SPN Independent Publishing conference to be held next week

The Small Press Network (SPN) 2023 Independent Publishing conference will be held from 23–25 November at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre and livestreamed online.

The research day on Thursday, 23 November will feature keynote speaker Sandra Phillips, associate professor of Indigenous Australian studies and publishing studies at Western Sydney University. Phillips is Wakka Wakka and Gooreng Gooreng and her industry career includes working at Magabala Books, UQP, and Aboriginal Studies Press before earning a PhD in literary studies.

Following the theme ‘Renew and revive’, research day sessions will cover topics such as accessibility and inclusion, international perspectives on publishing, values in publishing, and place and space. The day will be co-ordinated by University of Melbourne publishing lecturers Claire Parnell and Katherine Day, as well as PhD candidate Caitlin Parker.

The industry day on Friday will feature publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin, who will join the conference on-screen from New York and speak in conversation with SPN general manager Tim Coronel. Other industry day sessions will include ‘First Nations—story, culture and community’, ‘Creating author communities’ and ‘AI and the literary world’, and discussions will cover inclusion, diversity and innovation in bookselling, new directions in children’s books and strategic development for small publishers.

The winner of SPN’s Book of the Year Award will be announced after the industry day sessions in an event hosted by the Wheeler Centre.

The workshop day on the Saturday will be devoted to practical workshop sessions including the production of audiobooks, tips on career progression, the challenges of setting up a publishing business, the popularisation of new review platforms and more.

See the full program here.

Category: Local news