Shona Burns: 2008 Publishing Executive Hall of Fame Inductee

The most immediate challenge affecting the industry, however, is the impact of short-run, digital printing, observes Burns. “The growth in the last three years is really amazing,” she says. “I think internally, getting procedures and processes in place that do not rely so much on print is a huge challenge—probably the biggest challenge to all production departments at the moment.”

For Chronicle, the impact of digital printing on production operations is most acutely seen in a major project that is currently underway to digitize the company’s backlist.

“I’ve been in this industry for 23 years. When I think about where I started, looking at baseboards with linotype on it that would stick on with glue, and here I am now trying to make books for Kindle with images in them, it’s just incredible,” Burns says. “If the next 20 years are like this, then hold on to your hat.”

Responsibility Beyond the Boardroom
While helping to steer Chronicle through these momentous changes, Burns has made time to be a leader in other ways, speaking on production topics at the influential Stanford Summer Publishing Course. “I find … education … really interesting because you get to share ideas and talk about what you do and inspire others. That’s really important to me,” she says. She sees mentorship as a key component of management and credits Elizabeth Hallett, director of design and production at Hodder & Stoughton, as a mentor and inspiration to her early in her career.

Burns also works with nonprofit environmental advocacy organization Green Press Initiative as an adviser on the group’s Book Industry Environmental Council, which is working to establish industrywide standards and recognition for environmental efforts.

“Shona has been an early leader on the environmental front, tackling the challenge of ecological responsibility and overseas production,” says Tyson Miller, director of the Green Press Initiative. “She helped to develop the ‘Treatise on Responsible Paper,’ and she has represented Chronicle on the Book Industry Environmental Council. Her voice, honesty and perspective is invaluable. She has helped the industry’s momentum in this area in a big way.”