London Book Fair

2024 Conference Wrap Up, Part 3

London Book Fair 2024 was the busiest in recent memory, with the floors noticeably crowded well into the traditionally much quieter Thursday. The many sessions, seminars and talks were hugely popular, often resulting in standing room only. If there were presiding concerns, they were the effect of TikTok and the phenomenon of the books it has amplified most successfully, as well as the applications, perils and possibilities of AI.

*Members of Firebrand Group (NetGalley, Firebrand Technologies, and Supadu) hosting meetings at London Book Fair*

BookTok and Influencer Marketing

There were several panels specifically devoted to TikTok, and many more about the broad use of influencer campaigns, and we noticed how much TikTok-endorsed and popularized genres dominated the huge video screens of the bigger publishers. Romance, Romantasy and high concept thrillers were the dominant genres, and nonfiction was much less visible on these stands as in years before.

In the session “BookTok: Bridging Communities and Redefining Reading” presented by Esther Fung from PangoBook and Léa Crumpton, they illuminated how social media platforms are reshaping reading habits and fostering inclusivity within literary communities. With the rise of BookTok, they said readers are discovering diverse voices and narratives, transcending traditional boundaries.

Publishers received a valuable lesson on leveraging behind-the-scenes videos to provide glimpses into the fun inner workings of working in a publishing house, and the importance of collaborations with influencers was emphasized, with a reminder to allow creators the freedom to infuse their unique style into promotional content, therefore maintaining authenticity.

This concept was reiterated again and again throughout various marketing panels. For instance, At the Byte the Book Drinks Reception, Kelly Weekes, Marketing Mentor & Author Coach, urged creators to prioritize building relationships over direct sales pitches, echoing the sentiment that social media is inherently about fostering connections. And in the session, “Spotlight on YA: Navigating a Crowded Market”, speakers emphasized the significance of genuine engagement over trend-chasing. In-person events and literary prizes emerged as potent avenues for garnering visibility and expanding readership, reaffirming the enduring value of community engagement in the publishing process.

By embracing trends and engaging with audiences consistently, publishers can forge meaningful connections in the digital sphere.

Artificial Intelligence

In terms of AI’s presence at LBF, there were many start-ups offering AI-enhanced or produced content. We observed stands that offered listening booths so attendees could hear AI voice renderings of classics like Alice in Wonderland, and heard from companies using AI to offer end-to-end advertising to aid book discoverability.

In conversation with some of our clients, we came to understand that publishers recognize where AI can be useful (enhancing internal workflows, creating starter marketing copy to be revised by a human), and where it can be harmful – the publishers we spoke to acknowledged that their readers are against AI-generated art, including book content and cover images.

Sessions like “The Future of Audio in Publishing: Global Trends and the Impact of AI” leaned into the need for transparency with readers, especially if synthetic voices are used. As reported in PW’s London Book Fair 2024: The State of Audiobooks, From AI to Ads, Videl Bar-Kar, v-p of audio at Bookwire GmbH, stated, “There needs to be real transparency and trust. Consumers need to decide, and we talked about it as well. I think there needs to be very clear labeling on behalf of what’s going out there and presenting to consumers.”

Read more of our 2024 conference wrap ups:

Part 1: ABA Winter Institute
Part 2: Audio Publishers Association Conference

And find us at the following events this spring!

April 12, Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Annual Meeting
April 12 – 14, Paris Book Festival
April 25 – 27, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University

Audio Publishers Association Conference

2024 Conference Wrap Up, Part 2

This year’s Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) brought together audiobook-industry leaders to explore the evolving landscape of audio consumption. NetGalley was thrilled to sponsor and speak at this event. Across all sessions, attendees and presenters alike celebrated the continued growth of the audio market.

