The speaker lineup for the one-day, in-person U.S. Book Show scheduled for May 22 at NYU’s Kimmel Center will feature 12 panels and a closing keynote by TikTok star Vivian Tu, author of Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life. The day will begin with the CEO Roundtable featuring Jonathan Karp of Simon & Schuster; Aman Kochar of Baker & Taylor; Mary McAveney of Abrams; and Peter Warwick of Scholastic.
Among the day's panels, "The X Factor" will be centered on a discussion about people skills and the importance of interpersonal relationships within the book world. Panelists include Reagan Arthur, publisher of Alfred A. Knopf; Dawn Davis, senior v-p and publisher of 37 Ink and executive editor of the Simon & Schuster imprint; Sally Kim, president and publisher of Little, Brown; Dominique Raccah, CEO of Sourcebooks; and Todd Shuster, co-CEO of Aevitas.
A number of agents and editors, including Nancy Paulsen Books associate publisher Stacey Barney, will discuss their interrelated roles and best practices for success in "All About Auctions," a panel moderated by Ivan Held, president of Putnam, Dutton, and Berkley. On the "Great Expectations" panel, agents, editors, and publishers will discuss how to work better together to boost productivity, profitability and well-being with literary agent Tanya McKinnon serving as moderator.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) take center stage in "Kicking Down the Gates," with Ayesha Pande of Pande Literary; Porscha Burke of Random House and Crown Publishing Groups; Joy Peskin of Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers; and Talia Krohn of Little, Brown Spark. Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency will moderate.
Other highlights of the daylong professional development and networking conference include an AI primer with Keith Riegert, publisher of Ulysses Press and NYU professor; a discussion of acquisitions P&L with Clare O’Rourke, CFO of Macmillan; a talk on contracts and copyright with Janet Saines-Cardozo, v-p and head of contracts at Hachette; and an executive panel about sales moderated by Kristin Fassler, senior v-p of integrated marketing strategy at the Knopf Doubleday Group.
The show, which will not be livestreamed, will close with a cocktail party sponsored by Spotify.
The U.S. Book Show was founded in 2021 by Publishers Weekly, and this year’s event is being presented in cooperation with the Association of American Literary Agents.
“Publishers Weekly is uniquely positioned to bring together people in all facets of the publishing industry,” said Krista Rafanello, senior marketing director of Publishers Weekly. “We’re thrilled to be working alongside the AALA and have had an incredibly warm reception from the industry. Publishers big and small have committed to participating by sending staff, and everyone is excited to be gathering for a day of education and connection.”
