Industry Day Program | 24 November

Industry Day Program 2023

• 8:45-9:00am

  • Acknowledgement of Country

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

• 9:00-10:00am

  • BookScan

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

    Claire West and Olivia Johansson

    Claire West and Olivia Johansson talk through the facts, stats and figures from Nielsen BookScan. Beginning with a look at current consumer trends, the presentation will explore the state of the Australian Book Market, including an update on the small, independent Australian publishing sector and an explainer of metadata’s importance to publishers of any size..

     

     

• 10:00-10:30am

  • Morning tea

    Break

• 10:30-11:30am

  • Mike Shatzkin interview

    Joining us on-screen from New York is international guest, Mike Shatzkin, legendary publishing consultant and author of the blog idealog.com, in conversation with Tim Coronel (SPN GM). Tim and Mike will discuss the state of the book trade in the US and internationally, the potential roles that AI will play in publishing and the state of play for digital formats.

  • Strategic development for small publishers

    Workshop space upstairs (Wheeler Centre)

    Esther Anatolitis, Kate Larsen, Alex Adsett and Anna Burkey

    What’s our approach to strategic work as journal editors, small publishers, facilitators, agents and collaborators? How are we developing our own strategies, and how are we building the independent literary sector together? With Writers Australia due to form part of Creative Australia from mid-2025, a once-in-a-generation policy opportunity awaits us: how best to influence its focus in ways that strengthen our work?

• 11:30-12:30pm

  • First Nations – story, culture, community

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

    Arlie Alizzi, Alily Rose, Jane Harrison & Rochelle Armstrong

    First Nations storytelling in all forms from the continent now called Australia keeps taking the world by storm.

    First Nations Peoples want independent publishers to play their part in bringing First Nations stories and writing to eager audiences.

    This panel wants to talk straight about representation, economics, systemic racism and cultural leadership. It’s time.

• 12:30-1:30pm

  • Lunch

    Break

• 1:30-2:25pm

  • Creating author communities

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

    Debbie Lee, Kelly Irving, Anna Kate Blair & Tina Clark

    Writing may be a solitary pursuit but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one. Find out how authors can benefit from connecting with likeminded souls to develop their concept, refine their manuscript and hone their craft, or even find a publisher. Whether joining  an online platform such as Kelly Irving’s Expert Author Community (aimed at business, self-help and memoir authors); attending  Tina Clark’s annual ‘CYA conference’ for authors of children’s, YA, and adult fiction; or joining  a state-based organisation such as WritersVictoria, with its dynamic program curated by Anna Kate Blair,  opportunities abound for authors to establish good writing habits within a supportive community.

  • The library supply chain and why good metadata matters

    Workshop space upstairs (Wheeler Centre)

    Rachael McDiarmid, Sarah Cavanagh & Donna Anderson

    What is metadata, why is it important, and how do booksellers and library suppliers utilise the information they receive about books? In this session, we refresh the do’s and don’ts about bibliographic data and share some tips to help you manage your book data. Library suppliers discuss how they work with libraries and why accurate, timely book information is important for the supply chain. We delve further into library workflows for both print and ebook distribution, and what library suppliers require to maximise sales and service.

• 2:30-3:25pm

  • Perfecting the pitch – to publishers, media, literary journals, writers’ fests

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

    Emily Westmoreland, Peter Rose, Cora Roberts & Kate Cuthbert

    Whether preparing a book proposal for submission for a publisher, an article, short story or work of poetry for a literary journal, a presentation/session at a Literary Festival, or  a media/press release for a newsworthy title, this will be a broad-ranging discussion, nutting out the key elements of a powerful pitch. Learn what to include (and what not to include) for maximum impact and best chance of success.

  • Bookselling – innovation, inclusion & diversity

    Workshop space upstairs (Wheeler Centre)

    Brittany Schulz, Jaye Chin-Dusting, Anna MacDonald and Jing Xuan Teo

    From the booksellers themselves, to the books that they stock, to the way that they sell them, and the communities they serve, bookshops are ideally positioned to be inclusive, to reflect diversity, and to be ingenious! Some bookshops have literally popped up online to cater to a specific readership, while others, longer-standing have had to adapt with the times. In this session, four dynamic booksellers will discuss their motivations, the opportunities they’ve embraced and the lessons they’ve learned.

• 3:30-4:25pm

  • AI and the publishing industry

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

    Millicent Webber, Olivia Lanchester, Campbell Wilson, Susan Hawthorne and Rebecca Giblin

    AI, AI, AI – everyone’s talking about it, but what does it mean for the future of books, authors and publishing? In a wide-ranging conversation, our expert panel will thrash out what we know and our best guesses about what’s coming next. What are the challenges and opportunities? What should authors and publishers be doing now to best protect their interests? And are robots really going to become sentient and take over the world?

  • Rights – international sales and list acquisition

    Workshop space upstairs (Wheeler Centre)

    Alicia Cohen, Erin Sandiford, Anna Solding and Lex Hirst

    Find out how a new publisher can get a head start by acquiring and regenerating out of print or backlist titles; how an international author may gain exposure in the ANZ market under a different imprint; and likewise, how a locally published title can be radically enhanced by the overseas sale of rights, including translations. The session will also look at the value of international book fairs, the truth about bidding wars, and what sort of terms to cut in ‘the deal’.

• 4:30-5:30pm

  • New directions in children’s publishing

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)

    James Layton, Tash Besliev, Alyson O’Brien and Kim Gruschow

    Drawing on key trends in children’s book publishing, this panel will explore content, format, learning modalities, as well as sociocultural influences from anti-woke activism and book banning, to themes of inclusion and diversity. It will also look at educational imperatives such as raising literacy levels, and channel distribution into schools, libraries and the retail market. How do publishers of children’s books decide what to publish, when to publish, and how to reach young readers?

  • Spotlight on AWARDS – intersectoral perspectives (poetry, business and genre fiction)

    Workshop space upstairs (Wheeler Centre)

    Michael Hanrahan, Shoshanna Rockman, Jess Gately and Alex Dane

    Book Awards play a critical role in the literary sector – raising the profiles of authors, publishers, and the power of stories alike. Join Alex Dane in conversation with Michael Hanrahan, of the Australian Business Book Awards, Jess Gately, a judge of the Aurealis Awards, and Shoshanna Rockman, multi award-winning poet, in a thorough interrogation of how book awards operate, their impact, and the controversies that rock them.

• 6:00pm

  • Book of the Year (BOTY) presentation

    Performance space (Wheeler Centre)