Publishing Business Conference: 'Exhilarating and Reassuring'
The Marriott Marquis, Times Square, New York, was abuzz April 4-6 with more than 1,200 publishing industry executives attending the Publishing Business Conference & Expo, produced by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines.
The event, which saw its highest attendance in its history, focuses on providing strategic information for senior-level executives in book and magazine publishing, with 40-plus sessions throughout the 2.5-day show and tracks dedicated to each publishing audience. This year's theme was "Thriving in the New Media Universe," and the conference program was built with the goal of helping attendees do just that.
The conference opened with two high-profile morning sessions on cross-platform publishing and social media strategy, followed by a welcome address by Esquire Editor David Granger, a keynote address by The Onion President and CEO Steve Hannah, and special guest speaker, Consultant David Aldea, who spoke on digital transformation and prioritizing financial investments going forward. Monday also featured the Third Annual Digital Magazine Symposium, now a staple of the show.
Tuesday's keynote event was an executive roundtable—featuring Workman Publishing Group Publisher Bob Miller, Ingram Content Group Chief Content Officer Phil Ollila, LJK Literary Management Founder/Agent Larry Kirshbaum, McGraw-Hill Professional President Philip Ruppel, and Scholastic Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development Jeffrey Mathews—which explored how shifts in the marketplace are impacting the entire supply chain—from distributors to publishers to authors and agents, and more. Tuesday also was rounded out by a half-day mobile strategy summit—which explored issues and solutions in mobile publishing, from the mobile Web to apps, from pricing to logistics and workflow, to business models, return on investment and more—and the annual Digital Book Printing Forum, presented by INTERQUEST.
Wednesday featured a half-day social media workshop run in cooperation with the Online Marketing Summit, which engaged the audience in success stories and tactical strategies, and provided specific solutions to social media hurdles.
