By Michaela O’Callaghan, Rosie Burgoyne and Sunny Moen
SYP Oxford’s Everything but Editorial: Agenting
26 May, 6:00 p.m.
This is the first event in a new series which demystifies various parts of the publishing industry. What skills do you need for a role in a literary agency? How do agencies fit into the industry? Learn about agents and agencies with Juliet Mushens and Silé Edwards from Mushens Entertainment. Sign up here.
Infobites with DC SLA: Impact of COVID-19 on Publishing
26 May, 5:00–6:00 p.m.
DC Special Libraries Association are hosting an event about the impact COVID-19 has had on publishing. As the current COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, there was an urgent need to conduct research and disseminate results rapidly. This scenario had a major impact on traditional publishing as preprints and open access emerged with a growing role in information dissemination. Lots of questions persist and this event will endeavor to answer them all. The event hosts recommend reading a small list of articles to be best prepared for the event. The event is free and everyone is welcome. You can find all the information and book tickets here.
Derby Book Festival
27 May to 25 June
Derby Book Festival has over sixty bookish events for you, from those in person, live streamed, recorded and outdoor events! There truly is something for everyone from a discussion of the brilliant debut, Girl A written by Abigail Dean to other speakers like Tracy Bloom (The Wife Who Got A Life) and Laura Jane Williams (The Lucky Escape) as they explore how they have approached writing about women. Find out more here.
Ed Miliband in conversation - GO BIG
1 June, 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Ed Miliband discusses the ideas from his new book GO BIG. Ed explores the different strategies implemented around the world to tackle key issues such as the climate crisis. Learn how these schemes came about and how they can help build a different world. General admission is £5.00. Tickets here.
Looking towards The London Book Fair
The London Book Fair is a large book publishing trade fair. This year, the London Book Fair is going digital! The fair will run over three weeks in June providing the opportunity to gain insight into the key trends shaping the book industry. The conference events will take place during the week of 7 June. A noteworthy event is Introduction to Rights on 7 June which shines a light on how to sell rights. Whilst many of these events are targeted at publishing professionals, there are also free online events from 21 June to 1 July. From 2–16 July, this brilliant online content will be available on-demand. We look forward to discussing these free online events in later issues. Find out more here.
SYP London Speed Dating
2 & 3 June, 7:00–8.30 p.m.
Want to know all about the various departments within the publishing industry? This speed networking event run by SYP London offers an excellent opportunity to learn all about the different aspects by talking to those doing the jobs! What skills do you need to excel in production? How can you get into rights? How do publishing departments work together? Find out the answers at this event.
Every ten minutes two new speakers from a different area of publishing come along to your assigned group to discuss their role, how they started and what skills you need to get into that department.
The different areas of the publishing industry spotlighted are: editorial, production, sales, rights, design, marketing, publicity, digital and audio, agents and scouts. Each night features different speakers, so take a look at the lineup in the links below to see if there are any particular publishing professionals you are eager to chat with!
Hannah Beeson, Head of Events at SYP London, says:
“In previous years our Career Speed Dating event has always been a great way to demystify the world of publishing for publishing hopefuls and to help them answer questions about their dream department or role. We were really keen to bring it back this year, especially as we know how competitive the industry is at the moment.
We were also keen to make this event feel more natural, like an in-person networking event, as we know that video networking can sometimes feel awkward or intimidating. The platform we're using, Gatherly, has definitely helped us achieve that. Instead of using Zoom breakout rooms or one-on-one networking platforms, Gatherly allows people to move around of their own accord. Our event will be structured very much like our usual career speed dating: publishing hopefuls will group into virtual tables, which work like individual group video chats and our publishing professional speakers will move around and speak to every table. Not only this, but we will have a virtual welcome table for anyone who feels nervous that you can access of your own accord at any time throughout the event. We hope to see some of you there!”