Where are we now and where will be 12 months from now?

Our two conference organizers, two of the leading thinkers about the digital change revolution which has started in the US, will conduct a free-wheeling conversation with several of the leading lights in UK publishing about the change we’ve seen so far and what we can expect in the year to come.

John Makinson, the Managing Director of Penguin; Stephen Page, the MD of Faber; and Rebecca Smart, the MD of Osprey, run three very different publishing companies. Penguin is a global leader with companies and resources all over the world. Faber is a leading general trade independent publisher with a unit called Faber Factory which is providing distribution services to a host of smaller publishers in the UK, giving them a perspective that goes beyond their own publishing efforts. And Osprey is a niche publisher — what Shatzkin often refers to as a “vertical” publisher — with a global community of military buffs who don’t just buy books, they buy battlefield tours as well!

They will be joined in this discussion by a leading UK agent, Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown.

Moderators

Michael Cader
Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com

Michael Cader is the creator of Publishers Lunch, the largest-circulation book publishing industry publication in the world, and its companion website PublishersMarketplace.com, which offers comprehensive news, databases, tools and more for book publishing professionals. For 15 years he created and produced over 300 books through his book packaging company, Cader Books.

Mike Shatzkin
Founder & CEO, The Idea Logical Company

Mike Shatzkin is the Founder & CEO of The Idea Logical Company and a widely-acknowledged thought leader about digital change in the book publishing industry. In his nearly 50 years in publishing, he has played almost all the roles: bookseller, author, agent, production director, sales and marketing director, and, for the past 30 years, consultant. His insights about how the industry functions and how it accommodates digital change form the basis of all of the company’s consulting efforts.

Panelists

Jonny Geller
Agent and Managing Director of the books division, Curtis Brown

Jonny Geller has been a literary agent for fifteen years, and is managing director of Curtis Brown’s books division, representing numerous best-selling and prize-winning authors, journalists and writers. Jonny started as an agent’s assistant in 1993, and worked his way to the top – he has made a name for himself by unearthing successful new talent and he spends his days talking to authors, selling new work to publishers and negotiating film deals with Hollywood.

John Makinson
Chairman and Chief Executive, The Penguin Group

John Makinson was appointed CEO of the Penguin Group in July 2002, and has been the company’s Chairman since May 2001. Prior to that he was the Pearson group finance director from April 1996 to July 2002. John’s career has included journalism and investor relations both in London and abroad.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Lee.

Stephen Page
Publisher and CEO, Faber and Faber Ltd.

Stephen Page began his career in bookselling before moving into publishing. In 1994 he joined Fourth Estate, becoming Managing Director in 2000. In 2001 he joined Faber as CEO and in 2006 Faber was named Publisher of the Year followed by Indpendent Publisher of the Year in 2011. He has been President of the Publishers’ Association and gave the keynote address for World Book Day in 2007. He frequently writes and speaks on industry issues, especially the effects of fast-moving technological developments on authors and publishing.

Rebecca Smart
Managing Director, Osprey Group

Rebecca Smart is Managing Director of Osprey Group, a UK-based international publishing company focused on producing the best content for enthusiasts across a broad range of specialist areas including military history, heritage and nostalgia, transport history, crafts, antiques, science fiction and fantasy. Osprey Group publishes under three brands: Osprey Publishing, Shire and Angry Robot. What defines the company is not what it creates but for whom it creates. Osprey Group publishes books and content based on subject enthusiasms and passions, whether it be authoritative technical data on the military technology of World War II, a history of the Great Western Railway or an edgy genre novel set in near-future South Africa.