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Westchester Happenings – Spring 2021

Stationers' Company

July 29, 2021

compiled by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

2021 has been extremely productive for all of us here at Westchester, as the number of publishers we work with and the variety of project requirements we support for them continues to grow. Below are several of the highlights from the past few months:

Another successful publishing industry webinar with Publishers Weekly

Westchester and PW Publishing Now 21 panelistsApril began strongly, with our most highly attended webinar to date, hosted in partnership with Publishers Weekly. Jim Milliot, PW’s Editorial Director was the moderator for a wide-ranging discussion with four publishing industry thought leaders. The more than 500 attendees heard firsthand about how the panelists’ companies and their employees adapted to the multiple challenges 2020 created, including the supply chain issues we are all contending with in the industry, as well as what we might expect as we navigate through this year. We’ll be announcing details about our next event with PW soon, so stay tuned!

Westchester Education Services Webinars

Westchester Education Services State of K-12 Education 2021 webinarIn May and June, Westchester Education Services hosted two informative webinars that were each moderated by Kevin J. Gray, President and Chief Content Officer. “The State of K-12 Education in 2021”, focused on the impacts of the last year-plus on education at the school district level and what would be required to support successful outcomes for students as they prepare for the upcoming school year.

Westchester Education Services Emerging Trends in K-12 Education webinarThe “Emerging Trends in K-12 Education” webinar showcased three areas of learning that have experienced significant interest over the last year as there is increased understanding about how social-emotional learning, culturally responsive education, and career and technical education are all important facets of meeting students where they are in their education journey and supporting their learning goals.

Westchester Education Services CTE worksheet sampleWestchester Education Services expands into CTE

Speaking of Career and Technical Education, this past spring Westchester Education Services appointed Debbie Allen as Content Director for Career and Technical Education. Debbie leads a team of subject matter experts who draw upon their extensive experience in teaching CTE to create effective supplemental materials to serve students and teachers in several career pathways. To the right is one of the career exploration worksheets we developed to introduce students to the different types of jobs that are available in various career clusters.

Stationers Shortlist 2021It truly is an honor to be nominated

This May, we received the thrilling news that Westchester Education Services was shortlisted by The Stationers’ Company in the service development category for our Culturally Responsive Education Rubric Review process. We felt like winners to receive recognition from our industry peers in the UK’s livery company that has represented the needs and interests of publishing and media professionals for more than six centuries. Learn more about all the shortlisted entries and watch the awards ceremony.

Westchester Words podcast logoWestchester Words’ first season springs forth

The Westchester Words podcast debuted in March and really hit its stride this spring, when yours truly had the pleasure of speaking with more than a dozen professionals in education, ed tech, and publishing about a variety of subjects that are impacting these industries. You can find all of the episodes on your favorite streaming platform or at our websites, where we have posted additional content that some of our guests have been kind enough to share.

The final episodes of the first season are being released in the coming weeks. We’re planning our second season of episodes, so if there’s a topic you want to hear more about, get in touch.

print to digital imageEnsuring Content Compliance on Digital Platforms

If your preferred reading mode is digital, you probably know that Amazon sunset the ability to load or update mobi files for new or previously published content on their platform last month. In early May, Scott Keeney, Westchester’s Senior Composition and Digital Production Manager, wrote this informative blog post explaining how this also impacted reflowable ePubs and outlined how Westchester is well-prepared to support publishers with ePub3 files that meet the updated platform requirements.

Summer Reading 2021

Summer reading imageWhile some kids get chills up their spine when told they will have to read several books during the summer break and turn in book reports on the first day of school, I wasn’t one of them and I suspect many of you weren’t, either. Now that we’re all adults and can skip doing book reports, each May I ask my colleagues to tell me what books they plan to read during the quieter days of summer and they always impress me with their title selections. See what they picked for this summer’s reading pile, and let us know what’s on your list.

