Oxford Brookes University | Publishing | Publishing Podcasts

In this talk, Antony Harwood, a leading literary agent, will introduce the business of the literary agent, examining agents' relationships with the rest of the publishing industry, with related media industries,and with authors. He will also discuss some of the current issues in the publishing market affecting the business of the literary agent. Antony Harwood began his publishing career as a Production Assistant at Chatto & Windus, later becoming head of the Publicity Department and eventually Commissioning Editor (working with authors including Angela Carter, Toni Morrison and Iris Murdoch). He then moved into literary agenting, working at Gillon Aitken and the Curtis Brown Group before founding his own agency in 2000, which has been based in Oxford since 2003. His clients include literary, mass-market and young adult authors, including Alan Hollinghurst, A L Kennedy, Louise Doughty, Dorothy Koomson, George Monbiot and Garth Nix.

Outlining three exciting recent experiments in open-access literature, Simone Murray's illustrated talk investigates what the digital future of literature might look like, and what its impact will be on writers, publishers and readers. Developments around online publishing, electronic-books, print on demand and digital libraries see publishers facing challenges on every side. How might publishers' traditional role as gatekeepers of literary culture be similarly usurped in an environment characterised by networked books, wiki-novels and fictional ‘rip and burn' practices?

Harry Bingham is the author of five novels (The Money Makers, Sweet Talking Money, The Sons of Adam, Glory Boys and The Lieutenant’s Lover), all from HarperCollins, and a non-fiction book, This Little Britain (Fourth Estate), an entertaining, argumentative romp through British history, full of surprising facts. Harry is also the Editorial Director of The Writers’ Workshop, a company which offers editorial advice to writers, screen-writers, & poets. Read more about The Writers’ Workshop on their website http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/

Dr Danielle Fuller is Senior Lecturer in Canadian Studies at the University of Birmingham and Director of the Regional Centre for Canadian Studies at Birmingham since 1997. Her research centres around reading, writing and publishing communities. Her publications including Writing the Everyday: Women’s Textual Communities in Atlantic Canada. She is Director of Beyond the Book, an AHRC-funded research project investigating mass reading events and contemporary cultures of reading in the UK, USA and Canada.

Clare Christian has experienced both. First, by working for several large corporate publishing companies, and then by establishing her own company, The Friday Project. In this talk, she will look at the pros and cons of both environments; explain the excitement of setting up a new business; and explore the ways in which The Friday Project intersects with new media.

Angus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, appeared on Radio Oxford's Danny Cox show on 17 October 2007, talking about ebooks and the future of the book. Angus is the editor (with Bill Cope) of The Future of the Book in the Digital Age (2006), and the author (with Giles Clark) of the new edition of Inside Book Publishing (2008).With the kind permission of BBC Radio Oxford, and thanks to Danny Cox.

Is publishing about culture or commerce? Should publishers prioritise the dissemination of art, information, and education, or the making of money? Who, ultimately, should publishers be responsible to - the general public, shareholders or the aesthetic good? Andrew Franklin discusses these issues, drawing on his own experience working for a small independent and a large corporate publisher.

Green Futures aims to lead the debate on how to achieve a sustainable future. It raises questions such as ‘How green is my gap year?’, interviews leading figures about environmental concerns, and explores issues including paper and ink use in the printing industries and sustainable travel and tourism. Hannah Bullock is Deputy Editor of Green Futures. She has contributed to the Telegraph and the London-based N16 magazine, and has worked at Green Futures since 2003.

Joel Rickett is News and Deputy Editor of The Bookseller. He also writes a weekly column for The Guardian on ‘the latest news from the publishing industry’. What is the relationship between the book industry and its weekly trade journal, The Bookseller? In this seminar, Joel Rickett will discuss this question, by looking at The Bookseller‘s role in book marketing and promotion, and how it works alongside publishers and retailers to sell books. The Bookseller also provides industry analysis and commentary, and a forum for debate and opposing opinions about publishing developments and controversies.  

John Mitchinson is one of the main writers on the BBC2 TV panel show QI, hosted by Stephen Fry and is co-author with QI’s founder John Lloyd of The Book of General Ignorance (Faber). He is a director of the QI Club & Bookshop in Oxford. He was Waterstone’s first marketing director and was subsequently Managing Director of The Harvill Press and Cassell & Co. He is chair of the London Centre for International Storytelling and a Vice President of the Hay Festival.

Laura Atkins worked for seven years in editorial departments in the United States where she helped to produce winners of the Coretta Scott King Award and American Library Association Notable Book selections, amongst others. Her particular focus was producing multicultural picture books. She received an MA in Children’s Literature from Roehampton University, and has done postgraduate work in the area of multicultural children’s publishing. A steering committee member for the recent Diversity Matters: Growing Markets in Children’s Publishing conference, sponsored by Arts Council England, she also runs children’s literature conferences at the National Centre for Research in Children’s’ Literature (NCRCL), and provides consultation services to publishers. Her website is www.lauraatkins.com .