Name: Publishing for All in an Age of Uncertainty
Start: 2026-09-01T09:00:00+0100
End: 2026-09-02T17:00:00+0100

The publishing industry responded well to the technological demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the industry transitioned ‘largely seamlessly’ from work to home from March 2020 (Brinton, 2021). However, disruptions have not been limited to the pandemic and have been widespread in recent times, prompting an evaluation of ‘Where to next?’ in an increasingly uncertain landscape.

Despite the resilience, the publishing industry is still feeling the shock of the pandemic, which has ‘wreaked unprecedented supply chain disruption on global publishing’ (International Publisher’s Association, 2020); and the emergence of artificial intelligence from late 2022 has also been unarguably disruptive, with increasing pressure from big tech to relinquish ‘legacy’ technology and practices, and concerns about copyright and plagiarism, the integrity and accuracy of knowledge, cultural bias and (mis)representation, and impact to the environment. Significant challenges since Trump’s second inauguration on 20 January 2025 have complicated this landscape further.

The Publishing Programme at University of Derby was established in 2016, and its students and scholars have continually navigated and interrogated such challenges and disruptions in their pursuit to find clarity in, and identify solutions and recommendations for, this ‘messy world’ (Thompson, 2021, p. viii).

The Publishing Programme is holding an online two-day conference on 1–2 September 2026 to mark this ten-year anniversary, and to reflect on the sociocultural, economic and practical implications for the publishing industry in the present age of uncertainty.

Conference programme

Day 1 - 1 September 2026

Time	Session
9.00 am	Welcome
9.30-10.30 am	Keynote - Mark Davis (University of Melbourne), ‘Enshittification of Book Publishing’
10.30-11.00 am	Break
11.00-12.30 pm	Panel 1 - Industry Practice in an Age of Uncertainty George Cooper and Christopher Adams (University College London), ‘Exporting Exclusion: The Impact of the US Political Climate on the UK Publishing Industry’ Silja Koivuniemi (University of Stirling), ‘Misogyny in Publishing: The Persistence of Problematic Depictions of Women in Revised Editions of Classic Literature’ Thirangie Jayatilake (Institute of Professional Editors), ‘The Sustainability of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Parties and Volunteers in the Australian Publishing Ecosystem’ Laura Bisericanu (Freelance literary editor), ‘Publishing Fan Fiction: A Choice of the Industry’
12.30-1.30 pm	Lunch
1.30-2.30 pm	Plenary 1 - Emerald Publishing Roundtable Discussion, ‘Academic Publishing in an Age of Uncertainty’ Rebecca Griffiths, Books Commissioning Assistant Stephanie Hull, Vice President, Publishing Development Kirsty Woods, Senior Commissioning Editor, Education Books Thomas Swindells, Senior Research Integrity Manager Michael Burrows, Publishing Development Manager
2.30-3.00 pm	Break
3.00-4.30 pm	Panel 2 - Education and Educational Publishing in an Age of Uncertainty Allyson Mower (University of Utah), ‘How Have Publishers Responded to Uncertainty and Change in the Teaching and Learning Environment: Research on Definitions of the Textbook’ Jocelyn Hargrave (University of Derby), ‘Digital Ubiquity and Educational Publishers in the Post-digital Age’ Jessica Smith (University of Alabama), ‘Teaching Copyright in Book Design in the Age of AI’
4.30 pm	Day 1 close

Day 2 - 2 September 2026

Time	Session
9.00-10.00 am	Keynote 2 - Debbie Hicks (The Reading Agency), ‘The Reading Crisis’
10.00-10.30 am	Break
10.30-12 pm	Panel 3 - Digital (In)Stabilities in an Age of Uncertainty Phindile Tabata (Wits University), ‘Digital Technology's Role in Promoting Self-Publishing and Inclusion in South Africa’ Katherine Day (University of Melbourne), Rose Michael (RMIT University) and Sharon Mullins (University of Melbourne), ‘Can AI Replace Human Editors?’ Rebecca Griffiths (Emerald Publishing), ‘The War on Knowledge: Censorship, Open Access and Why Knowledge Preservation Matters Now More Than Ever’
12.00-1.00 pm	Lunch
1.00-2.00 pm	Plenary 2 - Nicky Old in Conversation, Publishers Association’s Publishing Inclusion Pledge 2026
2.00-2.30 pm	Break
2.30-4.00 pm	Panel 4 - Cultural (In)Tangibilities and Small Presses in an Age of Uncertainty Francesca Barbini (Edinburgh Napier University), ‘How Author Care and Sustainability Empowered a Small Press in an Age of Uncertainty’ Laura Jones-Rivera (University of Stirling), ‘The Ten-year Itch: A Decade of Disruption for Small Publishers’ Simon Heywood (University of Derby), ‘Preserve, Perpetuate and ... Publish? IP, Authorship and Intangible Cultural Heritage’
4.00-4.30 pm	Conclusion and Thanks
4.30 pm	Conference End

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Publishing for All in an Age of Uncertainty

Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 September, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Online - you will receive the joining links when you've booked your place

Conference programme

Day 1 - 1 September 2026

Day 2 - 2 September 2026

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