DBW Names Leading Publishing Consultant Ted Hill the 2017 Conference Chair

NEW YORK - The 8th Annual Digital Book World (DBW) --- the premier event for publishers and their partners --- is scheduled for Jan. 17 - 19 at the New York Hilton Midtown in N.Y.C. The 2017 conference (@DigiBookWorld - #DBW17) will present a reimagined program featuring publishing leaders, industry professionals and experts from top companies who will share valuable strategies, solutions and insights. Registration and program details will be available this summer at digitalbookworldconference.com.

While DBW 2017 will still cover the industry issues that publishers need to succeed in a constantly evolving digital media ecosystem, it will broaden its focus to cover a wider range of issues for an integrated print and digital publishing environment. The event will also shift emphasis to offer more practical workshops and sessions for an array of publishing professionals at all skill levels.

"We want to make a great conference even more practical and more useful to a broader audience," said Ted Hill, DBW's new conference chair, who will spearhead the reimagined program. "We want to create an event where not just high-level executives, but editors, marketing managers, production managers, sales directors, agents and even many authors can attend and feel like they're getting a full complement of great sessions tailored just for their needs."

As conference chair for DBW 2017, Hill will lead a new team of industry experts who have been selected to create robust conference tracks in specific topic areas, such as issues for authors, editors and agents, new tools and techniques for marketing and discovery, and efficiencies in the publishing process.

Hill is president of THA Consulting, a business development consultancy that works with publishing, technology and media companies. For more than 25 years, he has been at the intersection of publishing and transformative technology, helping publishers and their technology partners launch new businesses and business initiatives. Hill is a frequent speaker at industry events who believes that education and awareness are the keys to the effective adoption of new technologies and the emerging practices that support them.

"As an industry, we've weathered some turbulent years," said Hill, "but to remain successful, all businesses have to continue to learn and adapt their practices for a changing world. I'm tremendously excited to be a part of the new DBW, and l look forward to reaching out to all corners of the industry for their suggestions to make a better conference."

Phil Sexton, vice president and group publisher of F+W, a Content and eCommerce Company, organizer of DBW 2017, said, "Right now, DBW Conference Chair Ted Hill and other industry leaders are convening to plan insightful programming across a host of brand-new DBW focus areas that span the breadth of today's publishing landscape --- from connecting with readers to digital-first production, from analytics and reporting to supply chain solutions. It's all coming to DBW, and we're excited about Ted Hill as the 2017 conference chair and the new program that we'll be announcing over the coming months. We look forward to welcoming the entire publishing and content community to DBW 2017 this January."

DBW Attendees Offer Viewpoints
In 2016, DBW brought together more than 1,500 publishing and content professionals, including John Ingram, chairman at Ingram Content Group Inc. "We're all on a journey," said Ingram on publishing's digital transformation, "one that isn't always clear or linear, but one that has opportunity and will continue to evolve."

Ingram was among the many DBW 2016 participants and speakers that also included: CEOs, presidents, editors, content creators, marketers, business developers, technologists and publicists of large and small publishing and content houses, newspapers, magazines and digital-only media firms, in addition to literary agents, authors, booksellers, librarians and others.

DBW 2016 participant and speaker Nathan Maharaj, Rakuten Kobo's director of merchandising, said, "The future's anyone's guess, but I think we need to adopt a curious and experimental mindset. And we need to think of readers as omnivorous, not only between book formats, but all kinds of content."

Susan Ruszala, president of NetGalley, a DBW 2016 participant and speaker, noted, "Digital is here to stay. There are clear advantages in speed, efficiency, information sharing and access when digital is used correctly and in concert with print so that readers can find and experience book content."

Ruszala added, "DBW is a must-attend for anyone in publishing, media and content, who wants the most practical, relevant and actionable programming on what's happening now and in the immediate future."