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By David Rothman

Moderator’s note: This is a slightly tweaked, about-to-be-posted PW item that might also be of interest to TeleBlog readers. After stepping into a phone book, then donning my E-BR cape, I’ll be at the conference Monday and Tuesday. – DR

saranelson

When Publishers Weekly editor in chief Sara Nelson mourns her lost Kindle—and says her laments drew “more responses than “just about any other editorial I’ve written in PW”—that’s one more sign that book publishing and tech are growing a bit closer.

So what are the big tech trends ahead in areas like e-books and interactivity, what e-tools are available for publishers and other book people, and how can they best use them?

If you go to O’Reilly’s Tools of Change 2008 Conference, held Feb. 11-13 in New York City, you can find out—and hear Sara and other speakers, including a Microsoft man whose participation in Ingram-related sessions raises some interesting questions about the future directions of both companies in the e-book area. Get registration and pricing information here.

PW editor’s topic: Publishing truths and myths

Sara, PW editor in chief since January 2005 and formerly a book reporter for the New York Post and New York Observer, as well as a book reviewer for other publications, will discuss Publishing: True or False: A closer look at some of the things you think you know about the book business.

The E-book Report guy—that’s me—will be on a panel addressing the issue of “Are New Devices Breathing New Life into e-Books?” None other than Steve Levy, author of the Newsweek cover story on the Kindle, will be moderating, the e-book panel, held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12. Idea Logical‘s Mike Shatzkin, whose 15 Trends to Watch piece in PW draw much attention, will also be speaking.

Another e-book panel participant will be Ben Vershbow, editorial director of the Institute for the Future of the Book, home of the Sophie project and other cutting-edge work. Separately, on Monday at 11:35, Ben will talk the old-fashioned way, face to face, about Books as Conversations.

The Book as Beta

What’s more, the panel will hear from Tonya Engst of TidBITS Publishing, among the savviest of the e-publishers. Her husband, Adam Engst, will separately participate in a panel on The Book as Beta, and I hope that the large publishers will listen to Adam and others and maybe also check out yesterday’s E-Book Report, calling among other things for more publishers to use E to test out P titles.

Yep, this is a PW- and EBR-centric preview of TOC, based on the assumption that if you’re reading us you might want to hear us. I’d heartily recommend you drop by the speaker page to see the names of all the speakers, who include, yes, Tim O’Reilly himself (Free is more complicated than you think and A Conversation with Kathy Sierra, pre-recorded). O’Reilly is often regarded as the pacesetter in tech-related publishing.

Also of interest could be Microsoft Live Search Books‘ Cliff Guren (Ingram and the Digital Market and Sponsored Tutorial: Ingram Presents Case Studies and Practical Advice on Making the Transition from Print to Digital). Hmm. With Amazon so Kindle-crazed, could Ingram be preparing to back off somewhat from the Mobipocket format and have Lightning Source go with Microsoft-related e-book products far beyond Live Search? Or will Ingram be betting on mass popularization of its promising VitalSource software? Or both? Or is Cliff’s participation just routine? Haven’t the slightest idea. But its’ sure fun to look for dots to connect.

Present at the conference, too, will be Adobe‘s Bill McCoy, who will discuss Digital Publishing Beyond eBooks: Cross-device, Media-enhanced, and Socially Aware.

Information 3.0: Will Publishers Matter?

The most provocative topic at the conference might be Information 3.0: Will Publishers Matter?, covered by Stephen Abraham of SirsiDynix, the library software and services company, who will also participate on a teen panel. “Information 3.0,” says the related promo, “is all about the social web and how it’s changing the reading and information acquisition habits of everyone, from Boomers to Millennials. What role will publishers play in this new world?” Better “what role” than “if,” huh?

Viewed as a whole, the speakers list shows a strong focus on the themes of interactivity and community—one more reason for the IDPF not to regard annotation standards for e-books as a mere detail. There’ll also be copyright-related speakers, among others.

In O’Reilly’s words, the conference at the Marriott, Marquis should be of strongest interest to people in these categories:

  • Book publishers of all kind
  • Senior editors
  • Marketing and production managers
  • Digital content managers
  • Publishing consultants from companies of any size
  • Authors and agents
  • Business managers in publishing
  • Librarians
  • Technologists with a passion for books/publishing
  • Information suppliers
  • Small consultancy firms
  • Anyone in the book supply business

People interested in reaching me about the conference, or anything else, can get in touch via phone (703-370-6540) or  e-mail (use the headline DAVID – O’REILLY – TOC).

Update, 1:22 p.m.: Let me also note the presence at the conference of John Ingram of Ingram Industries (The Supply Side Evolution), Lightspeed CEO and PW contributor Jim Lichtenberg (Service Innovation: The Path to Book Publishing Success) and accessibility expert George Kerscher (Making Digital Publishing Accessible to Persons Who Are Blind and Print Disabled). Apologies to the many important speakers I lack space to mention!

 
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