The IPA’s International Publishers Conference focuses on women in publishing, accessibility, the state of reading, the value of EdTech, cultural hegemony, and more.

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

See also:
IPA’s 33rd International Publishers Congress: Day One Highlights
Our Complete Coverage of the Work of the International Publishers Association

The 2022 IPA Prix Voltaire Ceremony is Part of the Gala

Following our listing of the Day One events at the International Publishers Association‘s (IPA) 33rd edition of its biennial International Publishers Congress, we today (November 4) can offer you information on Day Two.

As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the Publishers Congress will take place on November 10 and 11 in Jakarta, which has been named UNESCO’s first City of Literature in Southeast Asia.

An umbrella theme, “Reading Matters,” has been chosen for this year’s event by secretary general José Borghino and organizers, who have worked for the better part of this year to prepare the program.

While registration has closed, a reminder here that the program is set at the Fairmont Hotel and its conference center.

Day Two: November 11

The president-elect of the International Publishers Association, Karine Pansa, publishing director of Girassol Brasil Edições, makes the opening remarks on the congress’ Friday morning at 8:35 a.m. Western Indonesia Time.

Pansa has been a key leadership figure this week at the  Sharjah Publishers Conference, preceding the opening of the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair in the United Arab Emirates, the show now fully underway and running to November 13.

A representative of the Indonesian ministry of culture, research, and technology is to follow, before Penguin Random House author Natsuo Kirino of Japan gives the day’s keynote address.

Korino, the pen name for Mariko Hashioka, is a writer of mysteries and is part of a trend in female detective-fiction writers in Japan, and has won at least 10 awards in Japan, as well as being a nominee for the United States’ Edgard Award for her novel Out, just released by August 9 (PRH/Vintage Crime/Black Lizard).

With Korino having given the keynote, the outgoing president of IPA, Bodour Al Qasimi—also a major figure during this week’s conference and book fair events here in Sharjah, of course—will then lead a discussion based on the international network program for professional women in the book business.

“PublisHer: Trailblazing Women in Publishing is to be moderated by Al Qasimi, with:

• Fryza Pavitta Puspanegara, co-founding director of the  Simpul Group, Indonesia
• Latoya West Blackwood, consultant, board member of PublisHer and former chair of the Book Industry Association of Jamaica
• Flavia Bravin, Cogna/Saber, Brazil

Organizers of the event write, “With the rise of female leaders in publishing, we now see what can happen when women’s voices are heard. This panel will take the pulse of publishing as newly enfranchised publishers seek to make their mark on the world. Panelists will discuss what directions they see publishing and the creative industries taking, and what these changes mean for female publishers, authors and readers.”

A panel then follows with the title “The Value of EdTech” looks at, perhaps most pointedly, “What are the opportunities and what are the threats?”

• Moderator: Stephan de Valk, executive director of GEU and chair of the IPA’s Educational Publishers Forum, the Netherlands
• Jannie Jeppesen, CEO of the Swedish EdTech Industry
• Najeela Shihab, founder of Karier.mu, Indonesia
• Lis Tribe, group managing director of Hodder Education, United Kingdom

During Friday’s lunch break a program on accessibility and the urgent need for publishers worldwide to work for “born accessible” output.

This is a case in which Publishing Perspectives will be pleased to provide moderation, and we’re glad to have two accomplished speakers with us:

• 

  Maarten Verboom

  Hugo Setzer, publisher and CEO of Editorial El Manual Moderna and president of the Mexican Publishers Association, as well as past president of the International Publishers Association

• Maarten Verboom, president of the industry leading DAISY Consortium and director at Dedicon

“Conquering Cultural Hegemony Through Translation” is focused on “reversing centuries of colonial hegemony via translations that give voice to ‘others.'”

The discussion is expected to look at “attitudes of cultural superiority, the commercial compulsion towards bestsellers, and the relatively high cost of publishing translations.”

• Moderator: Alvin Pang, poet, writer, editor, anthologist and translator, Singapore
• John McGlynn, translator and director of publications at Lontar Foundation, Indonesia
• Pauline Fan, author, literary translator, and creative director PUSAKA, Malaysia
• Sandra Tamele, editor of Editora Trinta Zero Nove, Mozambique

We’re especially pleased at the chance to moderate a discussion on reading and its promotion.

“Gender and Generations: Reading Now and When?” is an attempt to embrace both the logical approach to promoting reading through young people’s educational efforts but also remembering that many adults—some of them once committed readers—find themselves reading less, as the competition of film, television, music, gaming, and more rises on all sides. We’ll look at gender distinctions, too, in a world in which, in many markets women lead the way as buyers and readers of literature, surpassing male participation in the book business.

• Porter Anderson, editor-in-chief of Publishing Perspectives, United States
• Opening video address: Naomi Baron, professor emerita, world languages and cultures, American University, Washington
• Anies Baswedan, former governor of Jakarta (Indonesia)
• Catherine Uwimana, consultant in children’s book publishing and book chain development, Rwanda
• Luis González, director general of the GSR Foundation and Aldus UP, Spain

And last among the discussions of the day will be an hour set in the International Publishers Association’s Inspire program, its name drawn from “sustainable publishing and international resilience.”

In this important session, the exploration is focused on “the publishing ecosystem to make it future-proof. One priority is to mainstream diversity, equity, and inclusion–otherwise, publishing risks irrelevance. This discussion will explore what’s being done today and what else must change to make DEI the global norm.”

• Moderator: Fabrice Piault, Editor in chief, Livres-Hebdo, France
• Juergen Boos, president and CEO of Frankfurter Buchmesse
• Melani Budianta, professor in humanities at the University of Indonesia
• Oksana Khmelyovska, co-founding editor of Chytomo, Ukraine

As the afternoon concludes, Bodour Al Qasimi will speak again, in what can be expected to be her final address to the world community gathered for the International Publishers Congress.

And during the gala dinner that then brings the 33rd congress to its official close, the IPA Prix Voltaire 2022 ceremony will honor this year’s laureate, Thailand’s Same Sky Publishing (Fah Deaw Kan, ฟ้าเดียวกานต์). More on this intriguing and intrepid publishing operation can be found in our earlier announcement story here.

Follow Publishing Perspectives, of course, for updates and news from this pivotal congress, expected to draw hundreds in Jakarta.

---

More from Publishing Perspectives on the International Publishers Association is here, more from us on the IPA’s international publishers congress is here, more from us on Indonesia is here, more on Asian book and publishing markets is here, and more on reading is here.

Publishing Perspectives is the global media partner of the International Publishers Association.

More from us on the still-ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.