The future of publishing in a digital age

Are past predictions of the end of publishing as we have known it and changes to the way we consume information going to come true?

The digital era is often described as ‘disruptive’ and this is certainly true of the way we read books. The traditional paper book now competes with other technologies — including the Internet and e-books that have their own attractions and drawbacks.

While physical book sales dropped markedly a decade ago as the popularity of e-readers grew, that trend began to slowly reverse from 2014. Today, it is estimated that e-book sales make up around 15-20 per cent of the Australian consumer book market.

With that market valued at $1,973 million in 2018 and expected to reach the $2 billion mark in 2021 there is obviously a lot to play for.

And there is certainly no shortage of content being produced for readers in what is an extremely competitive landscape.

Significantly, the internet has made it easy for self-publishing authors to control their content and traditional publishers dealing in books, newspapers or magazines have had to find new ways to avoid becoming obsolete.

Gary Pengelly has worked in publishing for 35 years — including time with global powerhouses HarperCollins and McGraw-Hill — and is a leader in the Australian publishing industry.

He spent 15 years building PacStream — the industries ‘e-commerce’ service — which he sold to New Zealand Post before joining Thorpe-Bowker as general manager. Following 12 years in that role Gary purchased parts of the Thorpe-Bowker business and now owns and runs industry trade magazineBooks+Publishing.

Join us for this informative Melbourne Forum lunch where Gary Pengelly will share his profound knowledge of the Australian publishing industry and explore the future of publishing in a digital age.

Melbourne Forum – Feeding minds and stimulating valuable contributions to Melbourne life.