*Darcy Piedmonte speaking at APAC 2024*, *demonstrating how NetGalley members express enthusiasm for audiobooks “out in the wild.”*

Paul Abassi (Bookstat) reminded attendees of the huge growth in audiobook sales in recent years, from over $1.7 billion in 2018 to over $3 billion in 2023. Last year proved a substantial increase across both legacy and newer retailers, including publishers of all sizes and multiple genre categories. Kristen McLain (Circana Entertainment Knowledge Group) positioned audio as a thriving market ripe for further innovation and expansion. Kristen pointed out that audio is the only category growing across all age groups, with some titles selling equal in (or more!) shares than other formats. Further, audiobook consumers are willing and ready to invest in their overall experience.

Laura Ivy (Edison Research) shared that audiobook audiences are continuing to skew younger, supported by APAC’s own Sales & Consumer Data Survey conducted last year, which revealed: “The majority of audiobook listeners are young, with 57% being between the ages of 18 and 44, significantly higher than the 49% of the U.S. population that falls within the same age range.” Kristen McLain added, “Future listeners are living with current listeners!”

Darcy Piedmonte, Senior Sales Manager at NetGalley, joined Eric Barnett (Supporting Cast), Lizzie Breyer Bowman (Lemonada), and moderator Amy Metsch (Spiegel & Grau) on a panel titled, “Audiobooks in the Wild”, to discuss how forward-thinking approaches to audiobook and spoken word programming foster audience engagement and community. The conversation underscored the significance of dynamic content strategies in attracting and retaining listeners. Darcy delved into the thriving audiobook community facilitated by NetGalley, sharing case studies featuring an independently published audiobook side-by-side with a celebrity memoir (spoiler alert: both performed extremely well on NetGalley). She also spoke about NetGalley’s role in fostering interactions between audio publishers and enthusiastic listeners, providing updates about the NetGalley community’s growth and engagement. Be on the lookout for more about this!

A highlight of the event was Malcolm Gladwell’s keynote address emphasizing tremendous opportunities for internet-based audio. Gladwell brought attention to our collective chance to democratize production, highlight on-demand, recursive listening, and revolutionize access with few barriers to entry. However, there are significant limitations standing in the way related to fair- versus limited use, where limited use greatly sacrifices transformative experiences that can enhance listeners’ lives. Gladwell illuminated the downsides in the specific, story-driven way only he can. The audience was convinced: the industry is not currently able to exploit the full potential of the audio medium. However, as industry professionals we can band together for a “Fair Use” movement and coalition. Only then will we harness the power of our creative potential and realize the spoken word future we all want to see.

Lastly, we are thrilled to congratulate this year’s Audie Award Winners! We’re honored that so many of these award-winning audiobooks were available on NetGalley.

Read more of our 2024 conference wrap ups:

Part 1: ABA Winter Institute
Part 3: London Book Fair

And find us at the following events this spring!

March 12 – 14, London Book Fair
March 21 – 24, Leipzig Book Fair
April 12, Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Annual Meeting
April 12 – 14, Paris Book Festival
April 25 – 27, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University

ABA Winter Institute

2024 Conference Wrap Up, Part 1

With over 950 booksellers in attendance, American Bookseller Association’s Winter Institute conference was filled with vibrant energy, fostering numerous opportunities for networking and collaboration both within and outside the conference sessions. Two members of the NetGalley team, Tarah Theoret (Senior Director, Community Experience) and Darcy Piedmonte (Senior Sales Manager), were in attendance to connect with our partners at ABA, as well as with booksellers, publishers, and industry professionals.

NetGalley team members, Darcy Piedmonte & Tarah Theoret

Booksellers were excited for the reminder that publishers can see that they are validated ABA members on NetGalley, ensuring quick approvals (and even auto-approvals) for their book requests. Popular formats were discussed, with comic store owners expressing gratitude for the collection of comics, graphic novels, and manga that publishers make available on NetGalley. They particularly appreciated the digital access to preview this content, as these books often lack full-color ARCs. Audiobooks garnered similar attention, and many attendees were excited to dig into NetGalley’s audiobook offerings.

