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Autumn 2024 Publishing Industry Conferences and Events

Stationers' Company

October 9, 2024

by Tyler M. Carey

The past several weeks have seen myself, Hugh Shiebler (Director, Client Solutions), and Julie Willis (Editorial Director, Westchester Publishing Services UK) visiting conferences and events that provided guidance and direction on the global book and journal industries.

Bearded man standing next to a conference table at IPG Autumn Conference with a roller banner to the side of the table.Julie and I represented Westchester Publishing Services at the Independent Publishers’ Guild (UK) IPG Autumn Conference in London on Tuesday the 17th of September. The Autumn Conference is an annual must-attend show for Westchester, allowing us to meet with our clients and business partners in the UK trade, academic, and educational publishing spaces, as well as see our partners from Ingram and other businesses for which we support mutual clients. (Learn more about our ePub conversion work on behalf of Ingram Publisher Services clients, and our work on behalf of IngramSpark authors) The topics of accessibility and AI were top of mind for many of the attendees at IPG, as was the topic of the EUDR (more about that in the BMI section below) and changes in the distribution space. Simon Mellins was one of the draws on the topic of accessibility, covering the impact of the EAA and navigating best practices on creating accessible epubs right from the start (‘born accessible’ as some call the practice), and managing the backlist. Westchester continues to collate industry best practices on navigating the EAA on our microsite about ePub accessibility.

Woman with shoulder length blonde hair and bearded, bespectacled man standing next to each other, wearing formal evening attire.Following this, Julie and I represented Westchester at the Stationers’ Company’s Autumn Livery Dinner, where we had the opportunity to meet with a number of our publishing clients and talk with members of the communications industries in software, journalism, and other overlapping industries. We’re an active participant in Stationers’ Company events, due to the way they bring together a number of these different threads of businesses supporting content, and their deep history, tying back to when the Company was the inventor of the concept of Copyright in the UK.

Shakespeare Folio opened to two handwritten pages.The archivist of the Company was gracious enough to show me and another American member some treasures from the Company’s archives the morning after the event, including this page from their copyright register (volume Liber D) — with this page showing the registration for Shakespeare’s First Folio on November 8, 1623.

Screen reading Book Manufacturing Mastered on a wall next to a man speaking from a podium to a seated audience. The Book Manufacturers Institute conference — Book Manufacturing Mastered — was held in Boston on October 1, and brought together a blend of printers, paper suppliers, manufacturers, publishers, and vendors. The focus of topics was less on the editorial and production matters of accessibility and AI that seemed to be the main threads at IPG and SSP (see below), but instead focused on the impact of an East Coast Longshoreman’s strike and the fragility of the supply chain, as well as the EUDR’s regulations about tracking the source of paper and pulp used in printing to prevent deforestation. Panels including MIDLAND’s Bill Rojack (a former panelist on a Westchester Publishing Services webinar), Jim Milliot (editor emeritus of Publishers Weekly), and BMI’s Matt Baehr (also formerly on a Westchester Publishing Services webinar) talked through these topics, as well as the overarching topics of expanding staffing and improving communications with clients within the segments of the industry most directly represented at the conference. Within days of the conference, the strike wrapped up and the impact of EUDR on business processes had been granted more time through a one year delay.

Title screen for SSP Regional Meeting in Washington, DC October 1, 2024While I was in Boston, Hugh Shiebler attended Society for Scholarly Publishing’s “New Directions in Scholarly Publishing” conference, held in Washington, DC, addressing the interests of the academic publishing and journal publishing industries. A number of the discussion threads, both in formal panels as well as in sidebar conversations with clients and at roundtables, directly overlapped with ways Westchester plays a role in helping our clients navigate their editorial and production needs. The impact of Wiley ceasing development on eXtyles opened up dialogue about alternative methods for handling citations in academic content – an editorial task that can be cumbersome for staff and freelancer editors if not handled systemically. Westchester’s capabilities in this area served as a basis for a lot of discussion with publishers about ways they can avoid the impact of this risk in the space. Other topics that seemed to resonate throughout the two day conference were the risks and opportunities with AI, and the shortage of peer reviewers – as well as alternate models for publication and peer review.

Westchester continues to expand our capabilities to support the changing needs of publishers across markets, including adding to our editorial and production capabilities, exploring alternative uses for publishing technology to help create efficiencies for both us and our clients, and improving our own efficiency in creating accessible ePub files to help solve the budgetary risk of converting large backlists to comply with the European Accessibility Act. Increasingly, we’re helping our 600+ publishing partners with content development, illustration, design, specific editorial and production tasks that are slowing down their staff in-house, as well as wider packaging needs like handling books from copyediting through to final files during peaks of the year. Contact us today to discuss any of the trends referenced in the above conference summaries, as well as your own particular challenges that are either driving up your costs or slowing down your workflow. Let’s talk soon about how Westchester can help you get your books to market on time and under budget.

