TOC Bologna

A Year of Appiness™

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:54:38 +0000

Nosy Crow has been publishing apps for just over a year, and shares its experience of making award-winning apps, marketing them and selling them internationally in the context of a growing market for highly interactive digital books.
Speakers: Kate Wilson

The Hardware Conundrum: How Children are Shaping the Next Generation of Mobile Devices

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:51:33 +0000

A perspective on Toys vs Tablets and how the world will react when children ultimately decide to become predominantly entertained and educated over the mobile Internet.

Over the years, publishers have faced a growing number of hardware platforms for licensing their digital content. The separation between tablet makers and toy makers is about to collapse with certain products. A variety of factors will set these products apart including content collection/catalog, quality user experience, aspirational brand value, price point, and the ability to remotely access content and store content in the Cloud.

This presentation will address the rapid convergence of device types from generic Asia-sourced tablets becoming simpler and cheaper, to toys becoming smarter and more complex. Both trends have their merits. In the end, the “market” (aka the child) will make their choice, thus leaving an eventual void from which one or the other has to recover.

Today’s Tastemakers: How to Establish and Maintain Effective Relationships with Children’s Content Trade Press, Bloggers, and Other Influencers

tocbologna — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:40:56 +0000

The rapid onslaught of digitized content is bringing changes not just for publishers – but for book reviewers and critics as well. What are the trends for digital developments in children’s book reviews? Are trade review outlets diminishing? Which trade outlets are reviewing apps and ebooks? Who is influencing kids’ digital content purchases, and what online review platforms lead to the biggest sales? Should book publicists be reaching out to tech bloggers for reviews — and, if so – how does one find and work with bloggers who review kids’ apps and ebooks? This panel addresses the changing world of children’s content reviewing from the perspectives of trade reviewers, book bloggers, and tech bloggers, and will explore new strategies and tactics for promoting kids books, ebooks, and digital content in the new world of reviewing.

Gallimard Jeunesse, an innovative digital strategy in non-fiction content

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:48:16 +0000

Taking content digital is becoming a necessity for publishers looking to keep up with their current customers’ demand for e-titles.
But, there is much more to the story. In this session, Terence Mosca will detail editorial and sales strategies for Gallimard Jeunesse, a French publisher that has found success taking its international print reach to an ever expanding global digital audience.
Terence will detail Gallimard Jeunesse innovative positioning on digital, being one of the leader in non-fiction, with the digital development of its collection My first discovery, and the coming release of The Louvre for kids.
Speakers: Terrence Mosca

Digital business models for interactive picture books: Fundels and digital bundles of fun…

tocbologna — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:25:28 +0000

This presentation explores the digital model of Fundels, a global interactive picture book project (http://www.fundels.com) started and supported by almost every publisher in Belgium and the Netherlands (Lannoo, Clavis, Cego, Abimo, Eenhoorn, Gottmer, Kluitman, Unieboek, …). In Fundels – the existing picture books of all those publishers (50 titles at this moment) are converted into digital, published into the general Fundels-platform in Belgium and the Netherlands and can be used as an international format for different platforms and partner-publishers worldwide. The project started three years ago with a lot of research about the potential business simulations. At this moment Fundels is the leading picture book platform for libraries, schools, child day care and speech therapists in Belgium and the Netherlands (B2B markets: each market has his own specifications: for example in the libraries (1700 at this moment) the book consists of a special RFID tag for accessing the digital content at home). In the consumer market the Fundels are offered by specific cards (in the books) which allows children to see the book on their PC, iOS or Android device. And internationally the platform has been rolled-out this month in Denmark. Next year Sweden, Italy, Finland and Korea are willing to integrate the complete business model. Due to the combination of all markets (B2B, B2C and international) and platforms (books, codes, iOS, Android, pc) the project is completely profitable and offers various revenue channels for publishers.

Building Smart Digital Books for Kids

tocbologna — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:20:57 +0000

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

Feeling the Pain: Best Practices for Taking Your Publishing Company Digital

tocbologna — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:59:02 +0000

Going digital can be a painful process for a publishing company, requiring a lot of time, money and often internal reorganization. However, it’s a process that can no longer be avoided. Learn from a publisher who has been undergoing the digital transition for the past two years. What are the pain points? What mistakes should other publishers avoid? And most of all, what choices will get your publishing house on the digital track to success as painlessly as possible. Join Staci van Schagen of WPG Uitgevers as she shares best practices on everything from reorganizing departments to providing training for authors and illustrators.
Speakers: Staci van Schagen

The Opportunity in Digital: Putting Publishers at the Helm of Digital Book Sales

tocbologna — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:52:27 +0000

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

Sales Trends in Kids’ Apps and eBooks

tocbologna — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:51:14 +0000

In just a few years, the field of children’s apps and e-books has gone from a digital curiosity to one of the fastest-growing categories of digital content.
And of course, this rapid shift also brings new insights, questions, challenges, and opportunities for those who want to play in the sandbox.
Join Kobo’s Michael Tamblyn, zuuka’s Woody Sears, and Bookigee’s Kristen McLean for an exploration of some of the most interesting trends in this rich space, including the central role of Story; the dividing line between a kids’ app and e-book, and the interesting question of who gets to define it; and the challenges of creating content in a tablet-based world where books now go head to head with every kind of media for a young user’s attention.
Speakers: Woody Sears and Michael Tamblyn. Moderated by Marco Ghezzi

Which Platforms and Formats, and When? Creating A Strategy for your Digital Content

tocbologna — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:49:26 +0000

The children’s digital publishing space is witnessing the emergence of distinct formats and platforms in which stories are published and distributed.
The task for publishers — deciding what formats and platforms for which audiences, and how to manage them. The choices are not easy, but in this session, panelists with experience in the current and emerging forms, formats and platforms will cover the pros and cons of various formats and platforms – exploring such questions as: Are apps-as-books ever a good investment? Does the promise of EPUB3 and HTML5 ring true for children’s book publishers? Are proprietary formats and platforms a necessary evil in today’s digital marketplace? Is it necessary for publishers to have all their content available in ALL formats and on all platforms? And more!
Speakers: Wandy Yeap Hoh, James MacFarlane, Judith Hout. Moderated by Joe Wikert