Tue 19 June 2012 at 1.30 pm

The Cutting Edge of Digital

Venturefest 2012

Taking Place: Said Business School, Oxford

This is an exciting time for digital developments as new devices have arrived for the consumption of media. How are traditional publishers adapting to the digital possibilities, and how are new players shaping the future of creative industries such as games and publishing? Will there be convergence amongst media when, for example, books, games, and magazines can all be consumed on an iPad, or will there remain distinct categories? What are the possibilities for the export of digital products?

Further information on the VentureFest web site

The Cutting Edge of Digital session will be chaired by Angus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes University. He is the author of Inside Book Publishing (with Giles Clark), the editor of The Future of the Book in the Digital Age (with Bill Cope), and the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Logos. He is working on a new book for Routledge about the evolution of the book in the light of digital and other developments.

The panel of speakers are:

  • Charles Chapman jointly founded Oxford developer Exient who worked on some of the biggest brands in games, including FIFA, The Sims, and Need For Speed, for global publishers including Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft. 2011 saw Charles move on from Exient to form First Touch Games, to focus on development of digitally distributed products, and explore new areas such as the growing free-to-play market.
  • Gina Fegan is a Screen & Digital Media Specialist at UK Trade & Investment and is an international specialist on the emerging relationships between traditional media, new technologies and telecommunications. Gina recently founded the D-Media Network, which with 4,000 followers is a member of the UK wide ‘Onedigital’ and of the European network the ‘EU Digital Think Tank’.
  • Louise Rice works is a producer and is involved in business development at Touch Press, renowned for the award-winning apps The Elements, Solar System for iPad and The Waste Land. She is currently immersed in the production of War Horse: A Novel by Michael Morpurgo for iPad.
  • Rebecca Smart is CEO of Osprey Group, a UK-based international publishing company focused on producing the best content for enthusiasts across a broad range of specialist areas including military history, heritage and nostalgia, transport history, crafts, antiques, science fiction and fantasy.