EDITORIAL 2019

Crafting Content that Changes Things

As editorial professionals, content is at the center of everything we do. Whether we are reviewing book proposals, assessing market viability, working with authors to hone their message, or even diving into the minute details of grammar, syntax, and style guides, all of our efforts are aimed at publishing products that will make a difference in the lives of readers.

The Editorial sessions at PubU are designed to help all of us in the Christian publishing world learn together how to best create and shape content that can effect real change in the world—content that helps people to understand God, themselves, and each other better. Whether we are working on Bibles, fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, audio books, videos, or even marketing copy, PubU will help us grow in our ability to do that work well.

Andrew Peterson

Author, songwriter, musician

Interviewed by Devin Maddox,
B&H Publisher

Session 1

A Conversation with author, songwriter, and musician Andrew Peterson: Lessons on how editors and writers can leverage creativity in words and storytelling.

Andrew Peterson is an award-winning singer-songwriter and author. The second book in his Wingfeather Saga, North! Or Be Eaten (2009) won the Christy Award for Young Adult Fiction, and the fourth, The Warden and the Wolf King (2014) won World Magazine’s Children’s Book of the Year in 2015. His latest book, Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making releases in October 2019 by B&H Publishing. In 2008, driven by a desire to cultivate a strong Christian arts community, Andrew founded a ministry called The Rabbit Room, which led to a yearly conference, countless concerts and symposiums, and Rabbit Room Press, which has published thirty books to date. He’s been married for 24 years to his wife Jamie, with whom they have three children. His eldest is an animation student at Lipscomb University, his second son is a touring drummer and record producer, and his daughter recently released her first album. In his spare time Andrew keeps bees, builds dry stack stone walls, gardens, draws, and sleeps.

Sarah Rubio

Senior Editor, Tyndale House Publishers

Session 2

Keeping the Great Commandments, Together: Loving God, Our Neighbor, and Ourselves through Diverse Books

This session will be a dialogue about how editors can acquire books that encompass a wide range of perspectives and experiences, advise current authors on creating diverse characters or dealing with social issues, and advocate for greater diversity in Christian publishing as a whole.

Jevon Bolden

CEO of Embolden Media Group

Session 3

Amplifying Diverse Voices: Exploring a New Paradigm for Successfully Publishing Christian Authors of Color

Christian publishing gatekeepers and content creators will be encouraged, challenged, equipped, and inspired as we discuss the ways and means for effectively and successfully editing, publishing, promoting, and advocating for writers of color. This session will create room for conversation about how cultural and ethnic contexts of diverse voices influence their public discourse and communication and the implications understanding those related nuances have on acquisitions, market engagement, and book sales.

Amanda Cleary Eastep

Senior Developmental Editor,
Moody Publishers

Session 4

Far-cited: Why editors need to pay close attention to accurate attribution (and how we can better encourage our authors to do the same)

News reports of plagiarism in Christian publishing—they make us cringe, double check our author’s footnotes, and then wake up in a cold sweat the night before a book goes to print. Even for longtime editors, rules about fair use and properly citing sources can be confusing. For those new to the industry, deciphering these aspects of the editing process can make their eyes start to cross. Not to mention educating authors about securing permissions, requesting consent forms, and avoiding self-plagiarism. In this workshop, we’ll talk about what we need to look out for as we edit manuscripts, the tools that can support our efforts, and the ways we can help ensure that the importance of accuracy is crystal clear to our authors.

Linda Howard

Assoc. Publisher, Children & Youth, Tyndale House

Session 5

Children’s Publishing: What’s working, what’s not, and what do publishers need to focus on?

How can you be successful in Christian children’s publishing? What are the current trends and what are publishers looking for today? Come explore the landscape of Christian children’s publishing, find out how you can focus your attention on the right kinds of projects, and get closer to reaching your publishing goals. We’ll talk about board books through YA, fiction and nonfiction. Attendees will come away with tools to track trends and research the market on their own.

Shaun Tabatt

Acquisitions & Marketing Publishing
Executive, Destiny Image Publishers

Session 6

3 reasons audio content is more important and less difficult than you think

Audiobooks and podcasts are getting a lot of attention these days, and with good reason. In this session, we’ll discuss why this audio content is even more important than the sales numbers indicate, how to effectively integrate audio content into your plans, and show how creating great audio content is attainable for teams of any size or experience level.

Cory Verner

President & CEO, ONE Audio

Session 7

Audiobook Production Trends

In this talk, we'll explore current trends in audiobook production that should be considered by all editors, especially for publishers producing audio titles in-house. We’ll also discuss how to deal with the growing trend of authors wanting to read their own books. Should you allow the author to read? We'll propose a process to evaluate and execute these projects. We will also discuss the impact growth is having on the industry, and how it is impacting the ability for many publishers to get quality productions done on time and on budget.

Brain Trust Lead

Keith Williams

Senior Editor
Tyndale House Publishers

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

INDUSTRY PARTNERS

EVENT SPONSORS

For more information on sponsoring this event, contact [email protected]