The Business of Books - events announced

The Business of Books is our international forum for sharing ideas and expertise about how the book industry operates and is a key strand in our 2022 programme, having made its first outing last year. It’s aimed at writers, publishing professionals, programmers and anyone wishing to learn more about the book trade. 

 

Running from 15–26 August, we’ve put together six events, featuring experts and artists from across the industry who offer discussions on some of the issues facing the industry today alongside showcases of homegrown literary talent: 

 

Celebrating Inclusion (25 August) will mark the launch of the Inklusion Guide written by Scottish disabled writers Julie Farrell and Ever Dundas. Inspired by the authors’ passionate desire to make literature events more accessible, the Inklusion Guide, published and distributed by Penguin Random House UK this summer, is a free, easy-to-use guide to making literature events accessible for disabled people. The event, chaired by disability activist Sinéad Burke, features Ever and Julie alongside Jenny Kumar (Literature Alliance Scotland) and Zaahida Nabagereka (Head of Social Impact at Penguin Random House UK), with a reading from disabled writer and poet Jeda Pearl.  

 

The Scottish Spoken Word Showcase (23 August) celebrates the strength and diversity of Scotland’s spoken word scene and shows how live literature is bouncing back after the challenges of the pandemic. Hosted by poet and Creative Director of I Am Loud Poets Productions, Kevin Mclean, the showcase, run in partnership with Creative Scotland, features nine artists from across Scotland: Bee Asha Singh, BEMZ, Dave Hook, Gray Crosbie, Jo Gilbert, Kevin P. Gilday, Victoria McNulty and Mae Diansangu. While playing to a live audience, this event also has strategic aims to showcase Scottish talent to international industry contacts and connect spoken word performers to professional opportunities outside of Scotland.  

 

Shaping Scotland’s Stories: New Voices Showcase (22 August) presents a taste of Scotland’s new literary voices and the independent publishers responsible for bringing their stories to the world. Presented in partnership with Publishing Scotland, it features a special reading from Glasgow-based poet Anna Cheung and is chaired by Scottish broadcaster and author Sally Magnusson. In the event, authors are joined on stage by their publishers for a discussion about the importance of seeking out and publishing new voices to shape Scotland's stories.   

 

Beneath the Covers: Best Marketing Strategies of 2022 (15 August), presented in partnership with The Bookseller, offers insider perspectives on creative book marketing with some of the professionals shortlisted for the 2022 British Book Awards. Founders of Edinburgh indie publisher 404 Ink Heather McDaid and Laura Jones discuss their innovative Inklings series, alongside Faber’s Jess Kim and Niriksha Bharadia, the marketers behind Sally Rooney’s latest bestseller, Beautiful World, Where Are You.  

 

In recognition of the Book Festival’s first year of running the YA (Young Adult) Book Prize in partnership with The Bookseller, the programme also includes a panel on The Evolution of Young Adult Literature (26 August) involving award-winning YA authors Juno Dawson and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. Hosted by the Chair of the YA Book Prize, Caroline Carpenter, the event explores how writing for young adults has evolved over the decades, offering subtle explorations of complex and sensitive topics.  

 

The central role of literary agents in the publishing process is explored in Call My Agent! The Role of the Literary Agent (24 August). Heather Parry, co-founder of Extra Teeth literary magazine and the Society of Authors’ Senior Policy and Liaison Manager for Scotland, joins an impressive line-up of literary agents from across the UK to find out what agents look for in submissions, and to discuss the most successful tactics for building writers’ careers.