Sebastopol, CA, July 30, 2008--The O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference 2009 will parse the future February 9-11, 2009, at the Marriot Marquis in New York City. Following last year's sold-out conference in New York, Program Chair Andrew Savikas invites proposals for conference sessions and tutorials for this third year of the TOC Conference.
"The 2009 TOC Conference will explore the changing meaning of 'digital publishing.' New devices like the Kindle and the iPhone have opened up new sales and distribution channels for paid content, and those channels are as open to new players as to existing publishers. New business models are emerging that look very strange to a publisher, but at their core do the familiar jobs of developing content, aggregating audiences, and connecting the two. The act of publishing is here to stay, but the role of existing publishers remains an open question," says Savikas.
The TOC Conference will decipher the tools of change in this industry and help cut through the hype for a more profitable future in publishing. From authoring, editing, and layout to distribution and consumption, new technologies are changing all aspects of publishing
TOC 09 will explore, and welcomes proposals on, topics including:
- Managing the human side of change and innovation.
- Case studies of successful (or unsuccessful) new publishing initiatives.
- Riding the wave instead of fighting the tide, such as using file-sharing sites to increase sales.
- Strategies and tactics for incorporating Print-on-Demand into a supply chain.
- Moving beyond books: selling merchandise, community, experience, and other scarce goods in a world of "free."
- Strategies and tactics for incorporating ebooks into your publishing program.
- Tools and challenges for an efficient all-digital workflow.
- Revising your P&Ls for the economics of digital publishing.
- Understanding and responding to the changing retail landscape.
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Returning to New York for a second year, TOC 09 offers attendees:
- Plenary and keynote presentations that frame the visions of publishing's future into a meaningful picture.
- Focused, expert-led breakout sessions covering both analysis and practical advice.
- Half-day tutorials that dive deep into necessary skills and tools.
- A relevant Sponsor Gallery connecting attendees with the projects, products, and services shaping industry change.
- Networking events and hallway conversations designed to help all participants connect with like minds.
The third annual TOC Conference will also focus on industry-wide strategic issues, like the changing retail and supply-chain landscape. In addition to "long-view" trends (what does the fact that there currently 448 sites for buying mobile ebooks in Japan alone mean for US publishers?), speakers will supply practical tales from the trenches from those who are already experimenting and innovating on the digital frontier of paid content.
TOC 2008 sponsors and exhibitors included: Ingram, Cold Fusion Entertainment, Copyright Clearance Center, Accenture, Adobe Systems, Antenna House, Appingo, BookBank.com, codeMantra, Connotate, DNAML, HCL, Innodata Isogen, itechne, LibreDigital, Lulu, Malloy, Mark Logic, The Media Services Group, Microsoft Live Search Books, Near-Time, Qoop, Rsuite CMS, and Value Chain International.
TOC 2008 also brought together representatives from companies and organizations like: Simon & Schuster, Random House, American Booksellers Association, Amazon.com, Appingo, Author Solutions, Inc., Barnes & Noble.com, BookSquare, Bowker, Chronicle Books, Cold Fusion Entertainment, Connotate, Copyright Clearance Center, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Doubleday, Random House, Inc., Fodor's Travel, Follett Digital Resources, Getty Publications, Good Company Communications, HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group USA, Harvard Business School Publishing, CQ Press, F+W Publications, Hewlett Packard, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, IEEE, Ingram Digital Group, Library Journal, LibreDigital, Lightning Source, Inc., Lulu, Loyola Press, Mark Logic, Microsoft, Microsoft Press, Oxford University Press, Peachpit Press, Penguin Group, Princeton University Press, Publishers Weekly, Really Strategies, Inc., Safari Books Online, SAS Institute, Inc., Simon & Schuster, Sony, The Media Services Group, and Zondervan.
Proposals will be accepted through August 25, 2008, and early registration for attendees and media will open in October, 2008. Proposals may be submitted to: http://en.oreilly.com/toc2009/user/proposal/propose/cfp/36
For more information on the TOC Conference, visit: http://toccon.com
For the latest from TOC on publishing innovation, visit the blog at: http://toc.oreilly.com
If you have ideas about areas you'd like to see included at the conference, send a note to: toc-idea@oreilly.com
If you'd like to stay up to date on information relating to TOC, sign up for the conference newsletter (login required) at: http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/nl/home#conferences
For articles, blogs, photos, and other coverage of last year's event, go to: http://www.oreillynet.com/conferences/blog/toc/
To view video clips from TOC 2008, visit: http://toccon.blip.tv
For speaker presentation slides from last year's TOC, visit: http://en.oreilly.com/toc2008/public/schedule/proceedings
To read Tim O'Reilly's take on the future, go to the O'Reilly Radar at: http://radar.oreilly.com
If you would like to discuss forming a media or promotional partnership with O'Reilly for an upcoming event, contact: mediapartners@oreilly.com
About Andrew Savikas
Andrew Savikas is the General Manager of O'Reilly Media's Tools of Change for Publishing division, which spreads the knowledge of publishing innovators in person, online, and in print. In addition to serving as Program Chair the TOC Conference, Andrew has led several Publishing Technology initiatives at O'Reilly, including the design and deployment of an open-standards-based XML content distribution platform. He is a frequent speaker at publishing and content management conferences, a regular contributor to the O'Reilly Radar blog, and the author of "Word Hacks: Tips & Tools for Taming your Text". Andrew has an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston and a B.S. in Media Studies from the University of Illinois.
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.