Elton, Sharabi, Hall and Ridout to explore global book economy at FutureBook

HarperCollins executive publisher Kate Elton, Wonderbly founder Asi Sharabi, Lonely Planet editorial director Tom Hall, and Amanda Ridout, founder of Boldwood, will discuss the global book economy at FutureBook Live 2019, joining a star-studded cast of speakers at The Bookseller's publishing conference.

"Around the world in 80 ways: how we publish globally today," chaired by The Bookseller's Tom Tivnan, will focus on how publishers can now engage with readers across the world, wherever they are based, and in whatever format they require, as the means of exporting globally have been enhanced.

The panel will discuss HarperCollins' Global Publishing Programme, led in the UK by Elton, which has seen the publisher ink a number of worldwide rights deals and use the former Harlequin offices, now rebranded as HarperCollins, to publish from. It can now publish from 18 different locations and into 17 languages.

It will also look at Wonderbly's approach to personalised books, such as Lost My Name, which are printed on demand across the world and available in 12 languages. In mid-June, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with one of China's biggest players, Phoenix Publishing and Media Group (PPMG) to ramp up its initiatives in the country.

Meanwhile, Ridout has earmarked global publishing as one of the key strategies underpinning her business, making her new list available in e-book, audio, and via print-on-demand internationally. Finally, Hall will talk about Lonely Planet's approach both to publishing globally, but also acquiring content from its teams of international contributors. One of the few publishers with a globally recognised imprint, Lonely Planet has been looking to build on its brand to become a destination site for travellers looking for information.

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, said: "Despite Brexit, UK publishing is at the heart of the expansion of the global English-language publishing business as platforms spread ever-outwards and distributing content cheapens. The publishers on this panel are outward facing but sensitive to local nuance, they know the importance of finding readers around the world for its own sake, but also as one way of ameliorating the pressures on their home markets."

There are now less than four weeks to go before Europe's largest publishing conference, with keynotes from James Daunt, m.d. of Waterstones and chief executive of Barnes & Noble; Katie Espiner, m.d. of Orion; cultural strategist Akua Agyemfra, owner of bea.London; Paul Abbassi, founder and chief executive of Bookstat; and AI thinker Chris Duffey, senior strategic development manager at Adobe. Other speakers on the day include Dave Buonaguidi, co-founder of St Luke’s, Karmarama & Unltd-Inc; Gaby Wood, literary director, the Booker Prize Foundation; and Baroness Gail Rebuck, chair of Penguin Random House.

To book tickets, or view the programme visit the FutureBook Live website.