Looking Ahead imageLooking Ahead

We are thinking about the time when we’ll be able to safely gather in an in-person setting. Until then, stay connected with us by following our LinkedIn pages, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and looking for our email messages in your inbox, filled with information about the services and knowledge-packed webinars we offer to help you understand and respond to the developments that are shaping the publishing industry.

Westchester proudly supports more than 300 publishers in all sectors of the publishing industry with their editorial, production, design, and content development requirements. Read and download our case studies about the efficient and cost-effective solutions we have provided your peer publishers, and talk with us about our customizable workflows that output printer and POD-ready content files in the formats you need for your customers.

Wishing you an enjoyable, relaxing second half of the summer.

Filed Under: blog, Services Tagged With: Career and technical education, Content Compliance, CRE, CTE, DEI, Epub3, podcast, SEL, Stationers' Company, webinar, Westchester Words

December 17, 2019

by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

The calendar is winding down to the final days of the year, the decade, and Westchester’s 50th anniversary in business. It has been a really exciting year on many fronts, so join me to revisit some of the special moments during these past twelve months:

WESTCHESTER TURNED 50!

There was definitely a golden glow here at Westchester because, throughout the year, we were celebrating the significant achievement of being in business for half a century. The anniversary celebrations began with our appearance on the cover of Publishers Weekly’s February 18th issue, a profile article in the March 4th issue that helped us build a strong momentum heading into the London Book Fair, along with an article about our UK expansion in the Publishers Weekly Show Daily on March 12. We also hosted a stand party to toast our milestone anniversary with our friends and colleagues in the publishing community, where a wonderful time was had by all in attendance.

WESTCHESTER UK PROFILED IN THE BOOKSELLER

We have counted several UK-based publishers as loyal clients across the years, and realized we could do a better job of serving them and other UK and European-based publishers by having a more physical presence within the market. The Bookseller took note of our successful expansion efforts in this article (may require log-in to view) that was published in May, shortly before the British Book Awards.

NEW AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH MACMILLAN

In March, we signed a new agreement with Macmillan to continue the productive relationship our companies have enjoyed for more than a quarter-century. While Macmillan is no longer based in the iconic Flatiron building, we will always have fond memories of visiting the staff at their famous headquarters. Shortly before relocating to their new downtown digs this past summer, CEO John Sargent penned this article for Publishers Weekly about what it was like to work in this unique building.

 

UNFAMILIAR WINS AWARD

Great things were happening in our K-12 division as well in 2019. In the first quarter, the hi-lo graphic novel reader Unfamiliar, which was conceived, written, designed, and produced by our talented team received the Silver Hermes Creative Award from the Dayton, Ohio chapter of the American Advertising Federation. This video takes you behind the scenes to learn how the project went from concept to publication.

CLIENT PORTAL RECEIVES ACCOLADES

Unfamiliar was not the only award-winning initiative for Westchester this year. Our Client Portal, the secure, user-friendly, functional project management platform publishers want to incorporate into their pre-press production workflow was also receiving its fair share of positive attention. In May, The Stationers Company, the London-based guild for the media and publishing industry, shortlisted the Client Portal for their Innovation Excellence Awards, and in October, we presented about our Client Portal at the Rutgers Design Thinking program board meeting. In November, our partnership with  Dropbox – who worked with us to enhance the Client Portal’s capabilities – was recognized with a first-place win at the Bookbuilders of Boston NEPCo (New England Publishing Collaboration) Awards.

The video below, which was produced in partnership with Dropbox explains how we were able to incorporate the functionality our clients required into a beautifully designed platform that is easy for publishers to use.

CONFERENCES AND CLIENT MEETINGS

In addition to London Book Fair mentioned above, in 2019, members of the Westchester staff were busy criss-crossing North America and Europe meeting with clients and prospective partners at numerous trade shows and events, engaging in productive discussions with our think tank, university press, and legal clients. Westchester attended events as varied as SXSW EDU, ASU/GSV, the International Studies Association, British Book Awards, Association of University Presses, Frankfurt Book Fair, and FutureBook.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Last spring, the Westchester K-12 team started a program, where each month, one staff member funds a public school project that is trying to secure donations through the DonorsChoose website. Each selection is truly personal, and they have funded classrooms from New York, to California, and cities in between.

