Editor's Note: Face to Face

Last month Isaacs and I talked for an hour in her New York apartment, to which she kindly invited me. You’ll read this interview on page 19 and appreciate, as did I, her insights into how and why the book business is changing.

The experience reminds me that, sometimes, in our electronically connected world, we forget the value of face-to-face, of making an impression with a direct approach, a smile and a handshake. And while the efficiency of email is indisputable, it still doesn’t surpass the impact of looking someone in the eye and having one of those old-fashioned encounters called a conversation.

Speaking of face-to-face, I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to mark your calendar for some face time with us, the Publishing Business Group. From September 23-25 this year, we’ll be hosting our annual Publishing Business Conference & Expo at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Right now we’re busy selecting session topics, lining up speakers, and creating a number of special events that will run during the conference, all enabling you to have face-to-face time with colleagues new and old. We’ll be putting special emphasis at the show on networking opportunities. I love to play hostess, and I’ll be working to make sure I meet you and introduce you to each other at our show.

Please plan to join us, and please also feel free to send me speaking proposals or ideas for what you’d like us to cover at the show.

And now I can’t resist the urge to sign off with a little Bogey: “Here’s looking at you!”