#Keynote

The Role of Publishing in a Time of Crisis

Dr. Theon E. Hill, Associate Professor of Communication, Wheaton College

ECPA PubU Online arrives in the midst of a global health crisis and a moment of racial unrest. People march the streets of cities around the nation and the world in pursuit of justice and equality. Communities wrestle with difficult decisions concerning the presence of various statues and landmarks.

In this moment of unrest and crisis, what is the role of Christian publishing? How can publishers best magnify Christ? How can they serve as catalyst for Gospel-centered unity, justice, and equality even as they seek to meet the demands of an uncertain marketplace? Drawing on the prophetic legacy of journalists and editor Ida B. Wells, Theon Hill will challenge Christian publishers to look beyond the bleakness of the moment to the opportunity it offers to shine a light on the power of Gospel.

#Keynote

Listening to Data & Solving Problems in a Time of Crisis: Christian Market & Opportunities Report

Kristen McLean, Executive Director of Business Development, The NPD Group

We are living through one of the most consequential periods of our collective lifetimes-with personal and professional impacts that will touch every area of our lives and businesses. How can we meet these challenges and not only survive but find opportunities for innovation and growth? Join NPD Book's Kristen McLean, as she walks us through key views of the Christian book market and talks about why it is more important than ever to think about problem-solving for customers as a core innovation strategy, how to listen to the key signposts data can provide on this problem-solving journey, and why data is only part of the story when it comes to forging a new path forward in today's challenging times.

#Keynote

Art that Heals in a Time of Crisis

Ruth Chou Simons, Author, Artist, Speaker, Entrepreneur

In our closing session, we will explore the healing role of art and creativity with Gracelaced Co. founder and author Ruth Chou Simons… for our industry and for us as individuals. Included with this session will be the presentation of the Top Shelf Book Cover Awards, where we’ll get to celebrate and explore the best book and Bible designs of the year and hear the judges’ comments on what makes their designs most compelling.

#Diversity

Diversity & Inclusion Panel: Historical Perspectives

Although the publishing industry has recently paid heightened attention to issues of racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion, this topic is not new. Key voices throughout the industry have long called for Christian publishing to recognize its glaring lack of diversity. In this panel, we invite these voices to share their perspectives, insight, and experiences on matters of diversity and inclusion. We trace their efforts to address this persistent problem to emerging leaders who seek to carry on their legacy.

Dr. Melvin Banks, Founder of Urban Ministries International
Joyce Dinkins, VOICES Executive Editor, Our Daily Bread Ministries
Jevon Bolden, CEO of Embolden Media Group and founder of Christian Publishing Professionals of Color
Cris Garrido, VP & Publisher for Spanish, HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Helen Lee, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, InterVarsity Press
Moderated by Dr. Theon Hill, Associate Professor of Communication, Wheaton College

#Diversity

Diversity & Inclusion Panel: The Importance of Editorial

As publishing faces criticism for its lack of diversity, it can be tempting for publishers to seek to rectify this problem only by recruiting more diversity for their author lineups. However, this panel will explain why this approach will not suffice. For DEI efforts in Christian publishing to succeed, the industry must recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion in the editorial rooms where publishing decisions are made.

Patnacia Goodman, Non-Fiction Acquisitions Editor, Bethany House
Ed Gilbreath, Executive Editor, InterVarsity Press
Ashley Hong, Assistant Editor, Convergent Books/Random House
Moderated by Dr. Theon Hill, Associate Professor of Communication, Wheaton College

#Diversity

Diversity & Inclusion Panel: Marketing Beyond Traditional Constituencies

Christian publishers often struggle to figure out how to market content focused on race and ethnicity to their traditional constituencies and how to reach communities of color with the content that they have published. Drawing on the expertise of several marketing professionals, this panel engages these questions as a means of equipping Christian publishers to recognize the needs to think about questions of diversity and inclusion at every level of organizational life.

Amanda Mae Steele, Marketing Specialist, B&H Kids
Jamie Lapeyrolerie, Senior Marketing Manager, WaterBrook & Multnomah
Moderated by Maila Kue, Events Marketing Coordinator, InterVarsity Press and 2019 ECPA PubU Emerging Leader

#Diversity

Diversity & Inclusion Panel: On Current Efforts

The annual Diversity Baseline Survey (created by Lee & Low Books) continues to reveal deep racial disparities in publishing. This panel explores contemporary efforts by publishing professionals and writers to address these disparities.