We were thrilled to see more publishers using QR codes to make books available to Winter Institute attendees, especially in the Galley Room. Publishers are recognizing the benefits of offering digital copies, both in terms of the number of books they can give away and in terms of sustainability. Using QR codes, or following up with attendees to say, ‘Thank you,’ with a NetGalley pre-approval link to a popular book saves on printing, shipping, and overall carbon emissions. NetGalley is proud to be part of the solution.

Overall, Winter Institute 2024 was characterized by dynamic discussions and fruitful collaborations!

Read more of our 2024 conference wrap ups:

Part 2: Audio Publishers Association Conference
Part 3: London Book Fair

And find us at the following events this spring!

February 28, Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC)
March 12 – 14, London Book Fair
March 21 – 24, Leipzig Book Fair
April 12, Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Annual Meeting
April 12 – 14, Paris Book Festival
April 25 – 27, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University

Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC Welcome New Chief Technology Officer

Longstanding book publishing tech companies continue to invest in strengthening their technology team with appointment of new CTO, Tom Shawver

FOR RELEASE

Newburyport, MA (January 11, 2023)—Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC—each a strategic part of the Firebrand Group collection of companies owned by Media Do International (MD-i)—announced today the appointment of Tom Shawver in the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As CTO of both companies, Shawver will lead and refine the overall technology strategy, ensuring scalability, security, and efficiency across multiple product lines. Shawver’s official start date is January 16, 2024.

“I’m excited to be part of two companies so pivotal to book publishing and helping publishers reach their audiences in the growing digital space,” said Shawver. “Strengthening the way readers find and enjoy new stories, information, and perspectives is both a professional and personal passion of mine. Firebrand and NetGalley define the industry standard with a collection of tools absolutely vital to their publishing partners and distribution network, and I’m both humbled and invigorated to have the opportunity to expand and streamline that platform with such an experienced team.”

A lifelong technologist, Shawver has spent over 15 years leading companies of all sizes—ranging from seed-stage to the Fortune 500—in embracing cutting-edge solutions to drive growth. Before Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC, Shawver was the Chief Technology Officer at 360 Media Direct, working with both book and magazine publishers to drive digital content adoption among readers.

Starting at the ground level of the cloud computing boom, Shawver has specialized in building software platforms that scale globally, react quickly, and stay highly integrated with other industry-leading software. He maintains and contributes to widely used open source software products that power thousands of companies worldwide, focusing on security and customer identity. He holds a degree in Computer Science from Albright College, where he also studied in the Music and Digital Media programs.

“We’re beyond excited for Tom to join our teams as Chief Technology Officer,” said Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC CEO Angela Bole. “Our unique, community-focused approach to technology development creates an optimal atmosphere for innovation and product success. I’m certain Tom’s experience and personal aptitude will fit in perfectly and prove vital to the future of our companies as we continue to adapt to serve our clients’ needs.”

Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC are fully-virtual technology companies working in and for the book publishing industry. In partnership, the companies have been helping publishers manage their internal workflows, digital distribution, and marketing efforts for over 35 years with technology solutions that touch the lives of thousands of print, ebook, and audio professionals every day.

In February 2021, Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC were acquired by Media Do International (MD-i), the US-based subsidiary of Japan’s Media Do Co., Ltd, one of the largest ebook distribution companies in the world retaining the largest share of Japan’s $4.5 billion ebook market. Bole, former CEO of the Independent Book Publishers Association, succeeded Fran Toolan as CEO of Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC on February 1, 2023. Toolan remains on the companies’ board.

About Firebrand Technologies

Firebrand Technologies—a strategic part of the Firebrand Group collection of companies—is dedicated to providing leading software and services to help publishers succeed. Title Management tracks titles from pre-acquisition through post-production, marketing, and sales. Eloquence on Demand is the industry gold standard for implementing ONIX and maximizing control of how data reaches the marketplace. Eloquence on Alert’s proprietary title performance monitoring service collects key, hard-to-access details about your products from major online marketplaces and review sites, and puts all of that information directly at your fingertips. Firebrand Flywheel harnesses the power of AI-supported technology to identify hidden opportunities for driving backlist sales, precisely when it matters most. For more information, visit firebrandtech.com.

