainable travel and tourism. Hannah Bullock is Deputy Editor of Green Futures. She has contributed to the Telegraph and the London-based N16 magazine, and has worked at Green Futures since 2003.
Joel Rickett is News and Deputy Editor of The Bookseller. He also writes a weekly column for The Guardian on ‘the latest news from the publishing industry’. What is the relationship between the book industry and its weekly trade journal, The Bookseller? In this seminar, Joel Rickett will discuss this question, by looking at The Bookseller‘s role in book marketing and promotion, and how it works alongside publishers and retailers to sell books. The Bookseller also provides industry analysis and commentary, and a forum for debate and opposing opinions about publishing developments and controversies.
John Mitchinson is one of the main writers on the BBC2 TV panel show QI, hosted by Stephen Fry and is co-author with QI’s founder John Lloyd of The Book of General Ignorance (Faber). He is a director of the QI Club & Bookshop in Oxford. He was Waterstone’s first marketing director and was subsequently Managing Director of The Harvill Press and Cassell & Co. He is chair of the London Centre for International Storytelling and a Vice President of the Hay Festival.
Laura Atkins worked for seven years in editorial departments in the United States where she helped to produce winners of the Coretta Scott King Award and American Library Association Notable Book selections, amongst others. Her particular focus was producing multicultural picture books. She received an MA in Children’s Literature from Roehampton University, and has done postgraduate work in the area of multicultural children’s publishing. A steering committee member for the recent Diversity Matters: Growing Markets in Children’s Publishing conference, sponsored by Arts Council England, she also runs children’s literature conferences at the National Centre for Research in Children’s’ Literature (NCRCL), and provides consultation services to publishers. Her website is www.lauraatkins.com .