But he is hardly the first agent to establish himself as a digital publisher.

In this free WEBcast, eBook Rights: The Agents’ Perspective, we will explore the controversies and conflicts that have arisen around eBook rights and how agents are responding, with three successful agents who have pioneered new approaches to digital publishing for authors.

• Why should publishers offer a higher royalty rate for eBooks, and how much is fair?
• What are the pros and cons of splitting print and digital rights?
• When splitting rights, who owns the source files?
• Can agents be good publishers, and is it in an author’s best interests to find out?

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Richard Curtis, president of Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., is a leading New York literary agent; founder of E-Reads, an electronic book publisher; and a well-known author advocate. He is also the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction including several books about the publishing industry and is a former president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives.
• Arthur Klebanoff is founder and CEO of RosettaBooks LLC, an independent e-book company which focuses on the best of the backlist.  He also owns the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, an agency founded in 1946 with more than 1,500 titles in print.
• Scott Waxman founded the Waxman Literary Agency in 1997, a mid-sized agency with a roster of more than 200 authors, including many national bestsellers in a variety of fiction and non-fiction categories. Always looking for new ways forward in the world of books, Waxman launched Diversion Books, a publisher of eBook originals that connects authors with the freedoms of digital publishing, earlier this year.

Moderated by Emily Williams, co-chair, BISG Rights Subcommittee.

eBook Rights: The Agents’ Perspective will be webcast live on Tuesday, September 14th @ 1pm EDT / 10am PDT

Register today.

If you’re on Twitter, why not tell your followers about this WEBcast, too:

I’m attending eBook Rights: The Agents’ Perspective on 9/14@ 1pm EDT: http://bit.ly/cbf7HA #DBW

Most publishers agree that some eBook titles justify the extra investment for enhancement, but determining the degree of interactivity and technical approach best-suited to the book and your budget, can be daunting.

In this free WEBcast, eBooks vs. Apps: The Pros, Cons and Possibilities, we will explore the production and budgetary benefits and pitfalls of developing applications versus enhancing eBooks.

• What are the differences between an enhanced eBook and an App?
• What are the development opportunities, challenges and costs of each?
• What types of enhancements are possible in the EPUB format?
• How can you optimize app development for cross-platform portability?

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Peter Costanzo, Director of Online Marketing, The Perseus Books Group
• Pablo Defendini, Interactive Producer, Open Road Integrated Media
• Eric Freese, Solutions Architect, Aptara

Moderated by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World.

eBooks vs. Apps: The Pros, Cons and Possibilities was webcast live on Tuesday, July 27th @ 1pm EDT / 10am PDT, and the on-demand archive will be available for a limited time.

This session was sponsored by Aptara, a community partner of Digital Book World.

Before publishers integrate enhanced ebooks into their business model and develop marketing strategies, they need to attend Enhanced Ebook University (E2BU). We gather the top publishers, agents, developers, and experts together to explore all the options, now and in the future, in a practical, business-minded approach. There’s no fluff, no tech jargon, no fawning over devices – E2BU’s 10 sessions zero in on the unique issues publishers (and authors) need to understand to craft competent enhancements that satisfy readers and sell books.

Individual sessions cost $39 each or you may register for the E2BU Program Package, which includes the entire WEBcast series (live and on-demand) plus the E2BU White Paper, Enhanced eBooks Today and Tomorrow: A Survey for Authors and Publishers, for only $299 — a savings of over $100.

NOTE: Digital Book World members receive their 40% discount on the full Program Package. For more pricing information and package options, please visit our Registration page.

WEBCAST SCHEDULE

On-Demand (FREE) | Enhanced Ebooks Today

Everybody is talking about enhanced ebooks, but nobody seems to know exactly what they are. This session kicks off E2BU with a critical look at the current enhanced ebook marketplace and a discussion of when, why, and how to enhance digital book content.