About NetGalley, LLC

NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies and audiobooks to book advocates and industry professionals. Hundreds of thousands of members rely on NetGalley’s secure, sustainable, and easy-to-use platform to discover books, share reviews, and champion literacy. The NetGalley team coordinates closely with publishers on targeted promotions, and provides training, strategy, and consultation for incorporating NetGalley into overall marketing and publicity efforts. NetGalley is a strategic part of the Firebrand Group collection of companies, which together provide leading software and services to help publishers achieve success. To learn more, visit netgalley.com/tour.

About Media Do International (MD-i)

Media Do International (MD-i) owns the Firebrand Group, a collection of companies including Firebrand Technologies, NetGalley, LLC, and Supadu Ltd. that provide leading software and services to help publishers achieve success. MD-i is itself the US-based subsidiary of Japan’s Media Do Co. Ltd, one of the largest ebook distribution companies in the world retaining the largest share of Japan’s ebook market. Media Do Co. Ltd.’s mission is to make more content available for more people. For more information, visit mediado.jp/english.

Here’s a special message from Tom!

NetGalley Community Update

July 2023

Over the past year, NetGalley has diligently focused on re-engaging our community to ensure members actively return again and again to discover and request books, and share their reviews and feedback with publishers as well as their wider audiences. We also introduced some important changes to our Member Types (and subtypes), including better visibility into each member’s primary audience, to provide more meaningful ways for you to find the right audience for your books on a micro-level. We are thrilled to share the most updated stats about the NetGalley community!

With approximately 550,000 active* members using NetGalley.com, our diverse community of reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and book trade professionals all share a common passion for books. They eagerly provide early feedback and enthusiastically promote books they discover to their respective audiences.

About 150,000 of these members also indicated their interest in audiobooks! This is an increase of 375% since summer 2021 (which was 1 year after audiobooks were first introduced on NetGalley).

150,000 NetGalley.com members have expressed interest in audiobooks, a 375% increase since 2021.

Members who listen to audiobooks are very likely to submit reviews & feedback. The Approval-to-Feedback rate for audiobooks is 53%!

All activity on NetGalley is like a funnel: The more Impressions a book has, the more overall activity it will receive. Once members submit requests, it’s up to the publisher to approve requests so they can start to read. Depending on how many requests the publisher approves, a portion of them will result in Feedback. For digital review copies (DRCs), NetGalley.com members submit over 90,000 reviews and other feedback each month, on average**.

NetGalley.com members submit over 90,000 reviews for DRCs each month.

Beyond the NetGalley platform, our members extend their influence across various channels, including on social media, retail sites, Goodreads, and their own blogs/vlogs or more traditional media, as well as using their powerful word-of-mouth with customers of their bookstores or patrons of their libraries. Our members find fulfillment in helping books succeed!

We are proud to partner with the American Library Association and American Booksellers Association to verify NetGalley members who are also members of these (and other) organizations.

10,700+ verified ALA members use NetGalley to browse, request, and purchase books for their libraries.

Librarians on NetGalley generate nearly 6,000 LibraryReads nominations monthly!

1,400+ verified ABA members use NetGalley to browse, request, and purchase books for their stores.

Booksellers on NetGalley generate nearly 1,200 Indie Next Nominations monthly!

NetGalley members read a wide variety of books, and can browse and sort the NetGalley catalog based on category, pub date, most-requested status, and more to find exactly what they’re looking for. Category or genre popularity on NetGalley closely mirrors the market as a whole. The charts below show the most popular fiction and nonfiction categories among members using NetGalley. Data includes NetGalley.com members who have opted-in to promotions in these categories, as of June 2023.