Filed Under: blog, Conferences, News, Services Tagged With: Book Manufacturers Institute, conferences, EAA, EUDR, Independent Publishers Guild, Ingram Publisher Services, Society for Scholarly Publishing, Stationers' Company

April 19, 2024

by Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

On Friday, April 12th, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) once again graciously hosted their annual meeting in-person at New York City’s Harvard Club — as well as via an online stream for attendees not able to join for the day.  BISG is one of the premier US trade associations in the publishing industry, whose work is carried out through a small staff along with the volunteer efforts of professionals from every segment of publishing. I’m active on the Workflow Committee for BISG and I, along with Nicole Tomassi, Westchester’s Marketing & Conference Manager, joined a number of our colleagues from that esteemed group at a table for the day’s events.

Presentation slide with four circles labeled Inclusion, Research, Standards, and Education, connected by arrows

Versa Press’ Matt Kennell got the day started by introducing a panel consisting of outgoing BISG board director and CEO of IBPA Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, James Miller of Barnes & Noble, and Joshua Tallent from Firebrand Technologies. The panel examined the approach of embracing a Virtuous Circle of Inclusion → Research → Standards → and Education, a theme which echoed across the day’s panels. The discussion touched upon the past Trends publication from BISG, the dozens of webinars and events that are supported each year via BISG’s staff of 2 full-time employees, and the efforts of volunteers on their committees, as well as how BISG continues to work closely with companies throughout the industry to curate virtual and in-person events exploring topics ranging from sustainability to metadata to workflow to rights to subject codes, and more. Lastly, the panel zeroed in on the primary goals for BISG to achieve during the next three years, including:

1. Transforming supply chain communication
2. BISG at 50 (which happens in 2026)
3. Resource development
4. Membership growth
5. Membership retention

The balance of the day saw sessions including:
  • “The Case for Royalty Statement Standards”, moderated by Kris Kliemann from Kliemann and Company, outlining the need for standards on royalty statements in the industry. Panelists included Jennifer Weltz (President, Association of American Literary Agents; President, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency Inc.), Lucina Schell (International Rights Manager at University of Chicago Press), and Donna Laing (VP of Royalties and Rights Data Management at Scholastic). For those of us not involved in rights, this was a fantastic education on the challenges with administering rights and royalties with so many segments of the industry reporting back on sales and returns in different formats and with different expectations.
  • Ken Brooks (Amplify Education) moderated the session, “Moving Out of the Tower of Babel: Improving Efficiencies Across the Supply Chain”, featuring speakers Claire Holloway (Manager of Publisher Relations, OCLC), Alan DuBose (Senior VP of Planning & Data Analytics, Books-A-Million), and Jessica Wells (Penguin Random House). The supply chain is a topic a bit more ubiquitous than rights across the industry as we each have a role to play in it regardless of our vocation, and the exploration of issues related to forecasting, leveraging actionable data within different systems in our tech stacks, and identifying shared pain points put this topic into a shared frame of reference for all involved that spurred further discussions at the reception following the meeting. With the absence of one point of data in the US, as Booknet Canada supports within the Canadian market, there are ongoing challenges we’ll be working through with the help of organizations like BISG.  An example query that a unified data set could help answer for market research and planning was “How many copies of The Great Gatsby were sold across all publishers after it went public domain?” Having access to that type of unified data would help publishers make better decisions on whether to expand or adjust plans for certain titles in their public domain editions lists, for instance.  Everyone walked away from this session with a list to think about specific to their portion of a book’s life cycle.
  • Connie Harbison (Baker & Taylor) conducted a “How Standards for Product Metadata Reflect Shifts in Culture” panel discussion with Geraldine Zephirin (Barnes & Noble), Michael Olenick (Clarivate), and Gina Wachtel (Penguin Random House) that looked at the need for standards, and leveraging BISAC Codes more effectively, as well as mapping them to Thema for international markets. The prior interim speech, “Metadata in Action: Understanding Industry Trends” by David Walter of Circana helped illustrate the picture of why clear, consistent metadata is important for helping ensure discoverability and industry tracking that benefits us all.  The panel’s emphasis on the practical – including hygiene tasks for clearing out outdated BISAC codes from your ONIX feed and metadata – made what can be an arcane topic accessible for those of us in the room who may not have a favorite BISAC code (as each panelist shared they did!).
Man speaking from podium at lower left hand corner of picture, with a large presentation screen behind him showing 2023 US Print Book sales figures
David Walter (Circana) discusses 2023 Supercategory Print Sales during BISG 2024 Annual Meeting
After lunch, three awards were presented including The Sally Dedecker Award for Lifetime Service to Phil Ollila of the Ingram Content Group, who was introduced by BISG and Stationers’ Company member Lorraine Shanley, and the BISG Industry Innovator Award presented to Scribd, who was represented by Andrew Weinstein.
Author Walter Mosley addresses the BISG Annual meeting from the podium on the stage in New York City's Harvard Club
Walter Mosley accepting the 2024 Industry Champion Award during the BISG Annual Meeting on April 12, 2024

