Sat 29 March 2014 at 3.00 pm
The Future of Publishing - Oxford Literary Festival
Oxford Literary Festival
The familiar world of the book is facing some key challenges. These include the decline of bookselling on the high street, the growth in the sales of ebooks, and competition from other media. There is continued experimentation around the book in digital form, exploring non-linear narratives and the use of multimedia. Meanwhile, for authors there are many new routes available for finding a readership, including self-publishing or using crowdfunding to finance publication. Will traditional publishing survive in this environment? Why do authors still need publishers? Should readers have a greater say in what is published? Our expert panel of Nigel Newton, Anthony Cheetham, Tim Waterstone, and Richard Ovenden considers these and other questions.
The event is chaired by Angus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies.
Nigel Newton is the founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, which publishes 2000 books a year and employs 500 people. Its authors include J. K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, William Boyd and Ben Macintyre. Anthony Cheetham has enjoyed a long career at senior levels in publishing including founding or running, Orion, Abacus, Futura, Century, Quercus, Corvus and Head of Zeus. Tim Waterstone founded the bookselling chain Waterstones in 1982, and was the founder chairman of HMV Media Group. Richard Ovenden is Bodley's Librarian. He has worked at the Bodleian Library for ten years as keeper of special collections and since 2011 as deputy librarian. The event is chaired by Angus Phillips, director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes University. His most recent book is Turning the Page: The Evolution of the Book, which examines the effects of digital and other developments on the book itself.
Presented by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes University.