Training, Connecting, and Inspiring the Christian Publishing Professional

Informing-U

PubU is a U-Build-It event. Our BrainTrust develops a variety of sessions you can choose from that will inform your role in Christian publishing.

Training-U

PubU is developed BY the industry, FOR the industry. Industry leaders and experts lead sessions to train up current and next-gen publishing leaders, offered in publishing tracks based on publishing roles in Marketing, Editorial, Production, and more.

Inspiring-U

PubU's signature value is learning from industry colleagues and leaders through panels, Q&A, sessions, and discussions about best practices, case studies, and challenges they've faced and overcome. Plan to leave PubU with a few more friends and mentors, inspired and encouraged in your publishing role.

Connecting-U

PubU is the place to network and meet others in the industry who do what you do—or not. In any case, the connections you make at PubU will enlarge your vision for the mission of Christian publishing while you hone and appreciate your craft as a vital component of that mission.

Keynote - Karen Wright Marsh

KEYNOTE: OCTOBER 27

Gathering the Christian publishing community for refreshment and inspiration as we kick off the PubU Online program


Wake Up to Wonder in your Publishing Role with Karen Wright Marsh

The wear and tear of ordinary life, the sadness of garden-variety heartbreak, and alarm over global forces beyond our control, bring us all face-to-face with our own precarity. We – and our readers -- need steady inner grounding, now more than ever. Perhaps transcendence is right underfoot, where we least expect it: in the tiny quotidian experiences of wonder, amazement and attention. Discover a spirituality of amazement and encounter God’s presence shimmering everywhere. This is life. Fragile. Surprising. Blessed. And you’re invited.

Karen Wright Marsh is the author of Wake Up To Wonder: 22 Invitations to Amazement in the Every Day (Brazos, 2023) and Vintage Saints and Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Faith (IVP, 2017) and hosts the Vintage Saints and Sinners podcast. She is the executive director and cofounder of Theological Horizons, a ministry that supports Christians & seekers in academia by providing a welcoming community for engaging faith, thought & life. She holds degrees in philosophy from Wheaton College & linguistics from the University of Virginia. Karen lives with Charles Marsh, a UVA professor, at the Bonhoeffer House in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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TOP SHELF BOOK COVER AWARD WINNERS WEBCAST

Celebrating Design Excellence in Christian Publishing


The Top Shelf Book Cover Awards recognize design excellence in Christian publishing in four categories: Fiction, NonFiction, Bibles, Children. This webcast will honor the important role of book design and present the winning designs in each of these categories. More information at TopShelfAward.org.

2023 PubU Brain Trust

ECPA PubU: Watch sound bytes from each of our Brain Trust

The PubU BrainTrust is developing this year's program. Team members represent expertise in major publishing roles and have a synergy that will reflect in our dynamic program.

  • All
  • Brain Trust Lead
  • Children's Book Summit
  • Design
  • editorial
  • Emerging Leaders
  • Marketing
  • Production & Operations
  • Rights & Licensing
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Michael Covington

VP of Publishing & Acquisitions for David C Cook

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Laura Derico

Children's Books Acquisitions and Developmental Editor, Youth Curriculum Content Developer, David C Cook

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Brock Eastman,

Director of Digital Product Development, David C Cook

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Dean Renninger

Senior Art Director, Tyndale House Publishers

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Jamie Lapeyrolerie

Editor, WaterBrook & Multnomah

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Edwina Perkins

Managing Editor, Harambee Press

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Whitney Walker Alexander

Marketing Strategist for Trade Books and Kids Books, B&H Publishing Group

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Jennifer Butenschoen

Director of Production and Digital Content, Harvest House Publishers

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Bradley Isbell

Chief Operating Officer
Iron Stream Media

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Ellen Hsu

Associate Director of Rights and Contracts, InterVarsity Press

Emerging Leader Scholars & Mentor Program

Invest in the new and diverse voices in your organization by nominating them for an Emerging Leaders scholarship to PubU. After PubU, scholars will be matched with an industry veteran for a year-long mentor program.

Nominate

What people are saying about PubU

  • "PubU is the boost of energy and creativity that we all need each year."

  • "There is a special place in my heart for the ECPA PubU conference. The care, transparency, and laughter I receive from fellow laborers is refreshing and inspiring."

  • "The highlight of PubU is the opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends from across the industry."

  • "The lobby conversations alone were well worth the cost of the conference."

  • "The value of PubU is the networking and ability to get to know those in the industry. We share so much in common with each other and love learning together."

  • "Gathering with other individuals in the Christian publishing industry at PubU was an encouraging experience."

  • "The emerging leaders track at PubU provided foundational information and a community with other individuals who are equally new to the industry and passionate about publishing."

  • "It was beneficial to meet like-minded individuals and learn from experts in the industry at PubU."

  • "The speakers provided not only statistics and overviews but concrete suggestions that were great takeaways for me."

  • "PubU gathers publishing professionals to help them hone their area of expertise."

  • "PubU was a very valuable event. I loved the opportunity to learn from industry experts and meet other professionals from the industry."

  • "The highlight of my time at PubU was meeting others in the industry and being able to connect with and learn from them."

  • "Being able to bounce new ideas off of people who fully understand your role is invaluable."

  • "The most significant experience for me was spending time chatting with fellow editors."

  • "Had a blast hanging out with amazing colleagues."

  • "I love getting to meet other people in the industry and learn more about how to effectively market our books and reach readers in the growing digital age."

  • "PubU provides a great opportunity to network with other professionals in the Christian publishing industry."

  • "In the span of two days you learn about current tools, resources, and trends that might've taken months or years to come across otherwise."

  • "My first PubU experience was energizing and educational."

  • "Having worked from home for a number of years, this was an excellent opportunity to meet new friends, catch up with old, freshen my editing skills, and be inspired."

  • "The highlight of PubU is the valuable knowledge from the sessions and the contacts I meet."

  • "PubU refreshed me and sparked a desire to exercise my God-given creativity that I haven't felt in years."

  • "Without exception, the PubU sessions are excellent."

  • "The plenary sessions are a wonderful opportunity to gather as industry professionals and think about the place of creativity, justice, and theology in the world of Christian publishing."

  • "The sessions gave us tangible tools to apply to our strategies and got us rethinking how we tackle projects entirely."

We thank the following companies for their support of the industry and this event:

PREMIUM

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GENERAL

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For more information on sponsoring this event, contact sponsorship@ECPA.org