• Jessica Goodman, John Wiley & Sons (How to Cook Everything)
• Theo Gray, Author and developer (The Elements)
• Rhys Cazenove, Enhanced Editions (The Death of Bunny Munro)

On-Demand | Changing Rights Models for Enhanced Ebooks

Enhanced ebooks challenge traditional rights models by combining text, audio, video, and interactive elements into a single package. In this session, we explore the rights complications that arise for enhanced ebooks and discuss potential new licensing models.

• Devereux Chatillion, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
• Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates, Inc. & E-Reads
• John Schline, Penguin Group USA

July 21 | What Is an Enhanced Ebook?

This session will navigate different enhancement options and discuss the possibilities and limitations of each. We will assess what makes sense when enhancing an ebook and what “enhancements” are becoming elements of basic ebook making.

• Liza Daly, President of Threepress Consulting
• Peter Meyers, author of the E2BU report, “Enhanced Ebooks Today and Tomorrow”
• Peter Costanzo, Director of Online Marketing for The Perseus Books Group

August 4 | Making Sense of Platforms for Enhanced Ebook Delivery

There’s no shortage of digital reading systems, but not all of them are equally suited to delivery of enhanced content. This session will explore the latest generation of reading devices and platforms and discuss which platforms are best suited for delivery of enhanced ebooks.

• Pablo Defendini, Interactive Producer at Open Road Integrated Media
• Michel Kripalani, President of Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
• Michael Wolf, Vice President of Research at GigaOM Pro

August 11 | Enhanced Ebooks for Authors
As an author, what do you need to know about enhanced ebooks? This session will explore your role as author in creating enhancements, what you should consider, and what you need to be doing as part of your regular workflow. We will look at examples of enhanced ebooks and discuss which enhancements work best for which kinds of content.

• J.C. Hutchins, award-winning new media storyteller
• Bob Kasher, Business Development Manager for Integrated Solutions at The BookMasters Group
• Peter Meyers, author of the E2BU report, “Enhanced Ebooks Today and Tomorrow”
• Debbie Stier, Director of Digital Marketing for HarperCollins

August 18 | Enhanced Ebooks and the Social Web
The experience of digital reading is rapidly evolving, and authors, publishers, and developers are experimenting with new ways of engaging and interacting with readers. This session will examine the broad range of social enhancement and interaction opportunities available for ebooks and other forms of digital content. We will discuss social reading platforms and ways of integrating social media. We will look at online book communities and collaborative writing projects. If the internet is a social space, what will consumers want and expect as more reading is done on web-enabled devices?

• Travis Alber, co-founder of BookGlutton
• Richard Nash, consultant to authors and publishers and founder of Cursor

September 8 | Choices and Challenges for Enhanced Ebook Production
This session will address the questions and considerations publishers must face when producing enhanced ebooks. We will weigh the pros and cons of in-house production versus outside developers. We will examine how consumer expectations and technological limitations impact production, and we will look at the current strategies of major houses and talk with potential vendors.

September 22 | The Brave New World of Ebook Analytics
New technologies and ways of consuming content create new possibilities for gauging marketing efforts, measuring sales, and understanding reader patterns. Using analytic tools, publishers can gather relevant data and make future business decisions informed by the actual behaviors of their customers. This session aims to introduce the analytic tools available to publishers and to explore how those tools can impact ebook enhancements.

October 6 | Collaborating with Authors on Enhanced Ebooks
Ebook enhancements require increased communication and interaction between the publisher and author. Enhancements may require extra writing, reference materials, or continuing engagement with the content. This session will investigate what publishers can expect and ask of authors and how publishers should work with authors to collaboratively create enhancements.

October 20 | Marketing Enhanced Ebooks
If the publishing industry is asking itself ‘What is an enhanced ebook?’, then consumers must surely be asking the same question. How do we market a product that has little precedent? In this session, we will talk with marketing experts and innovators to unravel new marketing challenges and uncover new opportunities in enhanced ebooks.

