Global 50 Con

Welcome by the moderator of the event.

Nathan Hull is CSO at Beat Technology powering audiobook and ebook services for the publishing industry. Beat is the pulse within market leaders Skoobe (DE), Fabel (NO), Fluister (NL), Audiotribe (RO), Volume (PL), Adlibris (SE & FI) and Jukebooks (GR). Prior to Beat, Nathan launched the curated Dutch service Bookchoice in 9 markets and was Chief Business Development Officer at Denmark’s Mofibo launching in two further markets prior to its purchase by Storytel. Notably Nathan was also Penguin Random House’s Digital Product Director, with strategic responsibility for its award-winning digital portfolio and innovation strategy working closely with the likes of Stephen Fry, Jamie Oliver, Jeff Kinney, and Roald Dahl’s estate. As well as having spoken and moderated at major publishing and technology events in over 25 countries, Nathan has also mentored start-ups in 12 countries and consulted for the likes of New York Public Library and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.

What book business?

Various transformative forces result in a fundamental re-framing of the book business. This presentation provides a data driven overview on key players, transformative forces and new entrants.

Consolidation among the biggest players in global trade publishing – notably KKR > Simon and Schuster or Vivendi >> Lagardère/Hachette) made the headlines. But the full picture is much more complex:

M&A has reached mid-sized companies in non-English markets, a generational shift is happening all around, with new faces getting into leadership position; most consumer publishers venture into ‘genre fiction’, launching new imprints to reach out to new author talent and new audiences – albeit with mixed results at best. 

‘Non-traditional’ publishing models – notably self-publishing, authors aiming at controlling their full value chain, platform-based production and distribution connect directly authors and consumers, as well as multi- and cross-format audience preferences – now match and compete in scope and reach with the largest traditional ‘book companies’. 

Rüdiger Wischenbart, born in 1956 in Graz, Austria, is the founder of “Content and Consulting” (since 2003) and an author with a focus on culture, cultural industries, global book markets, innovations in the book industry, literature, media and communication.

All Is New! 

A conversation about the recent changes in ownership, leadership and strategic orientation among the American “Big Five” publishing groups – Penguin Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster and Holtzbrinck’s Macmillan. 

How are these transformations breaking up and re-framing the very fabric of the English language book business between publishers, retailers – and new entrants!

Jim Milliot, co-editorial director Publishers Weekly, has been with PW for more than 25 years. His reporting and insights into the changing publishing industry are often quoted in the media, and he regularly appears on book industry panels.

Brian O’Leary has served as excutive director of the Book Industry Study Group since 2016. Prior to joining BISG, he worked as a consultant to book, magazine, and association publishers for 18 years. He started his consulting practice after a 15-year career in book (Hammond Inc.) and magazine (Time Inc.) publishing.

Same, same, but different! 

A close up on Germany – the by far largest book market in Europe, and the third largest worldwide:

• Consolidation is more benign – yet accelerating. 
• Amazon has a strong competitor in both retail – with Thalia – and digital – with Tolino. 
• The independents are arguably much more diverse than in the US, and enjoy multiple support, from fixed prices to popularity among strong readers – and yet are struggling in a spiral against extinction.
• GenZ keeps reading – yet differently: The new Manga + Webtoon + Tiktok paradigm. 

With:

Mette Hammerich Caserta, founder of Fioranello Publishing

Michael Döschner-Apostolidis, Managing Director Tolino Media

Ehrhardt Heinold, CEO Heinold, Spiller & Partner

Mette Caserta founded Fioranello Publishing in 2023, in partnership with industry colleague Anders Gudbergsen. Prior to this venture, she held various positions in the publishing sector, including International Head of Expansion at Saga Egmont. She also worked as a consultant for several leading Nordic publishing companies, such as Gyldendal and Beat Technology.

Michael Döschner-Apostolidis is managing director of tolino Media. Prior to that, he was responsible for online marketing and digital product areas at a communications agency and at various publishing houses. From 2016 to 2019, he managed the digital initiatives of the Holtzbrinck book publishers as COO and managing director of Holtzbrinck ePublishing.

Ehrhardt Heinold is managing partner of Heinold, Spiller & Partner Unternehmensberatung and has supported numerous projects on the topics of strategy, digitization and content management. He also works as a conference chair, moderator, and seminar leader. Heinold has given numerous lectures, published professional articles, and participated in various studies on the topic of digital publishing. According to the trade magazine Kresspro, Heinold is one of the 25 most important media consultants in Germany.

Last year America’s oldest author organization, The Authors Guild, completed the largest survey of U.S. author income ever fielded. With nearly 6,000 published authors participating from all major demographic, publishing and category segments, the study provides the most complete portrait to date of author income and professional trends in the United States. The results not only reveal which types of authors are having the greatest, and least, income success, but also provide a glimpse into the future of traditional publishing, book promotion, and marketing based on professional authors’ in-market experience and intentions.

Peter Hildick-Smith founded Codex-Group in 2004, pioneering book audience testing to help publishers, retailers, and authors increase book sales. Codex programs have helped authors including Hillary Clinton, Tina Fey, Joe Biden, David Baldacci, Anthony Doerr, Daniel H. Pink, and others, reach the bestseller list. Codex work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, CBS Evening News, Forbes, Wired, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, New Republic, Smart Money, Variety, Salon.com, Hollywood Reporter, Marketplace (NPR), and Publishers Weekly. Prior to Codex, Peter was Corporate VP, Merchandising and VP Young Readers Marketing at Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing, as well as Chief Marketing Officer, GE Capital Global Consumer Finance UK. He has an MBA Marketing from the Wharton School.

This is NOT the end! 

But AI will redefine the publishing, distribution and audience business from scratch. 

A practical hands-on survival kit for book people by the author of “The AI Revolution in Book Publishing: A Concise Guide to Navigating Artificial Intelligence for Writers and Publishers.”

Thad McIlroy is one of the United States’ most visible digital publishing analysts and authors, and principal of The Future of Publishing, based in San Francisco. He is a contributing editor to Publishers Weekly, covering artificial intelligence, digital innovation and publishing startups. His latest book, The AI Revolution in Book Publishing: A Concise Guide to Navigating Artificial Intelligence for Writers and Publishers, has recently been published. McIlroy has authored a dozen other books and over five hundred articles on publishing technology. In 2024 he joined the advisory board of Johns Hopkins University Press and became a visiting scholar at the Publishing Master of Professional Studies program at The George Washington University.

How service providers can provide critical support in navigating the rough and uncharted waters of the new book and reading and listening and ‘snacking’ business ahead.

Jens Klingelhöfer, Co-CEO Bookwire.

Adam Fritz, CEO Pozotron

Jens Klingelhöfer already worked as a media designer for books at the beginning of his career and returned to the book industry with the founding of Bookwire. Before that, he worked in the music industry for over ten years and was involved in numerous successful music projects.

Adam Fritz is the CEO of Pozotron, Inc. and has been with the company since 2021. Adam has a BA and MBA, and prior to Pozotron he held leadership roles with multiple companies in the professional sport, gaming, and software industries. Adam lives in Vancouver, Canada with his 2 sons and they are currently listening to Stephen Fry’s Harry Potter audiobooks together.