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Charlie Redmayne discusses AI and freedom to publish at HarperCollins summer party
Hundreds of authors, agents, editors and other members of the trade gathered at HarperCollins’ annual summer party at the V&A on last night (3rd July) with a record attendance of guests.
Writers including Nigel Slater, Elizabeth Day, Vaseem Khan and Sophia Smith Galer circulated amongst the historic John Madejski Garden with the party’s returning pop-up cocktail bar hovering beyond the courtyard’s oval pool.
HarperCollins chief executive Charlie Redmayne revealed it was a record attendance for the party which has been hosted in the historic venue for over a decade. While he acknowledged “a fantastic year at HarperCollins with an incredible array of really brilliant books” he also outlined the major issues facing the industry in an unusually sobering speech—on the eve of the General Election (4th July).
“The publishing industry is facing three very significant challenges," Redmayne said in his speech. "First, the seismic developments in generative AI... We’ve long invested in the best minds in data analytics [at HarperCollins].” He added: “These teams interrogate and invest in new technologies to the benefit of these authors to amplify their voices and ultimately sell more for their books.
“I know it’s a troubling time seeing generative AI come down the road. It’s like the digital revolution which came before it. We see threats but also huge opportunities.”
Redmayne also described the “challenge in children’s reading for pleasure which continues to decline year-on-year”, outlining the efforts of division Farshore and the recently acquired Barrington Stoke imprint as well as the freshly launched Book Squad initiative, all to promote young people’s reading.
Additionally, the c.e.o. described the “ongoing battle for the freedom to publish and freedom of speech” some weeks after the company’s announcement of Boris Johnson’s memoir. Redmayne said: “We’ve fought some very high profile battles in recent years defending ourselves and our authors—and a couple of them are here tonight— from SLAPPS [Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation] and bad faith actors.
“But the pressure still remains—calls not to publish authors or content—from those on social media or within our own industry, on the basis that some may not agree with what’s being written to lawsuits and battles with powerful people who’d rather not have their business aired in public.
“As a business we remain purposeful in our resolve to resist such pressures and continue to publish freely. We publish books from the right, from the left and from the centre—from all sides of the argument, and we do without fear or favour because that’s what a publisher must do.”
Finally, Redmayne paid tribute to “one of the very best in the business”, Sarah McPhee who has organised this particular party since 2012, but is leaving HarperCollins after 17 years to be succeeded by Emma Lowe as head of events.