*Based on member category survey conducted February 2023.

Our members love to be notified about books that match their interests! 56% of NetGalley.com members are opted in to receive newsletters and campaigns about books in their preferred categories, and our promotional programs are highly valued for their strong engagement rates. During Q2 2023, our U.S. eBlasts averaged a 59% Open Rate with 5% CTR!

Our popular promotions continue to deliver outstanding results while remaining at a competitive price. Learn more in our 2023 Media Kit. It includes more examples, stats, and pricing!

56% of active NetGalley.com members are opted in to receive newsletters and campaigns about books in their preferred categories!

Just as we feel privileged to work with publishers, authors, and your books, it’s also our sincere pleasure to work with our reader members! They are passionate book advocates who are excited to participate in each book’s success. As our community continues to grow and evolve, we’re committed to continuing to support them in this endeavor—while also guiding them to provide valuable reviews and feedback, all with the goal to help other readers learn about a book, and decide whether they want to read it. With this in mind, we continually provide tips and best practices like the following, which you’re welcome to share with your readers, too!

THERE’S EVEN MORE INFORMATION! Click here to view the full July 2023 Community Update.

All stats are from June 2023 unless otherwise noted.

*NetGalley.com Members with activity since April 2020

**Based on average monthly numbers for DRCs from June 2022 – June 2023 on NetGalley.com

Conference Wrap Up Part 6 – IBPA Pub U

In March and April, the NetGalley team attended the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC), London Book Fair, Festival des Livres Paris (Paris Book Festival), Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair), and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) annual meeting. This month (May), we have attended the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Leadership Summit. We look forward to Publishers Weekly’s U.S. Book Show next!

Read all of our 2023 spring conference wrap ups:

Katie Versluis and Kristina Radke at IBPA Pub U

Independent Book Publishers Association Publishing University

Independent Book Publishers Association’s (IBPA) Publishing University is a vibrant gathering aimed at traditional and hybrid independent publishers, as well as author publishers, who gather to exchange knowledge, resources, strategies, solutions, and more. This year, the IBPA celebrated its 40th anniversary on Coronado Island in San Diego, with their nautical theme—”Navigate, Innovate, Elevate: Charting the Next 40 Years”.

In addition to the many conversations we had with the IBPA members at our table, and at our “Ask the Experts” sessions (where members sign up to speak to specific industry experts one-on one), the keynote programming was especially powerful this year. Friday’s keynote, “The Future is Independent – How Indie Publishers are Transforming the Industry” featured Rebekah “Bex” Borucki, founder of Row House Publishing, and Arthur Levine, founder of Levine Querido. Each of them shared their journey to founding their publishing houses, including challenges and wins. There was a lot of discussion about finding your community, filling a niche that larger publishers may not be focused on, and uplifting innovated voices. Both of the panelists emphasized that independent publishers have the books with this kind of targeted focus, which distributors may be missing from other large publishers. In many cases, getting a meeting with a distributor may be as simple writing an email to them.

Saturday’s keynote, “Legends of Black Independent Publishing: Learning from the Best”, was a wealth of knowledge. The panelists, Dr. Haki Madhubuti (Third World Press), W. Paul Coates (Black Classic Press),
Kassahun Checole (Africa World Press/The Red Sea Press), and Wade and Cheryl Hudson
(Just Us Books), and hosted by Troy Johnson (African American Literature Book Club), mentioned that they had about a hundred years of experience combined. Much of the focus of this panel was on the power of community—uplifting one another, coming together in support when, for example, an entire basement full of books is flooded, and unapologetically serving the needs of readers in their communities. From acquiring, to editing, to printing and distributing, these powerhouses of indie publishing shared their experiences and strategies with a roomful of rapt IBPA members.

Karen Pavlicin, founder of Elva Resa Publishing and IBPA Board Chair, and NetGalley’s Kristina Radke.

