Book Business Touching Down at London Book Fair

Next week I will do two things I've never done before: visit London and attend the London Book Fair. I'm very excited about both -- though you probably want to hear my thoughts on books more than pubs (of the liquid variety).

I will be traveling with Book Business publisher Matt Steinmetz -- a veteran of the LBF -- and from what he tells me the shear size of the event and the diversity of content available for attendees is tremendous. I'm looking to fill my notebook with article ideas for the year (or years) to come and come away with new industry friends and acquaintances eager to share wisdom on the Book Business blogs and columns.

Below are a couple of the sessions and tracts that I'll be keeping a close eye on. But first, I invite you to find Matt and I myself at the fair. If you'd like to meet up or for us to stop by your booth, hit me on email (dwilson@napco.com) or tweet me @denis_philly. (Of course we'll also be using the hashtag for event, #lbf14, and will be tweeting from the show.)

I'm still digesting the conference agenda, but here's what caught my eye off the bat.

Talent & Transformation
I'm particularly interested in hearing dialogue on how publishers are managing to transform themselves and adapt to the new publishing environment. For me, this comes down to the people that run your businesses. Change is hard, but it's more manageable when you know what skills and culture you're pursuing.

Two seminars in particular speak to this:

The War for Talent: Can Publishing Attract those with the Fusion of Skills it Needs for the Future? (April 9, 2014, 10:00 - 11:00)

The Changing Face of Publishing (April 9, 2014, 11:30 - 12:30)

Direct to Consumer
I'll also be following seminars and events that speak to direct-to-consumer sales, consumer marketing and branding, and audience development. Selling Direct and Building Your Community at 10 A.M. on April 8 is one that promises to speak to this all-important trend.

The Great Debate
I'll also be sure to attend The Great Debate: It's All about Size. Bigger is Always Better at 11 A.M. on April 8. There are certainly some industry whales these days, but if other industries are any indication (the music industry, for example), I think the market will soon start rewarding small, agile industries.