Three reasons the Publishers‘ Forum in Berlin is relevant to you

The Publishers‘ Forum (April 27 and 28, 2015 in Berlin) analyzes and discusses the transformations in the German book market in an international context and from a variety of different perspectives. Three reasons why this is relevant for you:

Reason 1: financing – what options are available to independent publishers?

First off, the subject of publishers‘ objectives and their finance strategies. A glance at the global book publisher rankings makes one thing clear: the biggest publishers obtain their financing via the stock exchange or via bond issues (traded on a regulated market). But what other options are available to classical publishing houses (family-run businesses) that wish to remain independent? Management consultant and investor, Aljoscha Walser (GER), poses this question in his presentation on the theme „Money and Strategy“ at the beginning of the conference.

Reason 2: e-books for people who simply cannot buy traditional books

Or, secondly, „the potential of e-books“. Certainly, scrutiny of their modest growth in many areas is important as a barometer for the development of the market in Germany, but it takes an organization like Worldreader (www.worldreader.org) to reveal the truescope of the potential of e-books.

15,000 titles on mobile phones for 180,000 people

Launched five years ago, Worldreader is already active in more than 50 (developing) countries and provides mobile access to a catalog of more than 15,000 titles to more than 180,000 people who would otherwise have little or no access to books and thus to knowledge and learning.

Rights acquisition: a fine balance between asking for donations and supporting local publishers

In Berlin, Colin McElwee (UK), one of the three founders of Worldreader, will tell us which advanced technologies made the initiative possible in the first place and what priorities their rights acquisition policy sets. Special attention is given to the acquisition of books from local publishers in the target countries, while major publishing groups are encouraged to donate the use of their digital titles.

Reason 3: how investing in IT helps learning more about the user

In our third example, the challenges facing a non-profit organization like Worldreader overlap with the practical guidance of IT professional for the traditional publishing industry. For example, Matt Turner, CTO of MarkLogic (USA), whose motto is “Putting Content and Context into Action“. Matt will discuss options that facilitate personalized solutions for individual users and target groups.

Or Steve Odart, founder of IXXUS (UK), who demonstrates how these adjustments have to be reflected in the organization of the entire company.

What to think next: the solutions of today as the challenges of tomorrow

And, last but not least, a recapitulatory and forward-looking discussion chaired by the proven navigator Brian O’Leary of Magellan Media Partners (USA), under the title „What to think next?“. All the theories and findings of the previous two days will be probed to see whether they are sound or where new questions arise.

Tailored to your needs: from presentations to discussions and hands-on workshops

The conference agenda is structured such that the main themes are introduced in keynotes and presentations before we delve deeper during podium discussions. The practical aspects of implementing the ideas presented are then covered in the numerous workshops. This ensures that big ideas don’t just evaporate right away and can instead be refined for application to the specific business environment in a group discussion.
Check out the agenda in detail, and register online!