Last September, we held our first conference, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Children’s Publishing (But Were Afraid to Ask) – and it was such a sell-out success, and with such encouraging feedback from our attendees, that we’ve decided to hold another event this year.
We’re doing it because we know of so many people with aspirations to write books for children and who want to be published. They use our blog and our Twitter feeds as a source of information and we think that many of them would like to know more about the industry.
We’re doing it because we know (from every time we advertise a job on our website) that there are lots of people out there who are keen to work in children’s publishing, or who think they might be, and we think that the things we’ll be discussing will be relevant to them too.
We’re doing it because we love what we do, and we want more people to understand it.
And we’re doing it because there were so many of you who wanted to come last year but couldn’t get tickets in time!
The second edition of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Children’s Publishing (But Were Afraid to Ask) will take place on Saturday, September 13 at the St Bride Foundation on Bride Lane, Fleet Street – and you can buy your early bird tickets today.
We’ve got another FANTASTIC line-up of speakers planned for the day (both new and returning), including:
Florentyna Martin, Waterstones Assistant Children’s Buyer
Florentyna is the Assistant Children’s Buyer for Waterstones, with particular responsibility for picture books, fairytale and gift, and characters and licensed publishing. She previously managed the children’s department at Waterstones’ flagship shop in Piccadilly, and with her experience both on the shop floor and in the head office, she has an unparalleled view of the commercial realities of children’s book selling – what sells, what doesn’t, and why.
Hilary Delamere, agent
Hilary will be returning to our second conference after an absolutely spellbinding talk at our first event. She represents a star-studded roster of authors and illustrators including Raymond Briggs, Lydia Monks, Michael Bond, and Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman, and her talk will answer the question, What’s an agent for?
Feedback from last year’s event: “Hilary Delamere was particularly inspiring.”
Tracey Corderoy, author
Another returning speaker – after an incredibly well-received, creative and inspirational session last year – Tracey is the author of dozens of children’s books, including the Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble series, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam, and Just Right for Two. She’s well-known for her spectacular author events, and her talk will draw on the lessons she’s learnt performing in front of thousands of young children.
Feedback from last year’s event: “I found Tracey Corderoy motivational and magical! Thank you for this fantastic opportunity to meet such down to earth, funny, passionate and creative people.”
Louise Bolongaro, Head of Picture Books
Louise is Head of Picture Books at Nosy Crow and was previously Editorial Director at Puffin. With over fifteen years of experience in publishing (almost all of them spent working on her true love – picture books), Louise is in an unrivalled position to offer advice on what makes the perfect picture book. She’ll be delivering a masterclass on the subject, filled with essential do’s and don’ts – unmissable for anyone interested in picture books.
Adam Tinworth, social media expert
Adam has been a blogger since 2001, and involved in online community of various sorts since 1996. Since 2012, he’s worked independently advising publishing companies from the Financial Times and the Telegraph, to specialist book publishers, and he also teaches a social media and community module for City University’s MA in Interactive Journalism. He’ll share some indispensable advice on social media, brand-building, and online marketing – absolutely crucial for anyone who’s new to the world of publishing.
Jeff Norton, author
Jeff Norton is the author of Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie (Faber) and the MetaWars series (Orchard). He’ll be delivering a fascinating talk on different ways of reaching readers in the 21st century – sharing some of the things he’s learnt and some mistakes made, as well as looking at what other authors are up to.
Helen Peters, author
After a brilliant session last year, Helen – author of the highly-acclaimed, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-shortlisted The Secret Hen House Theatre – will be back for a Q&A with Nosy Crow MD Kate Wilson, answering questions on writing fiction and sharing her experience of being published for the first time.
Kate Wilson, Managing Director
Nosy Crow’s founder and Managing Director, Kate will draw on over 25 years of experience in publishing to share and some of the decisions that go into every publishing deal that’s made at Nosy Crow, the story of the company, and explore future trends in publishing and digital innovation.
You can book tickets directly here – early bird tickets are available now!
The conference will take place at the St Bride Foundation (on Fleet Street, a walking distance from Blackfriars Station), and will include lunch, morning and afternoon coffee breaks, and a glass of wine and homemade cakes (and the chance to chat with us all!) at the end of the day. It’s a jam-packed event so we’ll be starting at around 9.30am, and will finish at 6.00pm.
Here’s some of the feedback we received from delegates last year:
“This was my first conference and so it was pitched perfectly. Friendly and welcoming. I hope Nosy Crow will do it again.”
“A very informative day that certainly was extremely beneficial and helpful enormously. Thank you.”
“I can’t thank you enough for organising such an entertaining and educational event. It was an enormous treat to take a break from the usual routine and devote a full day to learning more about writing – and you couldn’t have put together a better line up. Many, many thanks again.”
We hope you can join us – it’s going to be a fantastic day!
