PA Bulletin 18 May 2012

CEO Update

The All Party Intellectual Property Parliamentary Group is conducting a short inquiry into the workings of the Intellectual Property Office, to which The PA has given both written and oral evidence.  As we wait for the government’s next move in taking forward the Hargreaves Review, clamour is growing from the creative industries, and some MPs, for there to be a more detailed analysis of the economic impact of the proposals.  A further roundtable at the DCMS with other rightsholders and ISPs, following a similar meeting at No 10 two weeks ago, has given us further opportunities to encourage government to take stronger action with respect of search engines and online advertisers to restrict online infringement.  But with the prospect of publication of the Communications Green Paper fast receding from sight it is difficult to envisage supportive policy any time soon.

PA News and Events

ALCS Award for Educational Writing

A reminder that the deadline for entries for the above is 1 June.  The Society of Authors is administering this award for the fifth year, to be given this year for books published during 2010 and 2011 for the 12-18 age group.  The £2,000 award will be given to an outstanding example of traditionally published non-fiction (with or without illustrations) that stimulates and enhances learning.  Visit http://www.societyofauthors.org/education-book-prizes for a link to the entry form, which includes entry criteria and contact information.

Istanbul Book Fair: 17 – 20 November 2012

As Turkey will be the Market Focus at this next year’s London Book Fair, the PA is considering organising a UK collective stand at this year’s Istanbul Book Fair.  For more information and copy of the details, please contact Gloria Bailey ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Research and Statistics

Members have free online access to The PA Statistics Yearbook 2011 through the online bookshop.  Click here and just enter your username and password.

General News and Events Roundup

The Children’s Media Conference

The Children’s Media Conference will be welcoming 800 delegates from radio, TV, interactive media, games, licensing, toys, book and magazine publishing, and arts and museums - with speakers from all those sectors and beyond.  Lane Merrifield is opening the conference with the keynote speech at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre on the evening of Wednesday 4 July.  Lane is one of the three co-founders of Disney’s Club Penguin, the world’s largest online playground for children, and he's currently Executive Vice President of Disney Online Studios, responsible for all Disney's virtual worlds. From 12 May up until the conference our members can get a discounted pass of £210+ VAT, a saving of £75 + VAT on the full rate. To take advantage of the discount, email info@yourorganization for your discount code.

Marketing eBooks Workshop, taken by Tim Tucker, 19 June, 9.45am - 17.00pm at Imago, Thame
Delivered by experts, Imago’s Digital Publishing Courses will bring you up to date with the latest developments in this rapidly changing and increasingly important area of publishing.

This course will show you how to make your eBooks more visible online and bring you up to speed with all the latest tools and techniques available to the digital publisher. Delegates will come away with a full understanding of digital marketing and how best to compete online.  Special Publishers Association offer : Book 2 places and receive a 20% discount on the normal rate per delegate:  For further information please visit www.imago.co.uk/training                

'Publishing apps - what's the story?'

'Publishing apps - what's the story?' is the second in a series of events from the new apps business information service The Appside. The evening event considers the world of book publishing apps and will feature a showcase of some of the most recent and unreleased book apps from leading book apps developers; include practical tips on marketing and discoverability of apps from the consultancy responsible for promoting Apple's iBooks platform; offer statistical insight into apps consumption trends apps; and hear leading publishers discuss the business models and economics around publishing apps. This event will take place at Deloitte Auditorium, New Street Square, London, EC4A 3BZ  from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday 26th June.  To see the list of confirmed speakers and register for the event, please visit: http://www.theappside.com/publishing-apps-whats-the-story/ The cost of attendance is £70  + VAT but The PA has secured a 15% discount for our members.  The discount code is PA15 and can be applied here. 

Copyright and Technology: London 2012 Conference
Music Ally is pleased to be a partner in bringing the successful US based Copyright and Technology conference event to the UK for the first time in June. The conference has built up a reputation in the US as a high level platform and forum for debate bringing the copyright and technology industries together. The one-day event takes place in London on 19 June and will cover technologies including DRM, conditional access, content identification and online rights licensing, as well as current legal developments including disputes between content providers and search engines, and potential developments in copyright legislation. There will be a morning plenary session as well as two separate tracks on technology and law & policy in the afternoon. Full agenda at:http://copyrightandtechnology.com/ct-london-2012-conference/ Tickets can be purchased at:http://copyrightandtechnologylondon.eventbrite.co.uk/ PA members are entitled to a 15% discount on any ticket type. Please use the code PA15, or click this link:http://copyrightandtechnologylondon.eventbrite.com/?discount=PA15

BIC’s Summer “New Trends” Seminar

BIC is holding its annual Summer “New Trends” Seminar at the RIBA, London, on 20th June (2pm – 5.30pm).  This is a forward looking, trend spotting afternoon event for the publishing industry; with an emphasis what impact these trends might have on the supply chain (both physical & digital). Great speakers currently lined up include: Andy Davis (Legal Deposit and Digital Acquisitions) and Nick Townend (Head of Digital Operations) from The British Library - presenting on the impact of digital publishing on the British Library and the developing role of Legal Deposit;David Smith (Distribution Director) from Macmillan Publishers LTD - presenting on the shape things to come for the physical supply chain; Vicky Hartley (Marketing Director & Head of Digital) from  Duncan Baird Publishers – presenting on their decision to remove DRM from all their ebooks;  Matteo Berlucchi (CEO) from Anobii – presenting on overall new trends, including consumer trends, observed by Anobii. Cost per person:  £75 (plus VAT) for BIC members/£110 (plus VAT) for non-BIC members. Registration forms can be found on BIC’s website: http://www.bic.org.uk/34/Events-and-Presentations/

The Publishing Training Centre – rebuilding relevance and value

As digital becomes fabric, the PTC is re-building its core professional skills courses to fully reflect new working practices.  Chief Executive Peter McKay would like to hear from publishers’ HR/L&D professionals about anticipated training needs, to inform new PTC courses, and to ensure they’re receiving the PCT monthly course update; contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  He would also like to hear of one other person that PTC can talk to about workflow tools and skills.  Visit the PTC site for full course details; PA members have a 10% discount on open courses, and a new early bird discount applies for 2012.

Some other upcoming courses from The Publishing Training Centre include:

Enhanced E-Books – 25-26 June 2012

Rewriting and Substantive Editing – 26 July 2012

Digital Editing – 4 July 2012

Managing Digital Projects – 5-6 July 2012

Advanced Copy-Editing – 10 July 2012

Grappling with Grammar – 17 July 2012

Publishing Contracts – 10 September 2012

Members of the PA get an exclusive 10% discount on all of The Publishing Training Centre's Short Courses. Visit www.train4publishing.co.uk to see our full list of courses.

The Fourth International M-Libraries Conference – 24-26 September 2012

“From margin to mainstream: mobile technologies transforming lives and libraries”

This conference brings together researchers, educators, technical developers, managers and library professionals to exchange expertise with colleagues at the cutting edge of mobile use and development, and generate ideas for future developments.  It will be held at the Open University in Milton Keynes, hosted by the OU and Athabasca University and sponsored by EBSCO Host, Sage, Springer and OCLC.  Early bird rates are available til 10 June 2012, and keynote speakers include Ellyssa Kroski, New York Law Institute (US), Char Booth, Claremont Colleges (US), Thomas Cochrane, AUT University’s Centre for Learning and Teaching (NZ) and Steve Vosloo, Programme Specialist in Mobile Learning at UNESCO (FR).  For more information visit http://www.m-libraries.org/