SPONSORS

From optimizing workflows to enhanced eBook production and Apple app development, Aptara is enabling publishers to unlock new top-line revenue in an increasingly digital- and mobile-centric marketplace.

Welcome to Copia: the first social eReading experience designed so you can discover, connect and share what’s meaningful.

The BookMasters Group content services can make your content available to the e-reading public, with Auturo or Converso, our e-Book conversion and distribution programs.  This ensures your content is available to consumers regardless of their reading preference.

ABOUT ENHANCED EBOOK UNIVERSITY (E2BU)

Enhanced Ebook University is a partnership of The Idea Logical Company and Digital Book World. With the help of Kirk Biglione, co-founder of Medialoper, The Idea Logical Company is providing the content for E2BU’s report and the webinar series. Digital Book World is managing the community involvement, marketing, and providing the behind-the-scenes hosting and technical support.

In this free WEBcast, Digital Strategies: Learning from Comics Publishers, we’ll discuss the current state of the comics publishing industry, innovative approaches to digital comics and windowing, and the pros and cons of having a highly engaged readership.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Chip Mosher, Marketing Director, BOOM! Studios
• John Parker, President and Chief Operating Officer, TOKYOPOP
• Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor, Publishers Weekly
• David Steinberger, CEO, comiXology

Moderated by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World (and old-school comics geek!)

Digital Strategies: Learning from Comics Publishers will be webcast live on Tuesday, August 10th @ 1pm EDT / 10am PDT.

Register today.

If you’re on Twitter, why not tell your followers about this WEBcast, too:

I’m attending Digital Strategies: Learning from Comics Publishers on 8/10 @ 1pm EDT: http://bit.ly/dh6USh #DBW

SPEAKERS

Chip Mosher, Marketing Director, BOOM! Studios

Chip Mosher is Marketing Director of BOOM! Studios, one of the fastest growing comic book companies in North America, and oversees the digital comics initiative for the company. In 1994, Mosher was spotlighted in the infamous Mondo 2000 magazine for rolling out digital comics on the web from a host of high profile creators. While that .com company crashed and burned shortly thereafter, Mosher is happy that 16 years later he can fulfill his dream of getting comic books out to the masses through digital means.

John Parker, President and Chief Operating Officer, TOKYOPOP

John Parker contributes over 20 years of executive experience in the multimedia entertainment industry. Mr. Parker has been the President & C.O.O. of TOKYOPOP since July, 1999. TOKYOPOP obtains the rights to entertainment properties from Asia and localizes those properties and sells them as books, videos, and CD’s. Products are marketed and sold through traditional channels as well as the Internet.

Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor, Publishers Weekly

Calvin Reid is a senior news editor at Publishers Weekly and is the co-editor of PW Comics Week, PW’s weekly email newsletter on comics and graphic novel publishing.

David Steinberger, CEO, comiXology

David Steinberger is the CEO of comiXology, the leading digital comic distributor for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Creator of Comics by comiXology and the Marvel and DC Comics apps, comiXology has positioned itself uniquely in the comic book industry landscape by selling both brick-and-mortar (print) services and digital versions of comics. comiXology’s vision is to help consumers find comics when, where and it what form they want. David has a MBA from NYU | Stern School of Business, a Master in Music Performance from Manhattan School of Music and an Advanced Certificate in Music Performance from Juilliard.

In this free WEBcast, Digital Strategies: Learning from RPG Publishers, we’ll discuss the current state of the RPG publishing industry, innovative approaches to eBooks and POD, and the pros and cons of having a highly engaged readership.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Jim Fallone, Director of Publishing Coordination, Andrews McMeel Universal
• Will Hindmarch, Freelance Writer, Designer and Publisher, Gameplaywright
• Gareth-Michael Skarka, Transmedia Developer, Adamant Entertainment
• Eddy Webb, Alternative Product Developer, CCP/White Wolf

Moderated by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Chief Executive Optimist, Digital Book World (and old-school D&D fan!)

