Introduction A future for all
Three conferences, 75 speakers, 10 years into the digital revolution, FutureBook 17 really does have something for everyone. Philip Jones reports
T
HE THEME FOR this year’s FutureBook Conference is “Don’t Delegate the Future”.
It’s not tricky to figure out why. As the results of this year’s Future- Book Census show (p04), around half of you think the book trade will be hit by another major disruption within five years. Nearly half of you do not. Those in the first camp will have bought their tickets for this year’s conference already; they will see the value in the ongoing discus- sions around business models, how best to exploit social media super- highways, what virtual realit offers
Contents
04 FutureBook’s Digital Census 2017 05 Keynotes Vikki Chowney and Chantal Restivo-Alessi; Rose Luckin Q&A 06–07 Audiobooks: market analysis and point of view 09 The ThinkSprint approach 11 Introducing: The six BookTech Company of the year finalists 12–15 Conference programmes and surgery sessions 16–23 Meet the speakers
creatives, how the EdTech sector can change the way we learn and why the headphone generation is drawn to audiobooks. They will be fine. It’s the naysayers I worry about. Those who will hurry through this supplement, glance askance at the programmes for the three confer- ences (see pp12–15), and idly browse through the list of 75 speakers (see pp16–23). “Nothing to see here,” they will intone. Perhaps they are aware that the Kindle is but 10 years old—the device having captured huge swathes of the commercial fiction sector, at the same time as establishing growth markets for subscription-based reading and self-publishing. Maybe they know that start-ups such as Wonderbly, Bibblio, Canelo and Acast emerged only in the past five years. I’m sure they’ve seen the remarkable growth in audiobook sales, the buzz about the device Alexa and the conversa- tion around virtual realit and artifi- cial intelligence (AI). “Nevertheless,” they might sigh, “what has the internet ever done for us?”
s. Imsure
able growth buzz about conversa-
t and artifi-
might net
But if you believe that change is a constant, that digital will impact the many, not the few; or if you are simply curious/cynical about the possible possibles, read on. This year’s FutureBook Confer- ence, the largest yet, covers the digi- tal, audio and EdTech sectors and poses series questions, with insight provided by the panelists and dele- gates engaging from the floor. Want to figure out the complicated rights situation impacting the audiobook market, or how to make beter audio that sells more? We have it covered. Need to figure out a route into the
interactive fiction (or audio) space, and how best to cater for switched- on authors? We have it sorted. Been worried about the implica- tions of AI, big data or how to make a business case for innovative think- ing? We are on it.
If that wasn’t enough, we also have half-time entertainment, with one of the UK’s most exciting podcasts, Mostly Lit, bringing its live show to the conference. Want to see a vision for how engaged read- ers imbibe books, talk books and use literature as a way into a wider social discussion on a new medium? Look no further. Thanks, as ever, to co-conspira-
tors Molly Flat, Bec Evans, Crystal Mahey-Morgan, Benedicte Page, George Burgess, Emma Lowe, Jo Forshaw, Sam Missingham, all of the sponsors this year, the chairs of each session, the speakers, the BookTech and EdTech companies pitching on the day, the FutureBook Awards shortlistees, all of the judges and, of course, delegates past, present and future.
Management PUBLISHER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nigel Roby 0361 · FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION CO-ORDINATOR Anna Marzec 0374 Editorial EDITOR Philip Jones 0364 · DEPUTY EDITOR Benedicte Page 0367 · NEWS EDITOR Lisa Campbell 0369 · REPORTER Heloise Wood 0392 · REPORTER Katherine Cowdrey 0365 · REPORTER Natasha Onwuemezi 0366 Online ASSOCIATE EDITOR Molly Flat
molly.flat@gmail.com · ONLINE EDITOR & PRODUCER Sarah Shaffi 0370 · WEB EDITOR Caroline Carpenter 0376 · EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Francesca Pymm 0390 Charts FEATURES & INSIGHT EDITOR Tom Tivnan 0373 · CHARTS & DATA ANALYST Kiera O’Brien 0375 Books BOOKS EDITOR Alice O’Keeffe 0372 · NON-FICTION PREVIEW Caroline Sanderson
carosande@aol.com
· CHILDREN’S PREVIEWS Fiona Noble
fionanoble@btinternet.com · PAPERBACK PREVIEW Alison Flood
paperbackpreview@gmail.com Production HEAD OF CENTRAL PRODUCTION Mark Guest 0377 · CREATIVE EDITOR Danny Arter 0379 Advertising HEAD OF PUBLISHER RELATIONS Emma Lowe 0362 · BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Lara Pace 0393 · HEAD OF CLIENT DEVELOPMENT Gerard O’hare 0384 · ACCOUNT MANAGER Emma Hare 0387 Marketing/Events AUDIENCE MARKETING MANAGER Kirstine Bowen 0371 · EVENTS & ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Hilary Bell 0385
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