6th annual event will focus on shifting sales channels and what publishers are doing about them

New York, NY (April 9, 2009) -- How to cope with shrinking markets and where to find the money to invest in digital marketing are just two of the topics to be covered at the Book Industry Study Group's (BISG) sixth annual Making Information Pay Conference, to be held Thursday, May 7, 2009 at the McGraw-Hill Auditorium in New York City. This widely respected half-day event will elaborate on the major themes explored in BISG's 2009 Making Information Pay Survey -- Shifting Sales Channels and What Publishers Are Doing about Them -- and feature the first ever joint presentation between BookScan and R. R. Bowker. For more information, or to register, visit the BISG website.

Book industry trading conditions have never been tougher and many traditional sales channels are shrinking or disappearing completely. At the same time, new sales channels and business models are emerging and many publishers are abandoning "business as usual" to capitalize on them. Making Information Pay 2009 was designed to help the book industry find its way in this new environment through high-level data analysis and detailed investigations into what several leading publishers are doing to ensure their current and future success.

Confirmed speakers and session topics include:

• Leigh Watson Healy, Chief Analyst, Outsell, Inc.
  A Time of Great Change: Insights from top publishing executives on the future of our business
  
• Mike Shatzkin, Founder & CEO , The Idea Logical Company
  The Publishing Climate 2009: Wrestling with change
  
• Jim King, SVP & General Manager, BookScan US
  The Retail Perspective: What's up? What's down?
  
• Kelly Gallagher, General Manager, Business Intelligence, Bowker
  The Customer's Always Right: Who is today's book consumer?
  
• Dominique Raccah, Publisher & CEO, Sourcebooks, Inc.
  Business Unusual: Rethinking the publishing enterprise in response to changing times
  
• Marcus Leaver, President, Sterling Publishing
  The New Marketing Budget: Breaking traditional marketing allocations to build a more effective model
  
• Josh Marwell, President of Sales, HarperCollins
  The 21st Century Catalog: A look at HarperCollins' initiative to shift from print to digital catalogs
  
• Dave Thompson, VP, Sales Analysis, Random House
  Squeezing The Most Sales from Non-Book Accounts: Tactics for working with inexperienced buyers in mass merchant and other non-book accounts
  

Over the past six years, Making Information Pay has become one of the book industry's leading events for senior-level professionals seeking practical advice on real-world issues. This year's conference is specifically tailored to the needs of book executives in Sales, Marketing, Editorial, Operations and Finance who need to understand how they can weather the current economic climate and build a profitable business in the years ahead.

Making Information Pay 2009 is organized by the Book Industry Study Group in collaboration with The Idea Logical Company and is sponsored by several known innovators in the book industry, including: Ingram, Klopotek, R. R. Bowker, Copyright Clearance Center, Firebrand Technologies and Nielsen.

For more information, or to register, visit the BISG website.

Media Contact:
Angela Bole
Deputy Executive Director
Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
646-336-7141
angela@bisg.org
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About Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) is the U.S. book industry's leading trade association for policy, standards and research. The mission of BISG is to create a more informed, empowered, and efficient book industry supply chain. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For 30 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community.

Learn more about BISG at www.bisg.org.

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