The 2024 Industry Champion Award was presented to Walter Mosley by Michael Pietsch, CEO of Hachette Book Group and Mosley’s former editor. Mosley received the award not only in recognition for his body of work, but for his founding of the Publishing Certificate Program at City College of New York (CCNY), his alma mater. His efforts in developing an educational program to create awareness of the opportunities in the publishing industry for people of underrepresented backgrounds was the primary topic in his introduction and in his own speech. To Mosley’s credit, he challenged the room to do more than give him an accolade and move on, but to instead follow his example of driving change in the industry by hiring people from different backgrounds and improving the diversity within the companies involved in publishing books, ensuring all voices and audiences are being seen, heard, and properly represented.

Executive Director Brian O’Leary’s closing session – Book Publishing Next: Changes We Want to See in the Industry – marked the first time Brian has given a keynote during his BISG tenure and provided a capstone to the day by walking through how all of the topics introduced earlier (rights, supply chain, subject codes, metadata, inclusion, and more) were the inspiration for the 3 year plan that had been introduced at the start of the day by the board. Brian highlighted how more growth can be achieved through better management of rights opportunities, managing costs, and being more consumer focused. Brian’s consultative approach to the info gathered through surveys and committee meetings leading up to the event hearkened back to a comment Phil Ollila had made earlier in the day, “People like to be engaged, not managed.” By encouraging ongoing engagement with the audience and the volunteers that comprise the bulk of BISG’s momentum, Brian underscored how the industry plays a vital role in making improvements for the continued benefit of everyone within publishing, rather than a one-way keynote closing the day’s sessions.

The below image cannot be emphasized enough – the volunteers drawn from all walks of the industry drive the content and mission of BISG, making meaningful events like the annual meeting itself and the ongoing webinars throughout the year possible.

Man standing at a podium with a presentation screen behind him showing squares with words including metadata, workflow, rights, supply chain and subject codes
Brian O’Leary, Executive Director of BISG, delivers closing keynote for the 2024 Annual Meeting
Presentation slide outlining future possibilities for publishing industry in North America
What Does the Future Hold – BISG 2024 Annual Meeting

In closing, what does the future hold? Well, Brian shared a few ideas but in the theme of the day’s session, why not join BISG, attend a committee meeting to contribute your voice to the discussion and help steer publishing’s future? More about BISG membership, which is open to companies and individuals, is available here.

Contact Us at Westchester to talk about highlights from the day, and ways we’re helping BISG member orgs and our hundreds of publisher clients around the world with their workflow challenges.

 

Filed Under: blog, Conferences, News, Services Tagged With: accessibility, BISAC, BISG, Booknet Canada, committees, discoverability, diversity, efficiency, growth mindset, industry communication, metadata, ONIX, publishing industry, representation, rights, royalties, Stationers' Company, supply chain, Thema, workflow, working groups

March 5, 2024

headshot of Tyler Careyby Tyler M. Carey, Chief Revenue Officer

The team at US employee-owned Westchester Publishing Services are enormously fortunate to work with the hundreds of publishers and content providers around the globe that we support. While we’re always eager to help problem solve our clients’ content, editorial, production, and digital project challenges, we realize that we don’t exist in a bubble. Our portion of the publication life cycle is a crucial piece to ensuring quality in publications and digital content – but plenty of other organizations play key roles beyond us and the publishers we serve. Westchester’s meetings during January and February reinforced this, as our paths crossed with a number of our key partners and organizations that provide further support to our clients.

