Raccah and Leaver to deliver FutureBook afternoon keynotes

Dominique Raccah, publisher and chief executive of US business Sourcebooks, and Marcus Leaver, former chief executive of the Quarto Group, are to give afternoon keynotes at FutureBook Live, The Bookseller's publishing conference, to be held in London on 30th November.
 
Both Raccah and Leaver will tackle the subject of adapting to a changed and changing publishing environment, in two 15 minute talks followed by a Q&A with each speaker. The additions to the already strong FutureBook Live programme indicate how important the conference is the international publishing calendar with delegates from across the global book business expected to check in at the event, which is held each year in London.
 
Raccah is the entrepreneurial publisher and chief executive of Sourcebooks, the company she founded from her home in 1987. It is now among the US' biggest publishers, with Raccah recognised as a leader in innovation in book publishing. In 2013, she was named FutureBook's Most Inspirational Digital Publishing Person, and in 2016 the US trade magazine Publishers Weekly made her its Person of the Year.
 
Raccah will talk about "How Innovation and Culture are Driving the Book Business in a Time of Change", beginning with an overview of the rapid changes taking place in the US (and the UK), and outline what kind of book publishing strategies and developments have worked best for Sourcebooks in tackling this kind of marketplace.
 
Leaver is the former chief executive of the Quarto Group, having led the business from December 2012 up until his resignation in May 2018. At Quarto, he re-focussed the London Stock Exchange-listed group on its intellectual property businesses; reducing debt by 20% by selling non-core activities, growing its children’s business by 165%, and its foreign language business by over 30%.
 
Leaver will talk about the key principles that underpinned his vision, in a talk entitled "Adapt or Perish: Managing Corporate Evolution". Using his experiences as chief executive of a global intellectual property company, he will discuss managing the "continual business evolution that is critical to the survival of all content creators".
 
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and co-programmer of FutureBook Live, said: "FutureBook is once again attracting all of the talents to its must-attend annual event—I'm absolutely delighted to welcome Dominique and Marcus to the platform for the afternoon keynotes. These are two leaders who have been on the front-lines of the changing publishing landscape, shaping and reshaping their businesses and meeting the challenges of the new world head-on. We are fortunate to have them at FutureBook Live!"

Other speakers announced recently include agent Cathryn Summerhayes, Google Assistant's Alice Zimmerman, bestselling author Sophie Hannah, Joffe Books founder Jasper Joffe, subscriptions specialist John Philips, and Ali Albazaz, founder and chief executive of reader-powered publisher Inkitt.

The full programme can be accessed here, and tickets can be bought here. FutureBook Live takes place on 30th November in London, at 155 Bishopsgate.