The inaugural BookCamp Toronto “unconference” may have been a little less “un” than intended, but it was nevertheless a valuable forum for industry insiders to mingle with writers, journalists, and other bookish types and to discuss the future of publishing in an increasingly digital environment. Attendees from Halifax to Vancouver took part in a variety of sessions, including discussions about digital rights management, open-source publishing, and the future of e-books. Traditional publishing was not ignored, either: Alana Wilcox of Coach House Books and Jack Illingworth of the Literary Press Group moderated a session on small press publishing, and author Claire Cameron and National Post blogger Ron Nurwisah teamed up with this Quillblogger to moderate a session on book reviews.
Concerns that the conference would become a victim of its own success proved unfounded. The food didn’t run out: in fact there were lunches left over, which would suggest that not everyone who signed up for the event actually appeared. Those who were there, however, were for the most part engaged and enthusiastic, and provided a number of lively moments. A few of Quillblog’s favourites:
- Raincoast’s Dan Wagstaff discussed the effect that the rise of self-publishing is having on traditional publishing. If an author doesn’t think he needs a publisher, Wagstaff argued, he probably shouldn’t be working with one in the first place. On the flip side, publishers should focus their energies on fewer titles and on a narrower, more focused list.
- The Literary Press Group’s Jack Illingworth pointed to a 40% growth in his members’ online sales over the past year, indicating that every publisher needs to be able to work in this burgeoning market.
- Mitch Joel of Twist Image suggested that authors and publishers need to focus on strategy, not tactics, when it comes to digital marketing. Best Joel quote of the day: “What does it mean if you’re on Twitter and have only three followers? It means you suck.”
- Discussing what will happen when “every book is connected to everyone,” Peter Brantley, director of the Internet Archive, suggested that the “networked” book of the future will be less “preened and pruned” than conventionally published books and aimed more at creating discussions online. When one audience member questioned whether traditional publishers could survive in such a brave new digital world, the Association of Canadian Publishers’ Carolyn Wood stepped into the fray, asserting that publishers are indeed experimenting with new business models. “We want to find new readers, too,” she said, “we just need to get paid for what we do.”
Mark Bertils has a roundup of links from the day, including a link to the seemingly endless Twitter feed.
UPDATE: This post contains material that has been corrected. Peter Brantley is the director of the Internet Archive. Quillblog regrets the error.
About the left over lunches. Maybe it doesn’t suggest a lack of attendance. Maybe it just proves what seems obvious from your summary of the discussions – publishing types seem to have the ability to travel over great stretches of barren ground without the need for any real sustenance.
The event was fantastic, but one weakness of BookCamp was the absence of the bookseller. As far as I knew, there were no sessions led by bookstore owners, either small or large. It would have been great if someone from Chapters/Indigo were there to talk with us.
[...] Steven W. Beattie recaps the conference for the Quill and Quire [...]
Jonathan – I completely agree! I’d also love to see a panel from the graphic novel community and lots of others. Definitely some things to think about for next year!