YEAR IN REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WESTCHESTER K-12 TEAM

Recently, I asked members of the Westchester K-12 team to share some insights with me about a project or event that they were involved with during this year that was particularly meaningful for them. You can read their thoughtful responses in this blog post.

TIME FOR 2020 VISION

As we get ready to welcome both a new year and decade, we’re looking forward to several exciting events. In January, Westchester K-12’s Walter Henderson, Jr., begins his two-year term on the ETIN (Education Technology Industry Network) Board of Directors, and he will also be representing Westchester K-12 at the BETT Show in London.

We also have plans to exhibit or sponsor at several conferences, including London Book Fair, and the ASUGSV Summit. Visit our Conferences and Events page to learn where we will be and if you’re planning to attend one or more of these shows, be sure to make an appointment to meet us to discuss how we can be your trusted partner in publishing.

We look forward to seeing you in 2020, and talking about the many effective solutions we have to help you with your content development, editorial, and production needs. From everyone here at Westchester Publishing Services, best wishes for a happy holiday season and a wonderful start to the 20s!


Always be up to date with everything that’s happening at Westchester by following us on our LinkedIn pages for Westchester Publishing and Westchester K-12, watching Westchester on YouTube, and subscribing to our blogs for the latest information about us. We would love to hear from you, too! Drop us an email at any time with your questions or to discuss your publication requirements.


 

Filed Under: blog, Conferences, Conferences, News, Services, Westchester K-12 News, Westchester UK News Tagged With: ASUGSV, AUP, Bookbuilders of Boston, Client Portal, Dropbox, ETIN, graphic novel reader, K-12, London Book Fair, Macmillan, NEPco, Publishers Weekly, Stationers' Company, SXSW EDU, The BookSeller, Unfamiliar

October 11, 2019

by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

In the summer months, the pace typically slows down, allowing an opportunity to relax and enjoy the longer, warmer days summertime offers up. While all of us at Westchester made sure to take some time to spend with friends and family, we were still working hard to make sure all of our publishers’ projects were moving along through the pre-press stages. Here’s a quick wrap-up of what we did this past summer:

Collaborative partnership

Dropbox is one of the members of Westchester’s Partner Network, and their Dropbox Business suite of products helps us to remain connected internally as well as with our freelance resources and client publishers to flow project assets to each other within a secure framework. Check out this video that Dropbox produced over the summer that shows how Dropbox applications help support Westchester’s development initiatives, including our Client Portal.

Westchester profiled in Publishers Weekly

In early August, Westchester Publishing Services was featured in the Publishers Weekly annual Digital Solutions in India issue. In the article, Chief Revenue Officer, Tyler M. Carey, explains how the company is prepared for continued growth during the next decade, and reflects on the significant milestone of 50 years of serving publishers’ pre-press requirements, along with reaching the fifth anniversary of being a 100% employee-owned company.

Meet Dilip Chacko

Shortly before the Digital Solutions in India article was published, I had the opportunity to speak at length with Dilip Chacko, Founder and Managing Director of our wholly-owned composition facility in Chennai, India. It was an extremely informative discussion encompassing Dilip’s career, his guiding principles, and how his focus on providing high quality applies to client projects as well as the employees who work on them.

Client Portal Update

In the spring edition of the Westchester Wrap-up, we shared how the Client Portal had been shortlisted for the Stationers’ Company Innovation in Excellence Award. Not content to rest on our laurels (or nominations), we are continually adding capabilities to the Client Portal to better serve the requirements our clients have. Last month, we conducted a webinar demonstrating several of the helpful features that make publisher workflows more efficient throughout the pre-press production process.

UK conferences

While July and August are quieter months from a working standpoint, the pace tends to move faster with September’s arrival. Tim Davies, Managing Director of Westchester Publishing Services UK, was particularly busy last month meeting with publishing industry professionals at the ALPSP (The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers) Conference, and the IPG (Independent Publishers Guild) Autumn Conference. Prior to those conferences, Tim shared some helpful insights for independent publishers in this IPG podcast.

