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Press Release: September 10, 2007

Publishing and Technology to Intersect at The O'Reilly Tools of Change For Publishing Conference 2008

For more information contact:

Dawn Applegate

[email protected]

(707) 827-7111

Publishing and Technology to Intersect at The O'Reilly Tools of Change For Publishing Conference 2008

Call for participation is now open.

Sebastopol, CA, September 10, 2007--The second annual Tools of Change for Publishing (TOC) Conference is for people who are passionate about books and book publishing. The program for 2008 will consider what is at stake for the future of publishing and even the book form itself. The conference is taking place February 11-13, 2008 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, New York. The call for participation is now open; submissions will be accepted until October 1, 2007. Expected to attend TOC are over 500 publishers, authors, agents, marketing and production managers, consultants, business managers, librarians, academics, and technologists.

Most publishers know that next steps are needed as the industry embraces the digital era--TOC explores the connections between ideas, tools, and innovators. The conference will emphasize practical/tactical information and knowledge transfer so that attendees come away armed with skills to lead change within their own organization. Attendees will chose from plenary sessions, keynote presentations, tutorials, and expert-led breakout sessions over the three day conference. The first ever TOC in 2007 garnered rave reviews including this comment by industry observer Medialoper:

"TOC has come along not a moment too soon...If you have any interest at all in the future of books and/or the publishing industry and you didn�t make it to TOC, well, you�ll just have to try harder next year."

Conference Chair, Andrew Savikas is formulating new and provocative ways of considering what defines "publishing" in our modern times: "Publishing is really the original form of what we today call 'user-generated content,' a term often used in the context of 'Web 2.0'. Publishers have always been in the business of finding and cultivating talented writers, staking their own fortunes on the output of others. Rather than view the changes brought on by the Internet -- changes like the emerging blogosphere, self-publishing, and instant digital distribution -- as threats, smart publishers see them as opportunities to find new writers, new readers, and new ways of doing business."

During the call for participation phase, the TOC team is looking for a variety of submissions. Some of the topics to be included will be:

-New business models for publishers and other players in the publishing value chain

-Case studies of successful (or unsuccessful!) new publishing initiatives

-Why and how to digitize your content/backlist

-Strategies and tactics for incorporating Print-on-Demand into a supply chain

-Tools and challenges for an efficient all-digital workflow

-Best new practices and tools for working with and supporting authors during editorial, production and/or marketing phases

-How teens and youth are consuming, and changing published content

-How to capture and analyze web metrics of interest to publishers

-Emerging supply chain and distribution models

-New copyright clearing, assertion, and determination mechanisms

The exhibit hall will include sponsors and exhibitors who will be demonstrating products as well as launching new products and services that will shape the future of book publishing. The 2007 event included: Ingram, Adobe, Mark Logic, Blurb, Copyright Clearance Center, eReader Outfitters, LibreDigital, Malloy, Microsoft Live Search Books, Qoop, Safari Books Online, and SharedBook.

Registration for both general attendees and media will open in October 2007. Program details will be available in October.

To submit idea proposals visit this link:

Submit an Idea for TOC

Learn more about TOC 2008 by visiting:

Tools oc Change for Publishing Conference

To read the news from TOC 2007 visit:

News & Coverage

If you'd like to stay up to date on information relating to TOC, sign up for the conference newsletter:

O'Reilly Conferences Newsletter

To read the O'Reilly Radar, visit:

O'Reilly Radar

If you have ideas about areas you'd like to see included at the conference, send a note to:

General TOC Ideas

For information about exhibiting or sponsoring at the TOC 2008 event, contact Sharon Cordesse at (707) 827-7065 or [email protected]

If you would like to discuss forming a media or promotional partnership with O'Reilly for an upcoming event, contact Avila Reese at (707) 827-7116 or [email protected]

About O’Reilly

O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

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