UCL Press Production Manager Jaimee Biggins recently attended the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Autumn Conference at the Shaw Theatre in London, where over 300 publishers from across the academic and trade sectors came together for a day of discussion, insight, and collaboration. In her blog post below, she explains what she learnt.
I attended the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Autumn conference at the Shaw Theatre in London on 16th September. There were around 300 publishers of all types (academic, trade etc) in attendance to discuss a diverse range of subjects. The day was punctuated by three keynote speakers, the first being by BBC economics correspondent Dharshini David who spoke about global economic pressures on publishing such as the impact of tariffs on imports. She spoke about prospects for creative sectors like publishing in these turbulent times.
My first breakout session was on publishers’ journeys to accessibility where an expert panel discussed the state of play almost three months on from the European Accessibility Act. Simon Mellins, digital accessibility consultant spoke about progress but also the need to do more still. We heard from James Woollam from David & Charles Publishing who discussed the company’s targeted approach to compliance including metadata, implementing a website request system and ensuring alt text was built into workflows. Most companies appear to be taking a targeted approach to vast backlists.
AI expert Priya Lakhani led the afternoon keynote where she described the different types of AI and how it can be labour-enhancing and an opportunity for publishers. She said that publishers should advocate to protect their collective interests and ensure voices were heard so that the rights of authors and publishers are protected.
My afternoon breakout was on the forthcoming EUDR (the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation). This was a very practical session on how publishers can prepare for compliance and how to work effectively with printers and distributors to ensure important information is passed through the supply chain to ensure publishers products can be sold in the EU. Robert Ruutsalo from EAS summarised how publishers can partner with EAS to ensure compliance.
The day ended with a keynote by broadcaster and podcaster Lewis Goodall. He spoke about the need for a content strategy and said content must be ‘everywhere, all of the time’. It was an insightful day of thought-provoking sessions and networking and underlined the strength of independent publishers.
About the author
Jaimee leads the UCL Press production team and has extensive experience of book and journal production. Prior to joining UCL Press she was Production Team Leader at OUP for 6 years.
