Buonaguidi, Cartwright and Angel join FutureBook Live line-up

What does publishing look like from the outside, how does it change to meet today's needs of creatives and readers, and what are the different options now open to authors and agents­—these are the subjects of the next two panels announced at FutureBook Live 2019, with speakers ranging from PFD boss Caroline Michel, to advertising guru Dave Buonaguidi, and from author Rose Cartwright to rapper Shauna O’Briain, a.k.a. MC Angel.
 
Addressing the question of how to think and publish differently, publisher Crystal Mahey-Morgan will talk with O’Briain, author and poet Derek Owusu, football agent and music manager Darren Buffonge, and Cartwright, about how publishers can better respond to the needs of writers as they look to find new audiences with new technologies and fresh ideas.
 
Mahey-Morgan said: "We live in a hugely exciting time when books have the potential to reach bigger audiences than ever before. New technologies, multi-media storytelling and cross platform thinking allow us to find readers in pockets which may have previously been untapped but are vital to the continued growth of the book business. However in order to make the most of this we must be open to thinking and working differently and to look more closely to other industries such as music, sports, film/TV and take learnings from them. Most of all we must listen to and learn from the writers themselves. In this panel we’ll do just that."
 
A second panel featuring Michel and Buonaguidi in conversation with Whitefox founder John Bond and the writer and editor James Silver, will explore the different options now open to creatives who wish to work outside traditional publishing. Both Buonaguidi and Silver published their business titles outside of the mainstream, with services provided by Whitefox; while Michel's agency works with its clients to publish and exploit their talents across a range of activities, including events.
 
Bond said: "Publishing used to be a binary choice. Traditional rights exploiting publishers who were the gatekeepers versus vanity projects being self-published. But in the last 10 years a raft of opportunities have opened for individuals or brands who want to take their own content to market directly, maintaining control creatively and of their own timeline, format, pricing. These are ooks which mainstream publishers may not any more be best placed to exploit - such as niche non-fiction which could have be born from blogs, newsletters, archives."
 
This year's FutureBook Live programme has now been published online, featuring speakers such as: Alex Fane, managing director of Fane Productions; Booker director Gaby Wood; Bluebird publisher Carole Tonkinson; and Jodie Ginsberg c.e.o. of Index on Censorship. Keynotes include Waterstones m.d. James Daunt, the brand strategist behind #Merky Books Akua Agyemfra, AI specialist Chris Duffey, Orion m.d. Katie Espiner, and data analyst Paul Abbassi, a.k.a. Data Guy.
 
To book your tickets visit the conference website, here.