Press Release: IDPF Lifts Curtain on Select Speakers and Themes for Digital Book 2014

New York, NY (March 12, 2014) Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) have announced early details of the conference program for the upcoming IDPF Digital Book 2014 (idpf.org/db14). BISG's Making Information Pay 2014 is now a track of IDPF Digital Book 2014, the flagship digital conference at BookExpo America. The conference is scheduled for May 28-29, 2014 at the Javits Center in New York City and is expected to draw a global audience of over 1000 publishing professionals.

For exceptional value, registration for IDPF Digital Book 2014, which includes Making Information Pay 2014, provides full access to the full BookExpo America trade show. Early bird pricing ends April 28, 2014. Register here: both IDPF and BISG members can take advantage of the Member discount. Nonprofit discounts are also available.

Digital Book 2014 is the industry's longest-running forum for a strategic analysis of emerging trends in digital publishing. It is designed to give publishers, marketers, designers, developers, authors, agents, librarians and school administrators the practical information and necessary tools required to lead in this time of rapid change. In-depth sessions and workshops analyze key opportunities and pitfalls, highlight compelling business strategies and emerging best practices and will provide attendees with practical, actionable solutions.

Current themes to be covered at Digital Book 2014 include: the convergence of print and eBooks, global distribution and developments, restructuring the publishing team, EDUPUB (the emerging standard for education publishing), library discovery, open source publishing, the author perspective, the future classroom and much more. Initial featured speakers include bestselling authors Nicholas Carr, James Frey, and eBook sensations Hugh Howey, Belle Andre, and Barbara Freethy. Additional keynote speakers, leading technological experts, solutions providers, chief marketers and other c-suite speakers will be announced soon.

Making Information Pay will feature Douglas Rushkoff as keynote speaker. Rushkoff is the author of Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now and many other bestselling books, and is a frequent commentator on media, technology, and culture. It is scheduled for the afternoon of May 29 from 1:30-5:00 pm.

The Making Information Pay track will provide a close evaluation of subscription models of selling digital content. Ted Hill of THA Associates will provide preliminary findings from BISG's forthcoming study on subscription models, Digital Books and the New Subscription Economy. Andrew Savikas of Safari Books Online will discuss the user data available to subscription service providers, what it reveals about user interaction with content; and how that information can benefit publishers. Jonathan Stolper, Senior Vice-President, Client Services at Nielsen Book Americas, will provide a data-first look at the place of subscription services in the market. Other panels will include publishers and the major subscription service providers including Scribd to identify the most effective strategies for both sides.

Current sponsors of the IDPF Digital Book 2014 conference include Ingram, OverDrive, SPi Global (Platinum), Bluefire Productions, Booktrack, Bowker (Gold), Gutenberg Technology (Silver), Book Business Magazine, Good e-Reader, Publishers Weekly (Media). Limited sponsorship opportunities remain. Current sponsors of Making Information Pay include Bowker and Media Services Group. For information, please contact Wendy Erman Wels at digitalbook@idpf.org or Jeanette Zwart at Jeanette@bisg.org.