In addition to the amazing keynotes, panels, and conversations, the IBPA also celebrated NetGalley’s own VP of Business Growth, Kristina Radke, who has now completed two terms on the IBPA Board of Directors. Congratulations, Kristina!

Conference Wrap Up Part 5 – Festival des Livres Paris

In March and April, the NetGalley team attended the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC), London Book Fair, Festival des Livres Paris (Paris Book Festival), Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair), and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) annual meeting. This month (May), we—along with our Firebrand Group colleagues—look forward to the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Leadership Summit, and Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show. Scroll to the end of this article to set up a meeting with our teams!

Read all of our spring conference wrap ups:

Maria Bodmer and Prudence Servan at the Paris Book Festival

Festival des Livres Paris (Paris Book Festival)

The Paris Book Festival (previously “Salon du Livre”) is designed to attract both professionals in the book publishing industry, as well as a general audience of book lovers. The festival celebrates literature and literary trends. For publishers, this is an opportunity to represent their authors as they participate in readings or interviews on various stages across the event, to network with colleagues across the industry, and meet directly with their audience.

Since this event is extremely busy for the publishers who attend, we took this opportunity to quickly connect with our clients. We were excited to hear positive feedback to recent updates we’ve made to NetGalley, including support for larger file sizes and the Profile Walkthrough to help NetGalley members update the details about how and where they promote books. Publishers were quick to tell us that they’d like our help launching debut authors, more resources to explain NetGalley to their authors, and even key points to help them bring more of their teams up to speed with the opportunities that NetGalley provides in terms of digital distribution, data, and book promotions. We can’t wait to dive in!

Number of publishers we sat down with: 11

Thank you to the nearly 60 publishers we’ve met with at these spring conferences! It’s always a pleasure to speak with the passionate members of our client community, and we’ve been inspired by our conversations.

Read our next installment, covering the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University!

Find us here in May:

May 5-6: IBPA Publishing University
- Meet with Kristina Radke (VP of Business Growth & Engagement) and Katie Versluis (Customer Success Manager), NetGalley
- concierge [at] netgalley.com
May 9-10: ECPA Leadership Summit
- Meet with Joshua Tallent, Director of Sales and Education, Firebrand Technologies
- info [at] firebrandtech.com
May 23-25: Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show
- We are thrilled to sponsor this event. Find us at the NetGalley Pub Hub!

Conference Wrap Up Part 4 – Leipziger Buchmesse

In March and April, the NetGalley team attended the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC), London Book Fair, Festival des Livres Paris (Paris Book Festival), Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair), and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) annual meeting. This month (May), we—along with our Firebrand Group colleagues—look forward to the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Leadership Summit, and Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show. Scroll to the end of this article to set up a meeting with our teams!

Read all of our spring conference wrap ups:

Karlotta Lehnert and Karina Elm at the Leipzig Book Fair

Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair)

Leipzig Book Fair is one of Germany’s two famous book fairs with century-long tradition. While the bigger, more international one in Frankfurt is known as the industry event, Leipzig is the fair for the public. And after a three year break due to the pandemic, the public was clearly very keen to return: A record-breaking 274,000 visitors came to browse the newest books, meet their favorite authors, listen to interviews and discussions on one of the many stages (on the fairground and all over town), or to just connect with other book lovers. That’s not to say that the industry does not meet in Leipzig as well. 2,000 exhibitors from 40 countries attended to present their books, authors and book-related products. Since face-to-face meetings have been greatly missed, we took the chance to connect with some of our clients, partners and interested publishers.

Besides giving a quick update on the growth of our member community and its constantly rising activity, the main point of those short meetings was to listen to our clients’ needs and valuable feedback, to start strategizing for upcoming titles, and to answer questions. We discussed industry trends, such as the ongoing growth for the audiobook format, which is a rising source of income for most publishers.

