TOC Bologna

Children’s book publishers, authors and illustrators go to great efforts to offer quality educational and cognitive print experiences for their young readers. But, how can they be sure the digital reading experience will take these important issues into account? Join Nat Sims, Kate Wilson, and Björn Jeffrey as they share guidelines for building enriching digital experiences for kids.
Speakers: Nat Sims

The children’s publishing industry is at a crucial crossroad, and that the choices publishers make at this point will have strong repercussions on the future of the industry as a whole:

- Will children’s books and children’s stories gracefully find their way into the digital world?
- Who will lead the way in this evolution – software developers, game designers and technocrats or the publishers themselves?
- In this time of bright screens that surround kids on all sides – will the good story and careful editing lose the battle to the game?
- Will publishers endure and evolve, or will they become unnecessary links in the content chain?
- Will Amazon be allowed to become the only show in town?

These questions boil down to publishers’ decisions and subsequent actions – whether they are going to be leading this change and take control of the direction the industry’s taking, or will they be letting the change lead them down a path they didn’t choose and don’t necessarily want…

This panel of long-time digital publishing players will discuss how publishers can improve their chances of writing their own destiny and that of the industry by taking the right actions.
Speakers: Omer Ginor, Andrew Sharp, and Kevin O’Connor, moderated by Joe Schick

The iOS App Store has half a million apps already. On top of that, it wasn’t designed with books in mind. How do you get your book app noticed in such a hostile environment? In this session, Robot Media’s Head Robot Hermés Piqué shares his experience in dealing with the discovery of book apps, and provides a series of best practices to give your app a fighting chance.
Speakers: Hermes Pique (Robot Media)

With touchscreen technology, and the demand for ‘on demand’, we have multiple senses, multiple screens, multiple strands, all occurring simultaneously and being absorbed at breakneck speeds.

What do we do about this? How do we control this? Where are the common standards? And why do we need to start bringing industry barriers down?
Speakers: Jos Carlyle (Persian Cat Press)

Print content provides an aesthetic experience which evokes strong connections for young readers, but can often times be costly and inefficient for publishers to produce. With emerging digital technologies and platforms, including mobile devices, publishers now have the opportunity to generate digital book apps in-house, creating scalable new channels and greater efficiencies that enhance the app creation process and focus on interactive experiences for kids and parents.

Josh Koppel, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer for ScrollMotion, the largest developer of branded apps in the iTunes App Store, is devoted to providing the best digital publishing tools available to children’s publishers looking to engage readers with original and pre-published content.  He is at the forefront of the mobile media industry, helping pioneer the evolution of print content to fully engaged digital experiences through tablet and mobile devices. Josh can further discuss:

ScrollMotion’s technology,  which powers some of the most successful interactive children book, text book  and magazine apps on iTunes
Advances in technology  that allow publishers to produce their own apps
Content as an evolving medium – transforming existing print content into an enriched digital experience that kids will enjoy and learn from
Defining the engagement factor for traditional print consumers
Speakers: Josh Koppel (ScrollMotion)

In the panel we will look at funds and grants available for new and current publishing ventures. The panel will discuss how small to medium size children’s publishers can receive funding for translated co editions and new digital publishing projects. Advice on how to combine the craft of print publishing with the new challenges of digital delivery with be shared with the participants. The panel will be able to share some really useful tips and offer guidance for those planning new ventures and wanting to make the most of  new digital funds from across the world to support their activities.
Speakers: Charles Beckett, Agnes Vogt. Moderated by Neal Hoskins

The theory, technology and tools behind interactive stories and online communities for kids.
Speakers: Christian Dorfefer and Eric Hoftun, moderated by Chris Meade