Launch Kids to Explore Digital Opportunities in Children’s Publishing

[Press Release]

‘Launch Kids’ at Digital Book World Conference + Expo Centers on the Transformation, Opportunities of the Children’s Publishing Business

Event Looks at How Content Providers, Publishers Reach and Teach Kids of All Ages Through New Media, Devices and Technology

NEW YORK (Nov. 10, 2014) — The 4th annual Launch Kids, a one-day symposium during Digital Book World Conference + Expo (DBW), features top executives and innovators discussing the future of the children’s book publishing business. The event takes place on the first day of DBW, Jan. 13-15, 2015 at the New York Hilton Midtown, New York. The Digital Book World Conference + Expo (@DigiBookWorld –#DBW15) is the largest global gathering to discuss the impact of digital change on book publishing. Registration and program details are at conference.digitalbookworld.com (early-bird registration rates are available).

Lorraine Shanley (@LWShanley), Launch Kids conference chair and president of Market Partners International, says, “It’s a great time to be in children’s media, as publishers develop content in new ways, and look for pioneering partners and paths to market.”

Launch Kids focuses on both traditional print publishers moving into the digital space and digital players partnering with established publishers; it also highlights new digital products, platforms and channels. Delegates will discover what parents and teachers are looking for in new learning and literacy products, how mobile devices and new technology are transforming how kids interact with content, and what that means for the marketing and development of new digital products for home and school.

Mike Shatzkin (@MikeShatzkin), conference council chair for the Digital Book World Conference + Expo, and founder/CEO of The Idea Logical Company, shares, “With the proliferation of digital media and new business models, the children’s and education book business is rapidly growing and changing.”

Michael Cader (@PublishersLunch), founder of Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com, explains, “Launch Kids features thoughtful, strategic discussions from leading children’s book publishers and content innovators, looking at how they are developing new initiatives and transforming their companies for a more digital future.”

Shatzkin and Cader are DBW’s partners from Publishers Launch Conferences – and two of book publishing’s most respected analysts of the industry’s digital transition.

Topics and themes at Launch Kids include: Children’s Tech, the Year in Review and Trends for 2015; Kids’ eBooks and the Children’s Entertainment and Educational Media Landscape; Traditional and Digital Kids’ Book Marketing; Google for Education; Digital in the Classroom; eBook Subscriptions, from Home to School; What Kickstarter Is Doing for Children’s Literature and Children’s Lit Publishers; The Art and Business of Digital Storytelling; Fan Fiction and Engaging with Fan Communities; Personalization and the Story; and more.

Key presenters at Launch Kids during the Digital Book World Conference + Expo include:

• Chris Palma, head, strategic partnerships, Play Books, Google (@google)
• Susan Katz, president and publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books (@HarperChildrens)
• Maris Kreizman (@mariskreizman), publishing community manager, Kickstarter (@kickstarter)
• David Kleeman, senior vice president, Insights Programs and PlayVangelist, PlayCollective
• Lexa Hillyer (@Lexa_Hillyer), co-founder, Paper Lantern Lit (@paperlanternlit)
• Lauren Oliver (@OliverBooks), co-founder, Paper Lantern Lit (@paperlanternlit)
• Larry Berger, president, Amplify Learning (@amplify)
• Ashley Andersen Zantop, group publisher and general manager, Capstone (@CapstonePub)
• Peter McCarthy (@petermccarthy), partner, Logical Marketing Agency (@LogicalAgency)
• Morgan Leigh Davies (@MLDavies), editor-in-chief, Big Bang Press (@BB_Press)
• Maia Haag (@ISeeMe_Maia), co-founder and president, I See Me! Inc.
• Eric Huang (@dinoboy89), development director, Made in Me (@hello_madeinme)
• Warren Buckleitner (@buckleit), editor and founder, Children’s Technology Review (@childtech)

Launch Kids is co-located with Digital Book World Conference + Expo, which features more than 100 visionary speakers and gathers an estimated 1,500+ professionals from the global book community. DBW highlights include: Amazon and the Book Business – A Candid Conversation with Russ Grandinetti, senior vice president for Kindle, Amazon; Walter Isaacson, best-selling author, acclaimed journalist and president and CEO of The Aspen Institute, on “Innovators, Collaborators and Change Agents of the Digital Revolution”; Using Data to Grow Audiences – Lessons from The New York Times Newsroom Analytics Team; and Epic Content Marketing – Using Content to Build a Brand and an Audience. Digital Book World Conference + Expo is produced by F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company in partnership with Publishers Launch Conferences.

Visit conference.digitalbookworld.com or e-mail digitalbookworld@fwmedia.com.

About F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company
F+W is an enthusiast-focused Content and eCommerce company, serving 20 Million consumers annually via the Company’s print portfolio, ecommerce stores, extensive online education programs, trade and consumer events, popular consumer catalog brands, nationally-broadcast TV programs and more, all in service of passionate niche communities of professionals. (fwmedia.com)

About Publishers Launch Conferences
Publishers Launch Conferences is a comprehensive conference/education business that addresses the urgent needs of book publishing professionals around the world. The organization was founded by two highly-respected trade publishing veterans, Michael Cader of Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com and Mike Shatzkin of The Idea Logical Company. Publishers Launch works closely with established players and institutions throughout the publishing world, to transition to prosperity in the era of new technology, players and paradigms. (publisherslaunch.com)