Digital Strategies: Learning from RPG Publishers was webcast live on Tuesday, July 13th @ 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. DBW Members can view the on-demand archive.

SPEAKERS

Jim Fallone, Director of Publishing Coordination, Andrews McMeel Universal

Jim Fallone is the Director of Publishing Coordination at Andrews McMeel Universal, working on digital workflow, eBook strategies and client distribution. His previous experience includes Director of Sales & Marketing for Wizards of the Coast and TSR, Inc., Director of Merchandising for Walden Educational Services and Buyer for Waldenbooks.  With nearly 30 years in the industry, Jim has experienced every aspect of book publishing from acquisition to remainder.

Will Hindmarch, Freelance Writer, Designer and Publisher

Will Hindmarch is a Chicago-born freelance writer and designer with more than fifty professional credits as author, developer, or graphic designer on games, books, and magazines. In 2007, Will co-founded the gameplay-and-story outfit, Gameplaywright Press, with Jeff Tidball. In 2008, Gameplaywright published its first hard-copy title, Things We Think About Games, to critical acclaim within the gaming scene.

Gareth-Michael Skarka, Transmedia Developer, Adamant Entertainment

Gareth-Michael Skarka is a 20-year industry veteran with experience in all tiers (retail, distribution, publication and content creation/ development), whose company, Adamant Entertainment, has been at the forefront of the electronic publishing segment of the RPG industry for seven years, offering innovation and standard-setting performance for digital delivery of tabletop role-playing games.

Eddy Webb, Content Designer and Alternative Product Developer, CCP/White Wolf

Hired on with CCP/White Wolf in late 2007, Eddy Webb (with a “y,” thank you) is a writer, content designer, and game developer, and is the voice of the White Wolf Blogcast. Virtually every PDF-only White Wolf product passes through his hands. He lives a sitcom life with his wife, roommate, a cat and a pug dog.

In this free 60-minute WEBcast, our panelists will discuss their apps and other notable ebook products in today’s enhanced ebook marketplace.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Jessica Goodman of John Wiley & Sons oversaw the creation of the app for her house’s classic cookbook, “How to Cook Everything.”
• Theodore Gray, author, developer and founder of Touch Press, took his Black Dog & Leventhal book The Elements and turned it into a sensational interactive app that has been one of the most popular paid apps offered for the iPad to-date.
• Rhys Cazenove, co-founder of Enhanced Editions, developer and publisher of one of last year’s most acclaimed enhanced ebooks, The Death of Bunny Munro.

Kirk Biglione, E2BU Chief Technology Officer, will moderate the discussion on what kinds of enhancements are possible, how they use them, and what advantages they offer readers.

They’ll explore the boundaries between enhanced ebooks and apps and the implications of enhancing book content, as well as other critical topics, including:

• How big is the ebook market and what enhancements readers are most likely to be willing to pay for?
• What we should expect in a basic ebook, and what is an “enhancement”?
• Does marketing content, like author interviews and reading guides, really qualify as an “enhanced” experience?

Who should attend:

• Publishing execs looking to quickly gather key developments in the enhanced ebook space.
• Editors interested in finding what works (and what’s unnecessary) for displaying their authors’ content.
• Publicists and marketers who want to know whether adding a book trailer counts as an enhancement (and whether producers and readers will see it that way).
• Trade and Specialty sales people interested in understanding the market leaders making money today.
• Production professionals with an eye towards competent ebook creation.

Enhanced Ebooks Today was webcast live on Tuesday, June 29, at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. DBW Members can view the on-demand archive.

Presenting Sponsors

The E2BU project was launched by ILC and DBW in response to the increased interest in ebooks in general, and the myriad options available to publishers, authors, and readers to improve the book experience via digital technologies. It is clear that more and more money will be spent by content creators in the coming months to develop these new-fangled products and it is just as clear that nobody really knows what works, what doesn’t, what readers want, and what they will pay for. The first WEBcast, free for all registrants, will set the stage for an educational program that will continue twice-monthly throughout the Summer and Fall.

