CONTEC Frankfurt, a pre-Frankfurt event organised by the Frankfurt Academy, will premiere on October 8, 2013, with a programme featuring over 60 speakers and 25 interactive sessions that will address the complexity of needs of the entire international publishing industry – trade and STM publishers, agents, techies, authors, librarians, and more.
People’s needs and expectations of a conference format have changed over the last few years. CONTEC will meet these expectations and more, with sessions that are completely focused on dialogue and exchange. As the successor to the popular Tools of Change (TOC) Frankfurt event, CONTEC Frankfurt will go one step further, approaching both new and traditional topics with a focus on interconnectedness and interaction. But that’s not the only difference. According to Britta Friedrich, Director of Events & Programmes for the Frankfurt Academy, CONTEC is also unique on a conceptual level.
CONTEC Frankfurt, which is organised by the Frankfurt Academy – the conference brand of Frankfurt Book Fair –, will feature fresh new faces from all over the world. Since the goal of the event is to give all members of the publishing ecosystem a chance to have their voices heard, CONTEC will highlight startups and small innovative companies alongside major publishing houses – from Israel, Japan, the US and UK, Germany and beyond.
Jill Cousins, Executive Director of the Europeana Foundation, will be featured on a panel exploring the future role of libraries in the modern digital ecosystem. Sascha Lobo, Internet expert and Founder of Sobooks, will share insight on social selling. A roster of speakers including Graham Bell, Chief Data Architect, EDItEUR, and Victoriano Colodrón, Senior Director, Global Relations, CCC, will analyse international market statistics, accessibility standards, digital global rights and royalties.
Nick Perrett, HC Group Strategy and Digital Director, will discuss publishing startups working with VCs and other investors. Stephen Smith, President and CEO of Wiley, will share the vision and path for Wiley’s transition from traditional book publisher to globally-scaled and innovative content solutions provider. Kristen McLean, Founder and CEO of Bookigee, and others will demystify data. Michael Kowalski, Founder of Contentment, will share his expertise in responsive design.
The Interactive Learning Labs are group discussions with a casual, conversational tone that cover a depth and breadth of issues. Each session will kick off with mini-presentations to offer some insights into each panelist’s background, but there won’t be any formal lecture-style presentations. The goal is to make these sessions interactive - a moderator will pose questions to the panelists and allow for audience input and debate. Molly Barton, Global Digital Director of Penguin, will explore the importance of author and community platforms. Wool series author Hugh Howey will share his journey from self-published author to ‘hybrid’ author.
CONTEC Frankfurt will take place on October 8, 2013, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Frankfurt Marriott Hotel. For a complete programme and speaker roster, and for more information on Interactive Learning Labs, interested parties may visit www.book-fair.com/contec.
