Independent Publishing Conference 2015

After an epic three days, the Independent Publishing Conference is finished for the year. I’m exhausted, but very happy with how the event went. I hadn’t planned to run an event of this size in 2015, but when the Small Press Network asked I couldn’t say no. The organisation is such an important part of our literary ecosystem, and I felt like this would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about the publishing/publishers aspects of our industry. Mostly when programming I work with artists, so this was a chance to expand my knowledge and use my programming skills in a different way.

So far feedback from the conference has been great, and while there were some challenges with logistics and the usual event hiccups, it seemed to go well. It was a pleasure to meet so many interesting people, and hear from such a wide range of speakers. I learned a great deal, and hope to have the opportunity to work with some of the people involved again.

For now I focus on all of the post-event logistics; reports, budgets, thank you’s, invoices. If I owe you an email please bear with me as I work through the overflowing inbox I’m facing.

Independent Publishing Conference: Small Press Network

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I love the Small Press Network. It’s an organisation that provides support to independent publishers who are producing fantastic work in a rapidly changing landscape. Organisations like this, which operate off the tiniest of budgets and offer their members such vital support, are integral to a healthy literature sector.

Having been to a previous Independent Publishing Conference I was pretty stoked when Mary from SPN reached out to ask if I’d be interested in taking on the role of coordinating the 2015 conference. I’m super excited to take on the role. It has felt strange not to be organising events since leaving Express, and it will be great to get this part of my brain working again. The conference takes place in November, so expect to hear more about it as the year progresses.