Independent Publishing Conference program announced
The program for the 2022 Small Press Network (SPN) annual Independent Publishing Conference, which runs from 24–26 November, has been announced.
The conference, which is now in its 11th year, will run as a hybrid event taking place in person at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne and streamed simultaneously online.
Following the Thursday research day and Friday industry day, the program on Saturday, 26 November is devoted to practical workshop sessions hosted by industry experts. Topics for the workshops include audiobook production, publishing timelines, metadata, non-bookshop sales, rights and global trends, writers festivals, social media, ebooks, contracts, reviewing and more.
‘After running the conference entirely online for two years we are very much looking forward to welcoming our colleagues from across the industry back to the Wheeler Centre,’ said SPN general manager Tim Coronel. ‘But we also recognise the advantages of online access, so we’ll be making full use of the available technology so that participants can join us from anywhere.’
As a special offer to Independent Publishing readers, the Small Press Network is offering 10% off Independent Publishing Conference tickets using the code IPNS10 at checkout. Tickets are available as one, two or three-day passes to the conference.
For details of the full program, see the SPN website.
Amazon changes Kindle returns policy after author complaints
Amazon will shorten the Kindle ebook returns window following complaints from authors.
Amazon’s current ebooks return policy allows readers to receive a full refund for up to 14 days, regardless of how much of the work they have read. The UK’s Society of Authors (SoA) and the Authors’ Guild in the US called on the retailer to change its returns policy following a viral TikTok trend involving users making videos about returning ebooks. The author societies’ calls were echoed by a Change.org petition, as authors don’t receive royalties on returned titles.
In an email to the SoA and Authors’ Guild on 21 September, Amazon vice president of books and Kindle content David Naggar said the company is planning to make ‘meaningful changes’. ‘Most notably, we will deactivate self-service returns for any book read past 10%, adding substantial friction to the process.’
The change will be applied across all platforms that support Kindle. Naggar said he hopes the changes will be implemented by the end of the year.
Linktree launches Book Links for authors, publishers
The social media landing page Linktree has introduced Book Links, a feature meant to help authors and publishers drive book sales and build a community of readers across their platforms.
When users add a Book Link to their Linktree, their followers and visitors can find their book listings at various retailers, helping publishers and authors drive traffic to where their title is for sale. Pro users can also add tokens to their Book Link if they’re involved with affiliate programs at Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and other retailers.
Linktree said Book Links ‘empowers authors to promote their newest release from pre-order status to publication day and beyond’, while publishers can share links to the latest BookTok viral sensation or the newest blockbuster release. ‘The feature connects followers and visitors to their next good read, and builds a community of book lovers,’ Linktree said.
Latest awards news
Adelaide teacher and writer Elisa Chenoweth won Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing’s 2022 Ampersand Prize for unpublished young adult and middle-grade manuscripts. Chenoweth was chosen from a shortlist of five. Hachette Australia revealed the six authors shortlisted for the 2022 Richell Prize for emerging writers ahead of the winners announcement on 3 November. Meanwhile, seven books are shortlisted for the 2022 SPN Book of the Year Award; the winner will be announced at an event held in partnership with the Wheeler Centre on 25 November. To stay up to date with all the latest awards news, subscribe to Books+Publishing here.
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