Brian Allain, Founder, Publishing in Color
Lisa Crayton, Freelance writer and editor; founding member of Christian Publishing Professionals of Color
Nicola Menzie, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Faithfully Magazine
Eréndira Ramírez-Ortega, published writer and co-founder of Burning Bush Press
Moderated by Maila Kue, Events Marketing Coordinator, InterVarsity Press and 2019 ECPA PubU Emerging Leader

#Marketing

Move the Needle: Create A Book Marketing Plan That Actually Works

Caleb Peavy, Founder of Unmutable™

Marketing a book is a lot of hard work, but activity alone doesn't always lead to success. Learn a framework that will make sure every action you take will help move the needle in your book marketing campaign. You’ll walk away with a solid understanding of defining core goals for your book, key components for creating a powerful marketing plan, and Caleb’s proven tactics for developing bestselling campaigns.

#Marketing

Want to Effectively Utilize Podcasting in Your Book Marketing? Here's How.

Elizabeth Evans, CEO/Founder of Elizabeth Evans Co

In this action-oriented and tangible session, Elizabeth will walk through effective, creative and budget friendly strategies to market your book through the medium of podcasting. Whether your authors are podcast hosts themselves or will be a guest on many shows leading up to launch day, these simple to execute, yet expert-level insights will position your author as an authority in their field while also increasing discoverability. Podcasting is the fastest way to increase your host's know, like, and trust factor - which will ultimately lead to increased book sales. In this session, Elizabeth will teach her unique and in-depth perspective on how to maximize this platform for your authors.

#Marketing

The Welcome Blending of Marketing and PR: How to Better Harness the Power of PR In Your Marketing Efforts

Jennifer Willingham, CEO of EPIC Agency

Learn how to maximize every marketing dollar through well-planned PR efforts. We will discuss how to land the media with the most impact for your book as well as how to prepare authors for media interviews that sell books. We will also discuss why the unavoidable blending between marketing and PR is a great development and how to make it work for your team.

#Marketing

The State of Digital: Trends for 2021

Lindsay Gustafson, Founder and Director, Apricot Services

Alexis De Weese, Project Manager, Apricot Services

The events of 2020 had everyone scrambling to adapt their marketing strategies to digital. But you can lead with your digital foot forward—no scrambling necessary. In this session we'll look at emerging digital marketing trends and discuss how they can be leveraged in the Christian publishing context in order to build deeply compelling integrated digital marketing strategies for 2021.

#Editorial

Editing for Inclusion

Estee Zandee, Editor and Writer

Words and the implications they carry have always been important—and these days now more than ever. As editors, an essential part of supporting our authors and readers is asking: who is being left out by the language in this text, who will feel unwelcome when reading this book? Of course, specific messages are, and should be, written to specific audiences. But as ambassadors of readers, it’s our task to make sure that authors don’t accidentally fall into outdated gender or ethnic stereotypes, or insensitive and offensive language. This workshop will discuss this vital part of the editor’s role, the key things to look for both in micro word choices and in macro concepts, and best practices for editing for inclusivity.

#Editorial

How Little Hearts Can Be Shaped More by Christ than by Crisis

Carl Laferton, EVP Publishing, The Good Book Company and author of “The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross”

The impact of covid-19 will reverberate for years—economically, socially, politically, and spiritually. It will therefore be a defining event in every child’s life. Even before the pandemic, kids were growing up in a culture that technological innovation, rapid globalization and increasing secularization had already made unrecognizable from the eras in which we grew up. As Christian publishers, we have the opportunity—and responsibility—to publish titles that shape a child’s view of and walk through their world. So, how do we pursue an approach to children’s publishing that might see the next generation forged more by Jesus Christ than by this crisis?

#Editorial

7 Editing Tips from the Coaching World

Amy Simpson, acquisitions editor, Moody Publishers; author, speaker, leadership coach

From the outside, editing may look like a solitary task. But professional editors know it’s relational, and our work involves constant (if often indirect) interaction—and frequent crisis management—with authors, readers, and in-house stakeholders. Today these relationships bear the strain of remote offices, personal stress, and economic pressure. In this session, an experienced editor and professional coach will offer seven principles from the coaching world that can inform our approach to editing and the relationships involved.

#Editorial

The Power of Us: Editorial Community When Crisis Comes

Andy Le Peau, editor and author of “Write Better”

Crisis reveals the weaknesses as well as the strengths of any organization . . . and of the people in it. Embracing community, resisting individualism, and working outside our introversion can feel unnatural for many of us. But learning to listen to others, to respect the mission of our organization, and developing a culture of collaboration can help us in difficult times. We’ll discuss ways that editors and authors can draw strength from the many for the sake of the many.

#Workflow

Supply Chain: Paper & Manufacturing

Pete Larson, President & CEO, Bethany Press

Supply Chain is top of mind for Operations professionals across all segments, and the book industry is no exception. Join this session to learn about the state of the paper & manufacturing portions of the supply chain. We'll address the specific situations that we face and propose solutions.

