Never before have the next 10 years been more uncertain to people with the most knowledge and vision. Every change breeds complication. And the technology, which might enable the authors to sell and distribute their own material with a few keystrokes added to the end of a manuscript, forces everybody else in the publishing chain to consider how the contribution they make today will feature in tomorrow’s world.

What has already happened to the book trade has been dramatic: What follows will be even more so. The next 10 years will see further upheaval building on recent trends:

• Media ownership and channels to market are consolidating.
• Online booksellers are claiming significant market share.
• The electronic book business is going through a renaissance.
• Print-on-demand has matured to the point where it presents a serious challenge to traditional manufacturing and distribution.
• Independent bookshops are under threat from both large chains and online booksellers.

What are you doing NOW to plan for these changes?

The Seminar

During 1999, a distinguished group of publishing industry consultants met in London to begin the process of developing a scenario for the book trade in 2010. This meeting has been followed by intensive discussions with others in the book trade on how the identified trends will play out and what the “new” book trade will look like.

This scenario will form the basis for The Book Trade in 2010 seminar. Scenarios are used by some of the world’s largest companies to help them plan for uncertain futures—this is an unrivalled opportunity for the book industry to do the same.

The seminar will feature three panel sessions, presenting responses to the scenario from panels of publishers, booksellers, authors, and agents. All will base their contributions on the presented scenario so, though they may disagree with one another about the outcome, they will all approach the challenges from the same perspective.

The Benefits

The Book Trade in 2010 takes a unique approach to helping you position your business, by bringing together some of the most informed players in the industry. Attending this seminar will provide you with a coherent view of the next 10 years of the book trade, in a form that you can incorporate directly into your business development and planning. This scenario-based approach will allow you to hear not only the views of experienced industry commentators, but also the reactions of a wide range of players, each with a large stake in the future of the industry.

The seminar will equip you with a direct insight into the way that today’s industry leaders are coping with circumstances of constant change. That insight is based on the experiences and understanding of people who are planning ways for their own companies to flourish in the next decade. There can be few other opportunities to hear the predictions and thoughts of such a significant group of players from all sectors of the book trade.

In addition, the seminar promises the opportunity to meet some of the developing players in the industry and to increase the chances that your business will still be around to profit from them in 2010.

The Audience

All those involved in the business of distributing authors’ work to their readers—agents, publishers, book sellers and marketeers—must understand and embrace the imminent changes to their businesses.

This Seminar is designed for:

• Current and future generations of senior publishing management: heads of houses, CFOs, CIOs, senior commissioning editors, publishers, sales and marketing directors, specialist online publishers, senior production managers
• Book distribution: CEOs, operations directors, strategic planners, e-book distributors
• Book sales: CEOs, marketing directors, senior retail managers, online booksellers
• Providers of technology and services to the book trade: on-demand manufacturing, e-book hardware, specialist software, typesetting and manufacturing services
• Investment community: venture capitalists, analysts, fund managers

Mark Bide (Mark Bide & Associates) has nearly 30 years’ experience in the publishing industry, first as an executive with CBS Publishing and John Wiley, and for the last 7 years as a consultant, writer, and speaker on the impact of technology on intellectual property. He has researched and written extensively on issues related to the management of rights in the network environment and is the primary editor of VISTA’s Publishing in the 21st Century research paper series. He chairs the highly regarded Keynote Management seminars.

Hugh Look is a consultant and writer working in many areas of the information and publishing industries. He edits the Interactive Media International newsletter for Electronic Publishing Services Ltd, where he is also an associate consultant. His consulting work focuses on business strategy for publishing and other information industry companies, especially in areas in which business strategy is affected by changes in technology. He has a particular interest in services delivered over mobile phones and other wireless devices. He is also involved in the development of virtual communities. He has given courses in internet strategies for the Publishing Training Centre at Book House and is a regular seminar leader and speaker at industry events.

Mike Shatzkin, founder of The Idea Logical Company, Inc., a NYC-based consulting and content provision company, has been active in book publishing for more than three decades. He has written several books himself and did stints as a bookseller, editor, marketer, production manager, and sales director before becoming an independent consultant in 1979. Throughout the 1990s, Shatzkin tracked the impact of digital technology on the publishing business. He was among the first to recognize the transforming role of the Internet on the industry. He is a frequent contributor to The Bookseller and Publishers Weekly and is a popular and provocative speaker at publishing events worldwide.

The Programme

09.15 – 10.15
Welcome and description of the scenarios

Speakers: Mark Bide, Hugh Look, Mike Shatzkin

10.15 – 10.30
Break

10.30 – 12.30
The Publisher’s Panel

Alan Buckingham • (Managing Director) • DK Online
Nikki Connors • Managing Director, Citron Press
Steve Connors • Operations Director, Citron Press
Rich Freese • Senior Vice President, NBN
Les Higgins • Chief Operating Officer, HarperCollins UK

12.30 – 13.30
Lunch

13.30 – 15.00
The Bookseller’s Panel

Kenneth M. Brooks, Jr. • VP, Digital Content, Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Sridhar Gowda • The Country Bookstore, Hassop Station, Derbyshire
Simon Hawke • Academic Bookseller
Chris Pooley • CEO, Books24x7
Other panellists tbc

15.00 – 15.15
Break

15.15 – 16.45
The Author/Agent’s Panel

Carole Blake • Joint Managing Director, The Blake Friedman Literary, TV & Film Agency
Michael Carlisle • Founder, Carlisle & Company
Maureen Duffy • Author and Copyright Consultant to the CLA
Robert P. Riger • COO, subrights.com

16.45 – 17.00
Conclusions

Mark Bide, Hugh Look, Mike Shatzkin
 

Registration

To register online for The Book Trade in 2010, click here.

If you would rather print out and fax or post your registration, click here to open a .PDF version.
 

FREE ENTRY TICKETS—LIBTECH 2000
Delegates to the Book Trade in 2010 seminar have free access to the Libtech 2000 exhibition. The exhibition hours are shown below. If you are unable to attend the seminar, but would like a free ticket to Libtech 2000, please complete the appropriate section of the PDF registration form or call the ticket hotline number on 08707 511514.
 

LIBTECH 2000 EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS
Monday 20 March	10.00 – 17.30
Tuesday 21 March	10.00 – 17.30
Wednesday 22 March	10.00 – 16.00