Next Generation Science Standards

If you haven’t been in the classroom for a decade or more, you might be surprised at how much more proficient students are required to be when it comes to understanding scientific concepts. Our STEM Content Director, Dave Bailis, explains how a more effective science curriculum is being implemented around the country to help prepare students for a world that is more reliant on science and technology than in previous generations.

In the Community

Earlier this year, our Westchester K-12 division implemented a program where each month one member of the team selects a project to fund from the thousands that are submitted to DonorsChoose.org by public school teachers. These projects are often for schools where the majority of students are from low-income communities that aren’t able to access much-needed classroom resources through traditional funding avenues. During the summer, STEM Content Director, Dave Bailis, and Director of Creative Services, Mark DaGrossa, each had the opportunity to fulfill a teacher request that was meaningful to them.

Meet with us this fall (and beyond)!

We’re attending and exhibiting at several conferences during the next few months, including Frankfurt Book Fair next week, FutureBook in London this November, and the SIIA Education Business Forum taking place this December in New York City. If you will be attending any of these events, let’s catch up! Make an appointment to connect with us, and be sure to visit our Conferences and Events page where we will be regularly adding information about the conferences Westchester will be attending or exhibiting at in 2020.


You don’t need to wait for a conference to speak with our knowledgeable staff about how our fifty years of experience in providing editorial, composition, and design services can help you produce quality publications while condensing schedules and trimming pre-press expenses. Contact us today to learn how Westchester’s consultative approach can benefit your projects.


 

Filed Under: blog, Conferences, Conferences, Services, Westchester K-12 News, Westchester UK News Tagged With: 50 years, Client Portal, Composition, conferences, Design Services, digital solutions, Dropbox, editorial services, employee-owned, Independent Publishers Guild, K12, Publishers Weekly, Stationers' Company, The BookSeller, Tim Davies, UK, Westchester K-12, Westchester UK

July 26, 2019

by Nicole Tomassi, Marketing & Conference Manager

We’re halfway through our 50th year in business, and Westchester Publishing Services has continued to be very productive in several areas! Here are a few of the highlights from this past spring:


The Westchester K-12 Team Welcomes Walter

Walter Henderson, Jr., Senior Supervising Editor, English Language Training In April the Westchester K-12 Product Development team grew when Walter Henderson, Jr., joined the team as Senior Supervising Editor for ELT (English Language Training). Walter has an impressive professional background as a classroom instructor both in the United States and overseas, as well as working with academic institutions and publishers to develop suitable course materials for English Language Learners (ELL). Having Walter and his extensive professional network as a part of Westchester K-12 allows us to provide educational, academic, and professional publishers with a wide range of product offerings, including bilingual and translation content to support the specific needs of English Language Learners in educational and business settings.

 

Westchester Publishing Services UK profiled

Coverage about Westchester’s 50th anniversary continued into the spring, with a comprehensive profile in The Bookseller (may require login to read) about our company and the factors that brought us to further expand the business into the UK market, under the guidance of Managing Director of Westchester UK, Tim Davies. More coverage about Westchester’s anniversary can be found in these articles.

K-12 Catalog

Westchester K-12 Publishing Services Catalog 2019This spring the Westchester K-12 art and design team produced a comprehensive catalog that showcases the capabilities and services the Product Development team is able to provide educational and ed-tech publishers for new curriculum content or product updates. Download your complimentary copy and let us know how the Westchester K-12 team can help you.

Client Portal Nominated for Innovation Award

Stationers Company Shortlisted Innovation Excellence Awards 2019In May, we were excited to learn that our Client Portal had been nominated for the Stationers’ Company 2019 Innovation Excellence Awards in the Customer Experience category. To receive this recognition from the Stationers’ Company – a London-based guild with a more than 600-year history of serving members of the publishing and media industries – was a particularly special acknowledgment of the work our technology team has invested into building a project management platform that serves the specific requirements of publishers. This article provides additional information about the newest features we’ve added to the Client Portal to make it even more user-friendly.

