
Research Day Program | 24 November
Our keynote speaker, Richard Jean So, will open the first day of the 2022 Independent Publishing Conference. Richard has recently published his second book, Redlining Culture: A Data History of Racial Inequality and Postwar Fiction (Columbia University Press), a data-driven exploration of the pervasiveness and persistence of white supremacy within the American publishing industry. We will be featuring multiple panels of academic experts in discussions about the theme ‘Publishing Futures’. Sessions include a mixture of online and in-person events such as ‘Australian book authors and publishing futures: a national snapshot in 2022′, ‘Small press teams and hybrid publishing: what we learned from lockdown’, ‘#aussiebooktok: a survey of Australia’s independent publishers on BookTok’ and ‘Talking pay: empowering future publishers.’
Scroll down to see the full day’s program. Please note that the exact makeup of panels is subject to change depending on registrations.
Ticket sales now open!
Early bird discounts apply until 24 October.
Tickets start from $32.
Book now!Our keynote speaker, Richard Jean So, will open the first day of the 2022 Independent Publishing Conference. Richard has recently published his second book, Redlining Culture: A Data History of Racial Inequality and Postwar Fiction (Columbia University Press), a data-driven exploration of the pervasiveness and persistence of white supremacy within the American publishing industry. We will be featuring multiple panels […]
News about this event:

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Meet Associate Producer Ky Nolan
G’day! I’m Ky—I go by they/them and I’m thrilled to be your Associate Producer (Writing Lead) for Small Press Network’s 2022 Independent Publishing Conference. Australian indie literature is my first love, so the opportunity to work with SPN is a dream come true. A Naarm (Melbourne) local, I grew up riding my urban steed (push […]

Meet Associate Producer Fiona Wallace
My name’s Fiona (she/her) and I’m one of the new Associate Producers for the 2022 Independent Publishing Conference.

Meet Associate Producer Carla Di Maggio
I’m Carla (she/they) and I am so excited to be working with SPN as an Associate Producer for the IPC 2022!
Keynote speaker

Dr Richard Jean So
Dr Richard Jean So is an associate professor of English and Cultural Analytics at McGill University in Montreal, with a BA in Literature and Economics from Brown University and a PhD from Columbia University in English and Comparative Literature. His most recent book, Redlining Culture: A Data History of Racial Inequality and Postwar Fiction (Columbia UP, 2020) draws on data and computational methods to reflect the extreme bias of American publishing and literature towards white authors. His previous work is titled Transpacific Community: America, China, and the Rise and Fall of a Cultural Network (Columbia UP, 2016). Dr So lives in Canada and is currently working on his next book, which examines the influence of social media and user-generated content on racial discourse.
Research Day Program 2022
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8:45-9:00am
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Housekeeping & welcome
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Katherine Day
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9:00-10:15am
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Keynote speaker
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Keynote: Dr Richard Jean So (McGill University)
Chair: Claire Parnell
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10:15-10:45am
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Morning tea
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Provided by ASRC Catering
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10:45-12:15pm
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Panel 1
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Jan Zwar (Macquarie University)—Australian book authors and publishing futures: a national snapshot in 2022
Julienne van Loon, Bronwyn Coate and Millicent Weber (ANU)—Articulations of ‘value’ and Australian publishing
EE Lawrence (Rutgers University, New Brunswick)—Literary vs non-literary people: rhetorical strategies & aesthetic futures in the sensitivity reading debate
Chair: Sybil Nolan
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Panel 2
SLV Village Roadshow Theatrette (enter from Latrobe St)
Ellen Forget (University of Toronto)—What is an accessible book?: an evaluation of accessibility in contemporary publishing
Lauren Connell (RMIT)—Can Australia’s trade publishing industry ‘go green’?: a discussion of the challenges and possible solutions for implementing sustainable practice within Australia’s small and independent trade publishers
Angela Meyer (RMIT)—Towards an environmentally sustainable Australian book industry
Hollen Singleton (RMIT and University of Melbourne)—Talking pay: empowering future publishers
Chair: Penni Russon
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12:15-1:00pm
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Lunch
Grab a friend and explore the hundreds of food options along Swanston Street and in QV!
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1:00-2:30pm
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Panel 3
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Beth Driscoll and Claire Squires (University of Melbourne and Stirling University)—Algobooks: imagining a publishing future
Kim Wilkins (University of Queensland)—Bookshop 2050
Chair: Claire Parnell
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Panel 4
SLV Village Roadshow Theatrette (enter from Latrobe St)
Rebecca Johinke (University of Sydney)—Everybody loves Frankie
Mirren Strahan (independent researcher)—#aussiebooktok: a survey of Australia’s independent publishers on BookTok
Rose Michael and Penni Russon (RMIT and UTS)—The novel as laboratory
Chair: Katherine Day
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2:30-4:00pm
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Panel 5
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Iryna Byelyayeva (RMIT)—The hidden translator comes to the fore: translator controversies and memoirs, and what they mean for our newfound interest in the process of translation
Brigid Magner (RMIT)—Trans Tasman border breakouts: New Zealand books in the Australian market
Lara Cain Gray (Library For All, QLD)—’Everything happens between the words’: Australian picture books in translation
Emily Baulch (University of Queensland)—The future of bookish objects: culture, copyright and commerce
Chair: Beth Driscoll
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Panel 6
SLV Village Roadshow Theatrette (enter from Latrobe St)
Tracy O’Shaughnessy (RMIT)—Sustainability and internships
Sybil Nolan (University of Melbourne)—Small press teams and hybrid publishing: what we learned from lockdown
Alice Grundy (ANU)—History lesson: using the archive to help teach contemporary best practice in editing
Chair: Hollen Singleton
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4:00-5:30pm
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Panel 7
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Kate Stuart (Bangor University, Wales)—Who am I and where am I going? Author identity on social media
Missy Burrell (independent researcher and University of Queensland)—I, Writer: measuring the effect of prompted artificial intelligence generation on productivity, creativity and style in short fiction works
Allen Jones (University of Stavanger, Norway)—Shakespeare meets Pokémon Go: augmented books and the future
Camilla Holm Soelseth, Maciej Liguzinski and Terje Colbjørnsen (Oslo Metropolitan University)—Audiobook listening and publishers’ community building
Chair: Rose Michael
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Panel 8
SLV Village Roadshow Theatrette (enter from Latrobe St)
Laetitia Nanquette, Elaine Jing Zhao, Omid Azadibougar and Anthony Fung (University of New South Wales, Hunan Normal University and Chinese University of Hong Kong—Publishing industries and digital platforms in China and in Iran in the 21st century (plenary)
Chair: Claire Parnell
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6:30-7:30pm
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Book launch
Performance space (Wheeler Centre)
Michael Cannon—Cannon Fire: A Life in Print (Melbourne University Publishing) to be launched by Gideon Haigh. Catered by The Moat.
Please book your free ticket to reserve your place here.
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