Building on the success of our previous digital publishing conferences, The Bookseller will be holding its Futurebook conference on November 30th in London. 

Last year’s conference was hugely successful, with over 200 attendees from 12 different countries and over 20 key industry speakers. The aim of Futurebook 2010 is to deliver the most dynamic & engaging conference for those driving UK & European digital publishing.

This year has seen unprecedented change in digital publishing:Just last week Amazon announced they have sold more kindle books than hardbacks in the last 3 months. The tipping point may arrive much more quickly than anticipated.

Device suppliers have recently embarked on an e-Reader price war. How will this drive consumer take-up of e-Books?

Apple continues to inspire consumer awe, whilst increasing revenue & profit beyond all predictions. Can anyone doubt Apple’s part in the digital publishing landscape especially with talk of more products due for launch this year?

Google moves inextricably towards a cloud-based reading experience, available to all, with Google Editions. Our own research ‘Reading the Future’ concluded the dedicated e-Reader may already be toast. 

With smartphone sales seeing a 40% growth y-o-y  it has never been easier for consumers to purchase via mobiles. As Amazon have shown, with their recent announcement that they sell $1 billion worth of products per year via mobile. Mobile is a critical part of a coherent digital & marketing strategy.

Whilst Google, Amazon and Apple drive e-Book and e-Reader sales, publishers are trying to capitalise on these opportunities and define their digital strategy. Many key issues, including piracy, digital and territorial rights and formats, remain unresolved. The opportunities for and threats to publishers have never been greater.

Futurebook 2010 conference will deliver thought leadership, looking at the issues on a practical as well as strategic level. We’ll hear from industry figures who are pushing the boundaries from within and outside the publishing industry.

Some of the issues we aim to cover: 

• Who is buying e-Books & e-Readers? Stats & trends.
• Delivering & selling e-Books. How to navigate sales channels, distribution & e-Book formats.
• Digital rights: agents & publishers tackling these issues. 
• Understanding customers: how are publishers engaging with their book-buyers? Marketing, niche websites, use of social media.
• Change from within: will publishers have to rethink how books are published & how their companies are structured? Are publishers skilled up for digital landscape? 
• Maximising mobile opportunities.
• Outside the industry: where are the threats & opportunities, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, media partners? 
• Beyond the book: what is the future of content & digital & how will content be valued? What is the step beyond e-Books?

 This is not a final agenda but I hope it gives you a flavour of Futurebook 2010 conference.

If your company would like to be involved, please send me an email outlining what you have in mind. I’m not looking for sales pitches, but thought leadership, exciting and stimulating projects, case studies and ideas.

It is an extremely exciting time in the industry and my aim is for everyone to leave Futurebook 2010 conference full of ideas and optimism, and with practical tips on driving digital strategies forward.

Please submit your papers to sam.missingham@bookseller.co.uk deadline 27th August.