BBPlus offers annually an insightful seminar programme, covering all the current topics, challenges and opportunities facing the book world. 2023 themes included inclusivity, artificial intelligence, accessibility, bookselling, publishing’s future, illustration and innovation. These concise 45 minute sessions inspire, inform and enthuse.
Aldus Up – the European Book Fairs network is co-funded in the framework of Creative Europe Programme 2014-2020 and coordinated by the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) www.aldusnet.eu
10:30- 11:15 Accessible Books and Where to Find Them
New technologies and the adoption of standards allow publishers to create digital publications accessible since the first publication, the so-called Born accessible publications. Complex layout books, as children’s books, require specific knowledge to achieve this goal. Thanks to the participation of international experts working in the field, the seminar will provide an insight on the opportunities and the challenges for the companies working in this market segment.
Gregorio Pellegrino, Chief Accessibility Officer of Fondazione LIA; Beatrice Martelli, Editor, The Passenger (Iperborea); Maruizio Mattioli, Director of the Educational Digital Projects, Zanichelli Editori
Fondazione LIA, in the framework of ALDUS UP, the network of European book fairs, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the EU.
11:30 – 12:45 - The Italian Market: Facts and Figures and the Greek Book Market
An overview of the Italian book market in 2022, with data on production, sales, reading, import/export and rights, followed by a Book Market Overview of Greece, the BBPlus Market of Honour.
Bruno Giancarli, AIE Research Department; George Andrew Zannos, Managing Director OSDEL (Collective Management Organization for Literary Works).
13.00-13.45 - From Measuring Reading to Achieving More and Better Reading: the Evolution of ERICS and Reading Promotion ( ALDUS UP/Creative Europe Project).
Christoph Blässi, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz; Kristenn Einarsson, Norwegian Publishers Association; Luis González, Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation; Bruno Giancarli, Associazione Italiana Editori
In the framework of ALDUS UP, the network of European book fairs, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the EU.
14.00-14.45 - A Comparison of Global Book Data: How Five Important Markets Compare and Contrast.
Shining the spotlight on five key markets using Nielsen BookScan insights, this session will explore the leading trends for each market including the UK, Italy and Greece. The session will also highlight common shared themes across the territories as well as what differentiates them.
Andre Breedt, Managing Director Nielsen BookData
15.00-15.45 - Tales of EUkraine: Sharing Stories.
Tales of EUkraine (TEUk) is an opportunity for European publishers to support their Ukrainian counterparts and to display their solidarity to the most vulnerable victims of the conflict by doing what they do best: publishing books. This project will bring together European and Ukrainian publishers to deliver bilingual children’s books to several communities hosting Ukrainian refugees, fostering integration and mutual understanding. TEUk has built a catalogue of Ukrainian children’s books available for publishers to acquire the rights to and publish them in bilingual editions. The project partners will purchase the part of the print run to be distributed to displaced children and organise its distribution to the Ukrainian refugee communities, whilst publishers will be invited to promote the book to their national communities. TEUk will facilitate the integration of Ukrainian children in their host countries, increase the knowledge of Ukrainian culture across the Union, and support the Ukrainian publishing sector in a time of dire need. TEUk is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
Olena Odynoka, coordinator Ukrainian Book Institute; Enrico Turrin, FEP Deputy Director; Paola Malgrati, from the press office of Il Castoro.
16.00-16.45 - AI Technology can change everything even the slow-changing publishing industry.
AI changes everything. - Even in education closely related to publishing, edtech companies are competing to launch AI services. - Then, is AI able to write full-length novels? Not yet. - The writings of authors are close to the outlier for AI, which derives the nearest average value by continuous learning - However, on the other side, AI can reverse this industry with ‘AI drawing platforms’ that change creative original sentences to imaginary paintings automatically. - In an era overflowing with the media, readers who dislike texts can more easily access the books if texts can be changed in images. - Everyone can create, talented storytellers also become bookmakers and publishers with AI. - Thus, authors well-utilizing these platforms or using words, styles, and structures optimized for AI will be in the spotlight. - In conclusion, the new era is coming with new opportunities.
17.00-17.45 - Digitisation and Innovation in the Greek Publishing Sector.
The Greek publishing industry has undergone a gradual digital transformation during the last decade. Composed of mostly family-owned, family-run businesses and facilitated by shifting leadership to younger generations, the Greek publishing industry quickly embraced social media and digital marketing as a key strategy for promotion and digital presence, though the market was more sluggish in adopting ebooks. The pandemic proved a catalyst for digital transformation, by considerably accelerating e-commerce adoption for publishers, booksellers and readers alike, by encouraging direct-to-consumer strategies for the publishers and by kindling the interest in audiobooks and podcasts. In just over a year an audiobook market was developed in Greece with a variety of platforms, business models and content. At the same time, publishers are redoubling their efforts in digital marketing, expanding their usage of newsletters, creating original content for promotion and committing more and more resources to TikTok. In this session, Michalis Kalamaras will provide an overview of the digital transformation of the publishing industry in Greece, including audiobooks, and will also highlight innovative projects focusing on reading in the browser, while Katerina Kris will talk about best practices in using social media for book promotion while emphasizing original content creation and community engagement in BookTok.
Michalis Kalamaras, Digital Publishing Consultant; Katerina Kris, Advertising Creative Director and Social Media Expert; Ed Nawotka, Senior Editor, Publishers Weekly
13:00-13.45 –Neil Packer: The Artist and the Folio Society.