A free WEBcast, presented by Digital Book World.

From Amazon and eBooks to new media, social media and transmedia, the landscape for authors has changed dramatically in the 21st Century, and some are taking full advantage of the new opportunities available to them.

Join best-selling authors Alison Norrington, Jason Pinter and Gretchen Rubin as they discuss their hard-won experiences and lessons learned in a free live WEBcast on 5/18 @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT.

The Digital Author: New Challenges, Opportunities, Partners
Tuesday, May 18th @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT

Speakers: Alison Norrington, Jason Pinter, Gretchen Rubin
Moderator: Joe Dolce

This free WEBcast took place on Tuesday, May 18th @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT; DBW Members can view the on-demand archive.

The publishing industry is undergoing an extreme transformation, and there are many innovative thinkers challenging traditional thinking and helping push that transformation forward.

DBW Conversations pairs two respected thought leaders for a 60-minute discussion on the future of the publishing industry, and what they’re doing to ensure they have a place in it.

DBW Conversations: Jane Friedman & Debbie Stier

• Jane Friedman is the publisher and editorial director of the Writer’s Digest brand community, where she oversees Writer’s Digest magazine, Writer’s Digest Books, and the Writer’s Market series. She is the author of the Beginning Writer’s Answer Book and blogs on the industry as part of the Writer’s Digest community at There Are No Rules. She is a vegetarian, bourbon-drinking editor, at least mostly sane, living life forward, even though you can only understand it backward.
• Debbie Stier is the Director of Digital Marketing for HarperCollins, where she is responsible for educating and evangelizing digital trends throughout the company. The trends encompass how people communicate, what technologies they are using, how other industries are using technology, and how this all applies to book publishing.

This free WEBcast took place on Tuesday, May 4th @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT; DBW Members can view the on-demand archive.

Tuesday, April 20th @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT
Speaker: Connie Ross, Online Marketing Manager, F+W Media

In this free WEBcast, “Search 101: Practical SEO/SEM Tactics“, SEM Expert Connie Ross will offer an overview of SEO and SEM strategy, along with specific tactics for publishers to put their books in front of the right readers.

• Keyword Analysis
• Competitive Analysis
• Testing & Measuring

Connie Ross specializes in cross-implementation of SEM & SEO Brand Campaigns and Analytics Tracking. Currently the Online Marketing Manager overseeing SEM & SEO programs for 25 of F+W Media’s content and events sites, she was previously Marketing Manager for Luxottica Retail, the largest retailer of Prescription Eyewear and Sunglasses, where she successfully created and implemented SEM & SEO campaigns for the LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sunglass Hut brands. She has been involved in SEM & SEO for nearly 10 years.

This free WEBcast took place on Tuesday, April 20th @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT; DBW members can view the entire archived presentation, with audio, here.

The publishing industry is undergoing an extreme transformation, and there are many innovative thinkers challenging traditional thinking and helping push that transformation forward.

DBW Conversations pairs two respected thought leaders for a 60-minute discussion on the future of the publishing industry, and what they’re doing to ensure they have a place in it.

DBW Conversations: Richard Curtis & Richard Nash.

• Richard Curtis, president of Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., is a leading New York literary agent; founder of E-Reads, an electronic book publisher; and a well-known author advocate. He is also the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction including several books about the publishing industry and is a former president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives.
• Richard Nash ran Soft Skull Press, now an imprint of Counterpoint, from 2001 to 2007 and ran the imprint on behalf of Counterpoint until early 2009. He’s now consulting for authors and publishers on how to reach readers and developing a start-up called Cursor, a portfolio of niche social publishing communities, one of which will be called Red Lemonade. He was named one of “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World” by Utne Reader, and one of “15 Twitter Users Shaping the Future of Publishing” by Mashable.com.

This free WEBcast took place on Tuesday, April 27th @ 1pm EDT // 10am PDT; DBW Members can view the on-demand archive.