Welcome from PPN President Brenda Ginty

Welcome to the 2018 Publishing Professionals Network Conference! We are celebrating our fifth year of hosting this ever-evolving event in San Francisco, and we have an exciting program to share with you.
This year, our theme is “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know: Publishing in Conversation with Other Industries.” A number of sessions are devoted to promoting an exchange of ideas between book publishers and experts whose knowledge from outside the realm of books is relevant to the issues publishers face. These experts include book reviewers, brand developers, online sales strategists, retail booksellers, small business consultants, self-taught website designers, and developers of e-learning systems, among others.
In line with the theme, our keynote speaker will address a sensitive subject that many publishers grapple with. Farzana Nayani is a diversity and inclusion specialist who works with organizations across the country to help them promote diversity among their authors and inclusion among staff. Those who are interested in a more in-depth discussion of these topics can join Farzana for a roundtable discussion after lunch.
The full-day event will include sessions of interest to acquisitions editors (e.g., “Managing Creatives”), to marketers and salespersons (e.g., “What’s the Secret to Discovering Talent through Social Media?”), and to production staff (e.g., “The Wider Dimensions of Identity,” about branding). Additionally, we’ve striven to include topics of interest to self-employed attendees (e.g., “Financial Planning for Freelancers”) and have ensured that speakers on numerous panels will address the concerns of startup publishers and freelance professionals.
Be sure to stop by the trade show, which will feature book industry vendors who are also generous sponsors of the 2018 PPN Conference. This year, we are excited to debut our new Vendor Trivia Game. Stop by, talk with our vendors, and answer simple questions about each one for your chance to win one of these prizes: $100 Visa gift card, a Samsung Galaxy 7” Tablet, or free admission to the next PPN conference.
Reflecting on the past five years, I am amazed at the creativity and commitment from the PPN board members who continue to make this a stellar event. We have covered a wide range of topics and each year we find something new and exciting to present. As a brief retrospective, here are the themes of all five of the PPN Conferences to date:
Sincerely,
Brenda Ginty
President, Publishing Professionals Network
brenda.ginty@cengage.com
This year, our theme is “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know: Publishing in Conversation with Other Industries.” A number of sessions are devoted to promoting an exchange of ideas between book publishers and experts whose knowledge from outside the realm of books is relevant to the issues publishers face. These experts include book reviewers, brand developers, online sales strategists, retail booksellers, small business consultants, self-taught website designers, and developers of e-learning systems, among others.
In line with the theme, our keynote speaker will address a sensitive subject that many publishers grapple with. Farzana Nayani is a diversity and inclusion specialist who works with organizations across the country to help them promote diversity among their authors and inclusion among staff. Those who are interested in a more in-depth discussion of these topics can join Farzana for a roundtable discussion after lunch.
The full-day event will include sessions of interest to acquisitions editors (e.g., “Managing Creatives”), to marketers and salespersons (e.g., “What’s the Secret to Discovering Talent through Social Media?”), and to production staff (e.g., “The Wider Dimensions of Identity,” about branding). Additionally, we’ve striven to include topics of interest to self-employed attendees (e.g., “Financial Planning for Freelancers”) and have ensured that speakers on numerous panels will address the concerns of startup publishers and freelance professionals.
Be sure to stop by the trade show, which will feature book industry vendors who are also generous sponsors of the 2018 PPN Conference. This year, we are excited to debut our new Vendor Trivia Game. Stop by, talk with our vendors, and answer simple questions about each one for your chance to win one of these prizes: $100 Visa gift card, a Samsung Galaxy 7” Tablet, or free admission to the next PPN conference.
Reflecting on the past five years, I am amazed at the creativity and commitment from the PPN board members who continue to make this a stellar event. We have covered a wide range of topics and each year we find something new and exciting to present. As a brief retrospective, here are the themes of all five of the PPN Conferences to date:
- 2014 Finding Your Place in the New Publishing Paradigm
- 2015 Publishing in a Transformed World
- 2016 In It Together: Working as a Team in the New Publishing Era
- 2017 Job or Vocation? Publishing as a Way of Life
- 2018 Tell Me Something I Don't Know: Publishing in Conversation with Other Industries
Sincerely,
Brenda Ginty
President, Publishing Professionals Network
brenda.ginty@cengage.com
Acknowledgments
Putting on an engaging event every year for the past five years has truly been a labor of love for all of us at Publishing Professionals Network. It could not happen without the input and involvement from all avenues of publishing and beyond. We wish to thank the following people:
Conference Lead: Scott Norton
Conference Committee: Serina Beauparlant, Laura Lee Mattingly, Jenny Wapner, Kate Warne
Design: Howie Severson
Copyediting: Sohayla Farman
Publicity: Peter Perez
Website: David Zielonka
Trade Show: Tona Pearce Myers
Venue and Logistics: Monique Muhlenkamp
Putting on an engaging event every year for the past five years has truly been a labor of love for all of us at Publishing Professionals Network. It could not happen without the input and involvement from all avenues of publishing and beyond. We wish to thank the following people:
Conference Lead: Scott Norton
Conference Committee: Serina Beauparlant, Laura Lee Mattingly, Jenny Wapner, Kate Warne
Design: Howie Severson
Copyediting: Sohayla Farman
Publicity: Peter Perez
Website: David Zielonka
Trade Show: Tona Pearce Myers
Venue and Logistics: Monique Muhlenkamp
PPN Board of Directors 2017–2018
Brenda Ginty, President, Cengage Learning Scott Norton, Vice President, University of California Press Monique Muhlenkamp, Secretary New World Library Tona Pearce Myers, Treasurer, New World Library |
Board Members
Serina Beauparlant, Pearson Education Barbara Fuller, Editcetera Laura Lee Mattingly, Present Perfect Dept. Peter Perez, University of California Press Howie Severson, Weldon Owen Vanessa Ta, Callisto Media Jenny Wapner, Ten Speed Press Kate Warne, University of California Press David Zielonka, Cengage Learning Advisory Board Michele Bisson Savoy, Qualibre, Inc. Barbara Arellano, Hoover Institution Press Elise Gochberg, Spectrum PrintGroup |