Award winning illustrator, Neil Packer, has been working with Folio since 1994, on projects ranging from Catch 22 to Dante's The Divine Comedy. He will discuss his process and experience of working with Folio, including a sneak preview at a new project
14.00-14.30– Loyd Grossman, historian, writer and broadcaster, and BBPlus Author Ambassador, talks about his work to Richard Charkin, Mensch Publishing.
15.00-15.45 Discover New Talent in Europe: The European Prize for Literature Longlist.
Julie Belgrado, Director, European and International Booksellers Federation; Anne Bergman-Tahon, Director Federation of European Publishers.
16:00 – 16:40 - The power of Life Beyond the Page: Promotion, Publicity, and in person events
Loyd Grossman, Author Ambassador and Ersi Sotiropoulos, Market of Honour poet, author, and short story writer discuss the power of life beyond the page: promotion, publicity, and in-person events with Thessaloniki Book Fair's Nopi Chatzigeorgiou and Jacks Thomas, BolognaBookPlus
16:45 – 18:00 - Indian Content Going Global
Indian books have found an audience all over the world. With the advent of digital platforms, readers can access content from India and vice versa. Indian books, mainly fiction and non-fiction, are being translated into multiple languages and sold all over the world. This has resulted in Indian authors receiving international recognition. Many Indian books are now topping the charts in various countries, providing unique insight and perspective to readers across the globe. The success of Indian books also highlights the potential of the nation’s literature, which is rapidly gaining global recognition.
Speakers:
Mr. Ajay Mago, Publisher, Om Books International • Ms. Mudit Mohini, Director, Vishv Books • Mr. Prashant Pathak, Publisher, Wonder House Books • Ms. Richa Jha, Founder & Publisher, Pickle York Books
10.00-10.50 – The Literary Translation Forum part 1: The Power of Prizes and Grants
Prizes for books in translation can have a real impact on the author career, the writer’s career, on publishing sales, on raising the profile for books in translation. Grants for translation are also very important to enable translations to happen. These two important subjects will be considered by an expert panel.
Will Forrester, International Manager, English PEN, Tom Walker, Publishing Director, Folio Society; Beatrice Masini, Direttrice di divisione Bompiani, Giunti Editore; Nikos Bakounakis, Chairman of the GreekLit.gr translation progam committee.
11:00-11:50 – Literary Translation Forum part 2: Scouting for Books in Translation
What do publishers want from translators who have spotted a masterpiece in another language? How can translators and publishers work closely together to bring bestselling books to the attention of readers around the world?
Porter Anderson, Publishing Perspectives; Lawrence Schimel, Translator; Serena Daniele, Founder and Managing Editor, NN Editore; Gvantsa Jobava, Intelekti Publishing; Intelekti Publishing; Nikos Argiris, Publisher Ikaros
12.00 – 12.45 – AI ART vs Natural Human Art and its impacts on Creators and Publishing Industry
Is A.I. the Death of Art? Or is Art actually, evolving? Is A.I. the dead end for the human artistry? Or, this could be just another renaissance period; technical revolutions that will offer incredible opportunities for illustrators. We'll discuss how the creative industry will function, and look at whether this new technology will break or violate copyright law.
Nurgul Senefe, Illustrators Platform, Turkiye
13:00-13:45 - Emerging Opportunities in Audiobooks
The session provides a thorough overview of the European audiobook space, comprising new markets alongside those already established. Examples of the business models that work and why will be discussed, and all will be considered from different viewpoints: publisher, consumer and platform.
Andrea Borgnino, Head of Rai Play Sound Nathan Hull, Chief Strategy Officer Beat Technology; Sonia Draga, Sonia Draga Publishing Group; Michalis Kalamaras, Founder, eAnagnostis
14:00 – 14:45 - A Greener Publishing Industry: How do we Become Environmentally Neutral
As the race to carbon net zero is upon us, how do we as a publishing industry become much more environmentally neutral? Everyone in the supply chain has a role to play, action to take and education to spread, in our book production, our distribution and the responsibility we hold in what content we publish.
Lisa Lyons, President and Publisher, Kids Can Press; Julie Belgrado, Director European and International Booksellers Federation; Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller.
15:00 – 15:30 International Jackets:The Best of the Best from Greece, Market of Honour
15:30 – 16:00 BBPlus Bubbles to celebrate International Women’s Day!
16:00 - 16:45 – Everything Everywhere All at Once: The Book as Trip
A Talking Pictures event, with Steven Guarnaccia, author, illustrator and Professor Emeritus at Parsons School of Design and Marta Sironi, Historian of Ilustration, ISIA, Urbino.
Taking Loic Boyer’s Les Images Libre, published by editions memo, as a starting point, Riccardo Falcinelli, well-known Italian book jacket designer, editorial design expert, and current member of the BRAW jury; and Steven Guarnaccia, author, illustrator and Professor Emeritus at Parsons School of Design, talk about the current tendency in publishing towards visually immersive books, including anthologies of ecstatic, often edge-to-edge imagery as well as illustrated books that recall the trippy-ness of the 1970’s. Light on text, these books take the visual language of Google Search as their lingua franca, with a nod to the mainstreaming of the psychedelic experience. This significant and exciting moment of cross-pollination and experimentation draws together the visual books across categories: children's books, graphic novels and graphic design and photographic books.
Steven Guarnaccia, author, illustrator and professor Emeritus at Parsons School of Design; Marta Sironi, Historian of Ilustration, ISIA, Urbino.
17:00 – 17:45 - How Can AI Make Publishers More Competitive? High Quality and New Media Productions, Managing Massive Resources, Personalizing Readers’ Experiences.
Adele Magnelli, International Project Manager, ETT; Sam H Minelli, Business Manager, GruppoMeta
GALLERIES
GLOBAL RIGHTS EXCHANGE
FAIRTALES