One trend that was very noticeable in Leipzig is the growing importance of Manga and Manga readers for the book industry. The Manga-Comic-Con happens every year at the same time and at the same location as the book fair, and thousands of people attend dressed as their favorite characters. We’ve heard from a few publishers who will enter that market in the upcoming months and have high expectations.

Topics that frequently came up were rising costs for printed ARCs, budget cuts, thoughts about sustainability, and how much more important NetGalley has become for publishers due to these changes. Even publishers who have been using NetGalley for years are seeing even more added value in the platform.

We also heard positive feedback regarding our latest feature updates: The Profile Walkthrough has led to significantly more meaningful member profiles, and the notes that publishers can add to members’ profiles help to create an easy, consistent workflow when several employees are managing requests.

Another takeaway from the fair: Our clients strongly prefer in-person presentations over an email or a PDF file—which is why we do follow-up training calls with publishers who have further questions and/or changing workflows or staff. And why, throughout all meetings, we solidified the idea of presenting the results of our currently-running member survey in a webinar for all publishers to attend.

We’re looking forward to these follow-up meetings and to seeing everyone again in Frankfurt in October!

Number of publishers we met with: 23

Read our next installment, covering the Festival des Livres Paris!

Find us here in May:

May 5-6: IBPA Publishing University
- Meet with Kristina Radke (VP of Business Growth & Engagement) and Katie Versluis (Customer Success Manager), NetGalley
- concierge [at] netgalley.com
May 9-10: ECPA Leadership Summit
- Meet with Joshua Tallent, Director of Sales and Education, Firebrand Technologies
- info [at] firebrandtech.com
May 23-25: Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show
- We are thrilled to sponsor this event. Find us at the NetGalley Pub Hub!

Conference Wrap Up Part 3 – BISG Annual Meeting

In March and April, the NetGalley team attended the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC), London Book Fair, Festival des Livres Paris (Paris Book Festival), Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair), and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) annual meeting. This month (May), we—along with our Firebrand Group colleagues—look forward to the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Leadership Summit, and Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show. Scroll to the end of this article to set up a meeting with our teams!

Read all of our 2023 spring conference wrap ups:

Paul Milana, Joshua Tallent, Angela Bole, Kristina Radke, and Mary Pratt at the BISG Annual Meeting

Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Annual Meeting:

It’s impossible to avoid news about supply chain disruption, increased costs across the industry, and another digital transformation. As always, BISG kept its thumb on the pulse of the book business, leaning into the theme, “Transforming Supply Chain Communication.”

Sessions were solutions oriented, and focused on the positive questions: What can we do better? What should we do next?

Gary Jones from River Rock Advisors presented a forecasting model that helps publishers and printers determine print quantities based on marketplace demand, the time required to supply printed books, as well as inventory management and returns. That presentation was followed by a discussion on changes that are needed in the data part of the supply chain (and not just the continuing need for the adoption of ONIX 3). Kris Kliemann, chair of the BISG Rights Committee, brought up the importance of rights data and how difficult it can be for publishers to know what rights they own. She said, “Rights you know about are an asset, rights you don’t are a liability.” The discussion also touched on making data more accessible to more people, the importance of keywords, and the benefit of publishers developing a data dictionary to define their terms clearly.

The last panel discussion of the day included an interesting presentation by Lauren Stewart at BookNet Canada about how that organization has centralized much of the metadata and other publishing support processes in Canada, and provides a central, clean repository of metadata for trading partners. As with the other panels, the discussion was lively and some great ideas were addressed.

After lunch, Angela Bole, CEO of Firebrand Group, presented the Industry Champion Award to Phil Madans (Executive Director of Digital Publishing Technology, Hachette Book Group). This award honors an individual whose efforts have advanced the publishing industry as a whole. BISG wrote, “The idea that technology should empower, not hinder, the publishing process has been Phil’s north star since creating HBG’s first intranet over 25 years ago.” Congratulations, Phil!