British Book Awards

Westchester was proud to be the sponsor for the Academic, Education, and Professional Publisher of the Year category at this year’s British Book Awards which took place in London on May 13.  The awards program is also known as The Nibbies, and draws a veritable Who’s Who of the British publishing industry to recognize the successes of authors and publishers in the previous year.  Additional information about the Books of the Year shortlists and winners is available here.

Association of University Presses

Tom Hartmann and Susan Baker at the 2019 AUP Conference, DetroitIn mid-June, members of Westchester’s sales and editorial teams traveled to Detroit to attend and exhibit at the Association of University Presses annual conference. We always enjoy meeting with our clients at conferences to discuss the latest developments that are having an impact within the industry, and sharing with publishers who may not be familiar with our product offerings the many ways that Westchester’s services can help them to improve their workflows.

In the Community

In the last edition of the Westchester Wrap-up, I shared with you that the Westchester K-12 team had begun an initiative to make a positive difference one classroom at a time. Learn more about the projects that Anne Riccio and Laura Rolfe selected, and how you can help a classroom in your community.

Summer Reading

If you’re looking for a new title or two to add to your reading list, the Westchester staff have some interesting recommendations that you probably won’t find everywhere else. Check out the variety of fiction and non-fiction titles that we’re planning to read this summer, and let us know what you think!


We’ll be on the road at a few key conferences during the remainder of 2019, and planning is well underway for the trade shows Westchester will be attending and exhibiting at next year. The Conferences and Events page will continue to be updated as we confirm our commitments, so check back regularly to see where you can meet with us in person.

You can also keep up with the latest news from Westchester by following us on LinkedIn, and subscribing to our blogs (Westchester and Westchester K-12). Contact us any time to learn how our editorial, typesetting, design, and project management services can help you reduce production time and expense in your publication program.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Best,

Nicole Tomassi

 

 

Nicole Tomassi
Marketing & Conference Manager

Filed Under: blog, Conferences, Services, Westchester K-12 News, Westchester UK News Tagged With: AUP, British Book Awards, Catalog, Client Portal, ELL, ELT, In the Community, K12, LaTeX, Nibbies, Stationers' Company, The BookSeller, Tim Davies, UK, Westchester K-12, Westchester UK

June 25, 2019

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

Westchester is continually reviewing feedback regarding our Client Portal.  The Client Portal, our no-cost online system for project management, is currently in formal release v. 2019.C.05, but a small, new feature was added this weekend that may make your life a little easier if you are a client with many live projects or articles in the Client Portal at once.  Meet the ability to indicate “Priority” projects in your dashboard.

How does the new “Priority” Star work?  In the Header of the Dashboard you will see a new Star icon next to “Action”. The Star is next to each job you have showing on your Dashboard as well.

This star will allow you to flag a job as a priority for you only.

So, if you have a priority project that you are focusing on, click the Star next to the job and it will change to red. You can then sort on the Star in the header, and all your jobs you flagged as priorities will show at the top of your Dashboard list.

Here are some screenshots to put more context to the above:

Click the Star next to a job and it turns red.

Portal Star 002

Sort on the Star in the header bar, and it will sort all Star jobs to the top.

Portal Star Button

This and other new features will be covered in the new User’s Manual we will be issuing in July.

Lastly, congratulations to Heidelberg UK for winning the Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Awards for 2019.  Tim Davies, Managing Director of Westchester Publishing Services UK, represented Westchester at today’s awards ceremony, where The Client Portal was awarded a certificate for being shortlisted for the Customer Experience category.  Congratulations to all our fellow nominees and to Heidelberg for the win!

Tim Davies, 2019 Stationers' Company Innovation Excellence Awards

Do you have suggestions for new features in the Client Portal?  Call your account manager or Contact Us to share your feedback and ideas.

Filed Under: blog, News, Westchester UK News Tagged With: Awards, Client Portal, New Features, Stationers' Company, UK

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