The AGM only is free to attend, but please reserve your space by booking a ticket on Eventbrite.
Tickets for the panel sessions cost £10 (including light refreshments and VAT) and you can choose which you attend on our booking form.
Any questions please get in touch with Poppy Rosenberg on PRosenberg@societyofauthors.org
Programme
2.30pm Doors open, tea and coffee will be served on arrival
3.00pm Parallel Sessions: Round One
1. Building Your Brand
How can you use social media and digital platforms to promote your work and status? Authors Joanne Harris, Sam Missingham and Nikesh Shukla discuss how to build your author brand.
Joanne Harris is an author of sixteen novels in varying genres, including Chocolat, two collections of short stories, a Dr. Who novelette, various stage musical projects and three cookbooks.
Sam Missingham is the founder of Lounge Books, a new home for book-lovers. She recently left HarperCollins where she was head of audience development. Whilst at HarperCollins she launched new initiatives such as CookPerk, BookPerk and 5 virtual literary festivals. She has won several book marketing awards and was runner-up for the Pandora award for sustained contribution to publishing. She can be mostly found on Twitter @samatlounge talking about books and publishing.
Nikesh Shukla is a writer. His debut novel, Coconut Unlimited, was published by Quartet Books and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2010 and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2011. Nikesh is the editor of the essay collection, The Good Immigrant, where 21 British writers of colour discuss race and immigration in the UK. The Good Immigrant won the reader's choice at the Books Are My Bag Awards and is shortlisted for Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. He currently hosts The Subaltern podcast, an anti-panel discussion featuring conversations with writers about writing. Guests have included Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz, Teju Cole, James Salter, George Saunders, Jennifer Egan, Evie Wyld, Sam Bain, Alex Preston, Colson Whitehead and more. He also co-hosts a podcast with sci-fi writer James Smythe, Meat Up, Hulk Out
2. The Publishing Landscape
James McConnachie, editor of The Author, interviews HarperCollins CEO Charlie Redmayne on his views of publishing present and future.
Charlie Redmayne has served as CEO of HarperCollins UK since 2013. HarperCollins is the second largest publisher in the world and in the UK publishes authors including David Walliams, Hilary Mantel, Bernard Cornwell, Patricia Cornwell and George RR Martin. Redmayne first joined HarperCollins as Group Digital Director in 2008, he was promoted to Chief Digital Officer, based in HarperCollins' head office in New York and left in 2011 to set up Pottermore, JK Rowling’s digital publishing business.
At the start of his career Redmayne served for four years as a lieutenant in the Irish Guards. He founded and ran the media buying company RCL Communications and entertainment business Blink TV. In 2000 Redmayne launched leading UK teen internet company Mykindaplace Ltd. which he sold to BSkyB. He went on to become Head of Commercial Partnerships for the Sky Online Business Unit at BSkyB and joined HarperCollins for the first time in 2008.
4.00pm Short break
4.15pm Parallel Sessions: Round Two
1. Beyond the Book
New channels, new mediums and new ideas. Advice from publishing expert Crystal Mahey Mahoney and authors Mata Haggis and Shoo Rayner on innovative ways to market and reach new audiences.
Dr. Mata Haggis is a video game designer, writer, and the Professor of Creative and Entertainment Games at Breda University of Applied Sciences (NHTV) in the Netherlands. He has worked for television and online media, but focuses on video game development. His most recent title, Fragments of Him, is an interactive drama which was nominated for awards by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and SXSW. He is a member of the WGGB video game committee, researches game development, and speaks at conferences for the creative industries.
Crystal Mahey-Morgan began her career as a freelance journalist at the age of 16 writing for publications such as the Guardian and The Face Magazine. While still 16, she promoted a series of open mic events which were a fusion of hip hop and more conventional forms of poetry and was a performance poet herself. At the age of 19 Mahey-Morgan became Marketing Manager for Raindance Film festival soon after embarked on a career within Publishing, firstly working as Literary Assistant at Peter, Fraser and Dunlop (PFD), then joining Random House in 2009. Her most recent role at Penguin Random House was Online/Digital Account Manager where she was responsible for managing digital retailer relationships with the likes of Apple and Google. Mahey-Morgan resigned from Penguin Random House at the end of 2014 to realise a long held vision of bringing fresh voices and new stories to market in pioneering ways. OWN IT! - a storytelling lifestyle brand across books, music, fashion and film - was founded which Crystal now runs with Creative Director Jason Morgan.
Shoo Rayner has written and illustrated over 175 books for primary aged children featuring well-loved early reader series such as, The Ginger Ninja, Dark Claw, Ricky Rocket, Viking Vik, The Just So Stories, Olympia and Axel Storm. He has run sell-out workshops on using and making the most out of YouTube and iMovie.
2. Get What You Want
All your questions answered about how to get the best deal for you and your book. Agent
Heather Holden Brown and mediator Andrew Hildebrand offer strategies and tips so that you get what you want out of your book deal.
HHB agency ltd was founded in 2005 by Heather Holden-Brown, a publishing editor for 20 years with Waterstone’s, Harrap, BBC Books and Headline. The following year the agency became a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents. Heather Holden-Brown is a member of Kingston University’s Publishers’ Advisory Board and in 2004 assessed the food and cookery books for the André Simon Memorial Fund’s annual awards.
Andrew Hildebrand has spent his career working in industry, successfully managing negotiations and closing deals – both as a top ranked in-house counsel, including at Channel 4 and FilmFour, and as a partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya. He is also a qualified family mediator, an IFTA Arbitrator and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
5.15pm Light refreshments – Hall of India and Pakistan
6.00pm Annual General Meeting – Princess Alexandra Hall
The AGM is free to attend but members must book in advance. Agenda is listed below.
7.00pm Networking Session - Hall of India and Pakistan
It is not possible to predict how long the AGM will take, but once the meeting has concluded, a cash bar will be available until 8.00pm.
SoA AGM AGENDA
The Society of Authors AGM is open to Members and Associates of the SoA only. Only Members have voting rights and can propose resolutions.
A. Report by the Chair of the Management Committee on the SoA’s activities
during 2017.
B. Report of elections to the Management Committee.
C. Election of one member to the Committee of the P D James Memorial Fund
D. To consider and, if thought fit, to pass the following Resolutions:
Resolution 1: proposed by the Management Committee: that the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2016¹ be approved.
Resolution 2: proposed by the Management Committee: that the Company’s annual report and accounts for 2016² be approved.
E. Any other business authorised by the Chair.
¹ The minutes can be found at www.societyofauthors.org/minutes or from the SoA on request.
² Copies of the Report and Accounts are enclosed.
Ten or more Members may by request to the SoA propose resolutions to be raised at the general meeting provided that the request has been received by the SoA at least one month before the date of the meeting (i.e. by 30 October). Such requests shall be in writing and include the text of any resolution which is to be moved.