Last, but not least, Joshua Tallent (Director of Sales & Education at Firebrand Technologies) was named as the incoming BISG Board Chair, with responsibilities beginning July 1, 2023. Congratulations, Joshua!

For a deeper dive into the issue of supply chain management, we highly recommend this article by BISG Executive Director Brian O’Leary in Publishers Weekly.

Read our next installment, covering the Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair).

Find us here in May:

May 5-6: IBPA Publishing University
- Meet with Kristina Radke (VP of Business Growth & Engagement) and Katie Versluis (Customer Success Manager), NetGalley
- concierge [at] netgalley.com
May 9-10: ECPA Leadership Summit
- Meet with Joshua Tallent, Director of Sales and Education, Firebrand Technologies
- info [at] firebrandtech.com
May 23-25: Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show
- We are thrilled to sponsor this event. Find us at the NetGalley Pub Hub!

Conference Wrap Up, Part 2 – London Book Fair

In March and April, the NetGalley team attended the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC), London Book Fair, Festival des Livres Paris (Paris Book Festival), Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book Fair), and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) annual meeting. This month (May), we—along with our Firebrand Group colleagues—look forward to the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Publishing University, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Leadership Summit, and Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show. Scroll to the end of this article to set up a meeting with our teams!

Read Part 1 of our Conference Wrap Up here, covering APAC.

NetGalley and other Firebrand Group team members at the London Book Fiar

London Book Fair (LBF):

London Book Fair may be known for its International Rights Centre, but it’s safe to say that the whole conference was buzzing with energy, from the Sustainability Lounge to the Technology Theatre (which was just a few feet away from our booth). The Fair was busier than in 2022, with a generally positive outlook and mood among attendees.

It was exciting to hear about our clients’ efforts to engage with new and diverse audiences. Influencer campaigns were at the top of the list, with publishers sharing more about the ways they are identifying influencers who would make good partners. We heard about influencer databases some marketers are tapping into, as well as a more manual approach via active engagement in the social media spaces where these influencers live. Publishers are leaning into more social engagement using CTAs that drive to their social channels, and are creating and incorporating more media (audio and video) that plugs nicely into these platforms.

At a high level, we had conversations about tracking the full customer journey. Identifying where a reader is first engaged, and following them through the path to purchase is a top priority for the heads of marketing and communications across many of the large publishers. As we learned in the “Role of Technology in Publishing” session, data is the bedrock of publishing today. NetGalley’s data, especially for pre-pub titles, continues to be an important part of that journey—from initial discovery to request, from download to review, and even pre-order or buy now.**

The panelists emphasized the importance of gathering, analyzing, and using data, while pointing out the need to make that data available to all divisions and departments. But making it available isn’t enough—they stressed that it is equally important to help teams develop a better understanding of how data can be used to maximize effective strategies. We’re always happy to talk about data, so let us know if you’d like to hear more about your NetGalley reports.

The panel also discussed the potential opportunities and risks of AI in publishing, including optimizing content for specific audiences, proof-reading, fact-checking, translation, and even cross-referencing international rights. Some of the publishers we spoke to told us of their recent experiments with AI, testing its limits to write marketing copy, or even whole books, with an eye to understanding its limitations. In all cases, they felt secure that AI is not coming for anyone’s jobs (yet).

Number of publishers we sat down with during LBF: 14

**Here’s more information about NetGalley Reporting and Data.

Read our next installment, covering the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Annual Meeting!

Find us here in May:

May 5-6: IBPA Publishing University
- Meet with Kristina Radke (VP of Business Growth & Engagement) and Katie Versluis (Customer Success Manager), NetGalley
- concierge [at] netgalley.com

May 9-10: ECPA Leadership Summit
- Meet with Joshua Tallent, Director of Sales and Education, Firebrand Technologies
- info [at] firebrandtech.com

May 23-25: Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show
- We are thrilled to sponsor this event. Find us at the NetGalley Pub Hub!