January saw me meeting with the head of the City of London’s Stationers’ Company during his visit out to meet with North American members in New York City. Tony Mash is a rarity in the world of British livery companies, as he is a dual US/UK citizen, providing leadership to what is essentially an extension of London’s guild system. The Stationers’ Company plays a key role as a leading organization for the content and media industries, hosting frequent in-person and virtual events to let thought leaders in areas of our industries as varied as journalists, pen manufacturers, publishers, and intellectual property attorneys explore topics that affect our industries through an interdisciplinary lens. The North American members will be hosting an upcoming webinar about the transatlantic IP implications of the use of AI within the publishing industry. Additional details and registration information can be found using this link.

To Tony’s credit, by leveraging his US and UK perspectives, he has helped grow the North American contingent of the Company to a few dozen active participants from all areas of publishing and media. More about the Stationers’ Company and how to join can be found on their site.

Six people seated around a circular table topped with menus, plates, silverware, and drinks.
Stationers and colleagues: Roger Rosen, Brian O’Leary, Tyler M. Carey, Michael Healy, Lorraine Shanley, and Tony Mash.

During the above get together, I also had a chance to visit with the Book Industry Study Group’s Executive Director, Brian O’Leary. Brian was excited to discuss this year’s BISG Annual Meeting, being held on April 12th in New York. This event routinely presents excellent panels and discussions around the industry’s pressing issues. Perhaps even more rewarding is the opportunity to meet and network with a wide array of publishing professionals who work in many areas of our industry, allowing us to meet vendors, publishers, and partners with which we might not typically interact on a regular basis. I highly recommend checking out the day’s agenda and signing up.

The late Winter also saw visits Deb Taylor (Westchester’s COO) and I made to our partners at Ingram and Dropbox. Ingram graciously hosted us for a meeting about our ongoing work together to support their publishers and authors with ePub conversion services and other capabilities. As part of our trip out to LaVergne, TN, we had an opportunity to tour Ingram’s Print on Demand facility, seeing the continually improving capabilities available to help publishers and self-published authors take a book from digital files – like the ones we create for our clients – at one end of their facility to shipping printed books off to consumers at the other end of the facility in lightning fast time. LightningSource has earned its moniker, for sure.

Our colleagues at Dropbox hosted me and Deb for an afternoon to talk about Westchester’s use of Dropbox’s API as part of our Client Portal, which makes publishers’ lives super easy by allowing them to transmit files to Westchester, and then track their projects at each stage. Westchester further uses Dropbox Paper for documenting our clients’ style guides and requirements, DocSend for marketing, Dropbox Sign for client contracts, and many more pieces of the Dropbox ecosystem. During our visit, we got to sit in for interviews and discussions that were filmed for an upcoming project. Stay tuned for this short digital film, this Spring.

bearded man wearing glasses, burgundy floral shirt and blue blazer with handkerchief in the breast pocket. Behind him are a film crew preparing to do a video shoot.

Other partners and organizations with shared interests in the publishing industry came up in many more discussions with our clients during the late winter.

  • One legal publisher was seeking out a partner to help with content development on an anniversary publication, so we were able to connect them with the talented Linda Secondari at Studiolo Secondari to explore her team’s writing and photo capabilities, to help them realize their vision for a 4-color tribute book that differs from their typical legal publications.
  • In discussions with another publisher about BISAC codes and THEMA codes, we were able to point them to our friends at the Book Industry Study Group, which provides guidance and tools to support this kind of mapping.
  • Another partner of ours was looking for a speaker on accessibility to help educate their clients about the European Accessibility Act, so we were able to connect them with the leadership at Benetech to arrange a webinar on this topic.
  • And another publisher was looking to repurpose books from their backlist, seeking to scan them, extract text, and chunk that text into a content management system for digital research. Through our own capabilities and those of our scanning partner, we were able to help them scope and execute on this plan.

Westchester is one individual provider within the overall publishing ecosystem, but due to the hundreds of publishers we work with and our shared industry networks, we’re able to help connect our clients with other trusted partners that can help solve problems that overlap or are adjacent to the work that we do.

Contact Us to talk about your publishing challenges, vision, and plans. Westchester is happy to explore our core competencies in content development, editorial, production, and digital. But, if your needs require something outside of our capabilities, we will be quick to say so and recommend a partner who could help. Solving problems and building relationships within the publishing community is what we do best. Reach out today and let us know what problems we can solve for you.

Filed Under: blog, Featured, News, Services Tagged With: API, BISG, BISG Annual Meeting, Book Industry Study Group, Client Portal, content development, digital solutions, Dropbox, ecosystem, editorial, Ingram, LightningSource, Production, publishers, publishing, Stationers' Company, Studiolo Secondari

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

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