#Workflow

Innovative Work: Audiobooks - Creation to Sale

Robin Erwin, Digital Retail Sales Manager, Ingram

Cory Verner, President & CEO, One Audiobooks

Curious about operational, production, and logistics aspects of audiobooks? Join this session to learn about audiobook technologies and how they are being used today including audiobook creation processes; fast delivery directly into homes with digital distribution; and the option of audiobook first.

#Workflow

Effective Work: Distributed & Remote Workflows

Tyler Carey, Chief Revenue Officer, Westchester Publishing Services

Chris Hudson, President, Peachtree Publishing Services

Wondering how to create a book when you don’t have an office or the usual tools? Join this session to hear from distributed workflow experts about best practices for remote work; project management for distributed work; managing a combination of workflow participants; moving to paperless processes; and tools, solutions, resources, and platforms for effective distributed work.

#Workflow

Supply Chain: Logistics & Distribution

Moderated by Kathy Ferguson, Major Account Manager, LSC Communications

James Gagne, President & CEO, SEKO Logistics

Bernard (Bud) Zondervan III, Corporate Director, Transportation/ Ops/ Logistics, HarperCollins Publishing

Perry Martin, VP of Sales & Development for Book Fulfillment Services, LSC Communications

Supply Chain is top of mind for Operations professionals across all segments, and the book industry is no exception. Join this session to learn about the state of the logistics & distribution portions of the supply chain. We'll address the specific situations that we face and propose solutions.

#MasterClass #Marketing

How to Reach Readers in Critical Times and Beyond

Brittyne Lewis, Director of Digital Services, LSC Communications, Publisher Services

This session will follow a customer journey from seeing an ad to purchase point, on three platforms: Amazon, Facebook, and YouTube. We’ll discuss the different goals for each platform, and which strategies and audience analytics work best for each.

#MasterClass #Workflow

How to Track, Report, and Learn from Shady Sellers on Amazon

Brittyne Lewis, Director of Digital Services, LSC Communications, Publisher Services

This session will explore how Shady Sellers on Amazon work and who they are. Learn how to understand your sales data, along with when and why you are losing the Buy Box. We’ll cover how to report any Shady Sellers and what best practice steps to follow to improve your bottom line.

#MasterClass #Marketing #Workflow

Publishing Data Trends You Can Act On

Joshua Tallent, Director of Sales and Education at Firebrand Technologies

Publishing is a data-intensive business. Our book sales are influenced both by the data we put out into the marketplace and, if we are smart, by the data we collect from the marketplace (and the decisions we make based on that data). In this session, we will look at data trends that have been happening in our industry—not just during the age of coronavirus, but before it, as well. We will try to understand better what has happened in the past, what the future looks like now, and how we can best engage it. We will also talk about tools and resources you can use to better understand the data your business collects, and better handle the data you send. This session will provide practical details and advice for marketers, data managers, and others in the ECPA community.

#MasterClass #Workflow

Metadata 101: What it is, how it works, and why you need to understand it

Joshua Tallent, Director of Sales and Education at Firebrand Technologies

Metadata drives the modern publishing supply chain. If you are new to the publishing industry, are unclear on how metadata really works, or are just looking for an entry-level refresher, this session will be invaluable to you. A truly introductory session, we will talk in detail about what metadata is, how it is used by publishers and retailers, the impact it has on sales, and best practices for creating and maintaining high quality metadata in your publishing house. In addition to this in-depth introduction, we invite you to bring your questions about metadata—even the ones you would be afraid of asking in a crowd.

#MasterClass #Workflow

Leveraging Virtual Distribution: Best Practices for Better Performance

Bailey Davis, Supervisor, Content Acquisition Sales

In this session, Bailey Davis will help publishers understand the best ways to leverage a virtual distribution solution for their publishing business. Together we’ll learn about the different kinds of distribution solutions available and best practices for the virtual distribution models including: pre-sale, formats, pricing, and marketing.

#MasterClass #Workflow

Automated Prepress Platform Demo: Envision What is Possible

Larry Bennett, Executive Director, Nord Compo North America

This session aims to show viewers how today’s technology can create a highly automated prepress platform for books with even the most complex layouts. It features a demo of a highly automated, custom-designed online prepress production platform, created for a publisher of travel books, that accommodates multiple contributors and handles highly complex layouts, enabling instant first proofs and online corrections. An offshoot of this platform, part of the demo, offers a B2C component to instantly create customized print (POD) and/or ebooks for the consumer’s dream trip.

#MasterClass #Marketing

Setting up a Self-Publishing Platform for your Overflow Titles

Larry Bennett, Executive Director, Nord Compo North America

How many manuscripts do you reject, some reluctantly? This session shows viewers some of the tools that today’s technology make available for making your company’s self-publishing platform stand out from the competition. We demo a turnkey solution developed for a major international trade publisher.

#MasterClass #Marketing