CEO Roundtable: Top leaders from some of the industry’s largest and most respected companies discuss how they are guiding their companies through a period of rapid technological innovation and how they develop talent in their workforce.
- Jonathan Karp, CEO, Simon and Schuster
- Aman Kochar, CEO, Baker & Taylor
- Mary McAveney, CEO, Abrams
- Peter Warwick, CEO, Scholastic
- Moderator: Lucia Rahilly, Global Editorial Director, McKinsey & Co.
Publishing Financial Literacy: Understand the building blocks of the publishing profit and loss statement and how they impact book acquisition.
- Clare O’Rourke, Chief Financial Officer, Macmillan
Harnessing Most Trusted Influencers to Boost Book Sales: Public libraries, schools, universities, and community institutions promote and influence the reading and book buying habits for tens of millions of readers. Learn how to leverage this powerful network to drive discovery and sales for every title.
- Steve Potash, Chief Executive Office, Overdrive
Current Issues in Contracts and Copyright: The landscape of contracts and copyright is undergoing noticeable shifts in response to emerging technologies like AI and the evolving dynamics of content creation and consumption. Learn how the issues related to contract provisions address AI, morality, and social media promotion.
- Janet Saines Cardozo, VP, Head of Contracts, Hachette
- Jaime Wolf, General Counsel, AALA and attorney, Pelosi Wolf Spates LLP
Spotlight on Spotify: With the audio book market booming and more than a quarter of Spotify’s eligible premium listeners engaging with audiobooks and new titles being added to the platform every day, learn about plans to innovate for authors, publishers, listeners, and book fans worldwide.
- Owen Smith, VP, Product & Technology for Audiobooks, Spotify
Getting Started with AI: For anyone who wants to learn the basics of AI and the many ways AI tools can (and can’t) improve the publishing process.
- Keith Reigert, Ulysses Press & NYU Professor
Young Publishing Forum: An open forum for those relatively new to publishing at agencies and publishing houses to share experience and insights and anyone who wants to understand the perspectives of the next generation of publishing professionals on mentorship, orientation, remote work and career goals.
- Yadon Israel, Founder, Literaryswag Book Club, Senior Editor, Simon & Schuster
- Fernanda Martinez, Planeta US
- Noah Perkins, Young Publishers Association
- Maya St. Clair, Young Publishers Association/Locus Magazine
- Moderator: Monika Woods, Founder, Triangle House
The X Factor: Respected industry figures reveal the soft/super skills, and personal and leadership qualities, that contributed to their effectiveness in navigating the publishing industry.
- Dawn Davis, Publisher, 37 Ink
- Sally Kim, Publisher, Little, Brown
- Dominique Raccah, CEO, Sourcebooks
- Todd Shuster, Co-CEO, Aevitas Creative
- Moderator: Sonali Goel, Senior Director, Talent and Development, Macmillan
Kicking Down the Gates: Industry leaders discuss systems and tools that act as barriers and obstacles to publication and innovative strategies along with actionable insights to make book publishing more accessible.
- Porscha Burke, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy, Random House & Crown Publishing Groups
- Talia Krohn, VP, Editorial Director, Little, Brown Spark
- Ayesha Pande, Agent & Owner, Pande Literary
- Joy Peskin, Executive Editorial Director, FSG Books for Young Readers
- Moderator: Kelly Sonnack, Executive Agent, Andrea Brown Literary Agency
Great Expectations: Agents and editors discuss how to work better together to boost productivity, profitability, and well-being.
- Kerry D’Agostino, Agent, Curtis Brown
- Caroline Eisenmann, VP & Senior Agent, Frances Goldin Literary Agency
- Luana Horry, Editorial Director, HarperColllins Children’s
- Aliya S. King, Executive Editor, Disney Publishing
- Jessica Sinsheimer, Agent, Context Literary & Co-founder of Manuscript Wish List
- Maya Ziv, Editorial Director, Dutton
- Moderator: Tanya McKinnon, Founder, McKinnon Literary
Sales Says: Sales directors open up about the role they play in launching new titles, how they collaborate with marketers to drive discoverability, how they work with retailers, and what essential insights into the sales process can help agents and editors serve their books.
- Christine Edwards, SVP, Sales, Abrams Books
- Jennifer Edwards, VP, Children’s Sales, Macmillan
- Kelly Roberts, VP, Divisional Sales, HarperCollins
- Gary Urda, SVP, Sales, Simon & Schuster
- Moderator: Kristin Fassler, SVP, Integrated Marketing, Knopf Doubleday Group
All About Auctions: Agents and editors compare notes and discuss best practices for structuring and executing successful auctions.
- Stacey Barney, Associate Publisher, Nancy Paulsen Books
- Stephanie Hitchcock, Editorial Director, Simon Acumen
- Megan Lynch, Editorial Director, Flatiron Books
- Anthony Mattero, Agent, CAA
- Wendy Sherman, President, Sherman & Associates
- Joanna Volpe, President, New Leaf Literary
- Moderator: Ivan Held, President, Putnam, Berkeley & Dutton
Greenlighting 2.0: In the wake of recent industry upheavals, including writer and actor strikes and the rise of streaming, our panelists discuss how these challenges have spurred innovation and creativity, leading to fresh perspectives and approaches to book-to-film adaptations and how v agents and editors can thrive in this dynamic environment.
- Mac Hawkins, Founder, Literary Scout, Pragmatic
- Nicole McCormick, Director of Development, The Js
- Jenny Halper, Executive Vice President and Head of Creative, Maven Pictures
- Lucy Stille, Founder, Lucy Stille Literary
- Joe Veltre, Senior Partner & Co-Head of New York Office; Head of Books and Media Rights at The Gersh Agency
- Moderator: Alexandra Franklin
Securing Your Financial Future on Any Budget: Investing in your professional development includes personal finance management, get real talk and advice from Vivian Tu on how to maximize your publishing salary, at any level, for a richer financial future.
- Vivian Tu, Author of Rich AF & creator of Your Rich BFF on TikTok and InstagramIn conversation with Niki Papadopoulos, VP, Editor-in-Chief, Portfolio Books
AALA People of Publishing Conference 