Booktour.com Co-Founder Kevin Smokler to Keynote Arizona Book Publishing Association Annual Conference
Kevin Smokler, co-founder of BookTour.com, will keynote Arizona Book Publishing Association’s annual conference on February 28th in Phoenix. Speaking about “The Impact of Future Technology on the Publishing Industry,” Smokler will encourage attendees not to wring their hands about the evolving market, but embrace all the possibilities it brings.
Phoenix, AZ, February 26, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Can a publisher survive in this failing economy? Can new authors ever get published when many big houses are laying off people? Are books dead? Kevin Smokler, co-founder of BookTour.com will address these fears at the Arizona Book Publishing Association's (ABPA) annual conference, Realities of Publishing: Preparing for Changes in the Industry, on February 28th in Phoenix.
"Books have survived war, famine, television and the iPhone, so of course, they aren't dead," says Smokler. "But the book industry as we currently know it, is in its last days. The business of putting the right books in the hands of the right readers will look completely different in five years, an unholy parliament of cultural arbitration, technical stewardship, boosterism and digital razzle dazzle. It's time we stop asking 'what do we do when it gets here?' because its here already."
Smokler joins a full panel of experts at this year's all-day conference including Grael Norton of Wheatmark, Inc., Tucson, AZ; Andrew Savikas of O'Reilly Media, Boston, MA; Victoria Blake of Underland Press, Portland, OR; and Jessica Tribble of Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale, AZ. Presentations will cover everything from technology to production planning, distribution models to social networking and will be held at the jobing.com corporate office, 4747 N. 22nd St., Suite #100 in Phoenix. The cost for the all day conference is $109 for ABPA members and $129 for non-members and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Attendees can register online at http://azbookpub.com/events/annual-conference/.
About Kevin Smokler: Kevin Smokler is an author, journalist, speaker and entrepreneur. He's the editor of the anthology Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times (Basic Books, June 2005), which was a San Francisco Chronicle notable book of 2005. His writing has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, The LA Times, Fast Company, The Huffington Post and on National Public Radio. As a speaker, Smokler has lectured throughout North America on the arts and their role in contemporary society at The Commonwealth Club of California, The Idea Festival, Book Expo America and universities such as Stanford and Johns Hopkins. He sits on the board of the South by Southwest Interactive Conference where he has been a featured speaker since 2003.
In 2006, Kevin Smokler founded with Chris Anderson (editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine) BookTour.com, the world's largest online directory of author and literary events. Kevin now serves as the company's Chief Evangelist, regularly speaking at publishing industry conferences and book festivals throughout North America. Kevin Smokler has a B.A. in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. in American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he lives in San Francisco.
About ABPA: Founded in Phoenix in April of 1992, the Arizona Book Publishing Association's mission is to advance and promote successful book publishing in Arizona through education, community involvement, cooperative effort, peer recognition, industry advocacy, and the support of 1st Amendment rights.
Membership is open to all publishers (including self-publishers), and associates such as printers, distributors, graphics and design firms, typographers, artists, booksellers, authors and others interested in the book publishing field. The annual membership fees for both publishers and associates is $125 and includes access to experts, contacts, referrals, professional growth, ongoing education, industry information and joint marketing opportunities.
The current ABPA President is Bill Fessler of Primer Publications 602-234-1574, Bill@PrimerPublishers.com and ABPA's Executive Director is Gwen Henson, 480-777-9250,gwen@azbookpub.com.
###
"Books have survived war, famine, television and the iPhone, so of course, they aren't dead," says Smokler. "But the book industry as we currently know it, is in its last days. The business of putting the right books in the hands of the right readers will look completely different in five years, an unholy parliament of cultural arbitration, technical stewardship, boosterism and digital razzle dazzle. It's time we stop asking 'what do we do when it gets here?' because its here already."
Smokler joins a full panel of experts at this year's all-day conference including Grael Norton of Wheatmark, Inc., Tucson, AZ; Andrew Savikas of O'Reilly Media, Boston, MA; Victoria Blake of Underland Press, Portland, OR; and Jessica Tribble of Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale, AZ. Presentations will cover everything from technology to production planning, distribution models to social networking and will be held at the jobing.com corporate office, 4747 N. 22nd St., Suite #100 in Phoenix. The cost for the all day conference is $109 for ABPA members and $129 for non-members and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Attendees can register online at http://azbookpub.com/events/annual-conference/.
About Kevin Smokler: Kevin Smokler is an author, journalist, speaker and entrepreneur. He's the editor of the anthology Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times (Basic Books, June 2005), which was a San Francisco Chronicle notable book of 2005. His writing has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, The LA Times, Fast Company, The Huffington Post and on National Public Radio. As a speaker, Smokler has lectured throughout North America on the arts and their role in contemporary society at The Commonwealth Club of California, The Idea Festival, Book Expo America and universities such as Stanford and Johns Hopkins. He sits on the board of the South by Southwest Interactive Conference where he has been a featured speaker since 2003.
In 2006, Kevin Smokler founded with Chris Anderson (editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine) BookTour.com, the world's largest online directory of author and literary events. Kevin now serves as the company's Chief Evangelist, regularly speaking at publishing industry conferences and book festivals throughout North America. Kevin Smokler has a B.A. in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. in American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he lives in San Francisco.
About ABPA: Founded in Phoenix in April of 1992, the Arizona Book Publishing Association's mission is to advance and promote successful book publishing in Arizona through education, community involvement, cooperative effort, peer recognition, industry advocacy, and the support of 1st Amendment rights.
Membership is open to all publishers (including self-publishers), and associates such as printers, distributors, graphics and design firms, typographers, artists, booksellers, authors and others interested in the book publishing field. The annual membership fees for both publishers and associates is $125 and includes access to experts, contacts, referrals, professional growth, ongoing education, industry information and joint marketing opportunities.
The current ABPA President is Bill Fessler of Primer Publications 602-234-1574, Bill@PrimerPublishers.com and ABPA's Executive Director is Gwen Henson, 480-777-9250,gwen@azbookpub.com.
###
Contact
Arizona Book Publishing Association
Robin Reynolds
480-731-9626
http://azbookpub.com
Robin Reynolds
480-731-9626
http://azbookpub.com
Contact
Categories