Digitise now and don’t wait any longer was the key message from overseas publishers attending the digital publishing symposium, The Digital Revolution: Publishing in the 21st Century, an initiative of the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Publishers Association.

Over 400 delegates from approximately 200 organisations attended the one-day symposium in Melbourne and Sydney recently.

Kathy Keele, CEO of the Australia Council for the Arts, commended Australian publishers for taking up digital publishing opportunities in response to increasing demand for e-books.

She added that encouraging artists and organisations around the country to engage with digital technology was a priority for the Australia Council.

Keynote speakers Richard Charkin from Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and Stephen Page from Faber and Faber  gave attendees a picture of what British publishers are doing to address the challenges and harness the benefits of digital publishing.

Richard Charkin warned publishers that they must act fast in order to survive.  He said ebooks were a way to expand the market and to expand readership, and they had opportunities for greater literacy levels. Stephen Page urged publishers to “Digitise Now” and said publishers should prepare themselves for the digital revolution by securing electronic rights quickly.

Elizabeth Weiss from Allen & Unwin urged symposium attendees to consider the benefits of conversion houses versus in house conversion. E-publishing, she said, presented publishers with the opportunity to ‘do more with less’, with print on demand creating opportunities to maximise the earning potential of titles.

The small Australian publisher Spinifex Press is an early adopter of new technology, publishing all its books electronically and in hard copy.

Director Susan Hawthorne said that after initial investments, the rewards will be great for small publishers, cutting down on overheads and reducing the need for big print runs.

Victoria Nash, who oversees Macmillan Publishers Australia's digital strategy, stressed the importance of data quality in establishing a decent online ebook experience for Australian readers.

She highlighted digital rights management, metadata, customer service and partnering as the four key strategies for competitive retailing of ebooks in Australia.  

VIDEO - session recordings

The videos of the Digital Symposium are now available on the APA website www.publishers.asn.au/digitalrevolution.cfm
The day is split up into 11 sessions so you can access each part at your convenience.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Watch ABC News coverage of the event HERE

PROGRAM

Download the Digital Revolution Symposium Program HERE

SPEAKERS

Find information on the industry representatives speaking at the Symposium HERE