Industry Insider – The big conversation: the future of publishing

Chaired by SoA’s Chief Executive, Anna Ganley, who will be joined by President of the Association of Authors’ Agents, Hellie Ogden, Managing Director of the Booksellers Association, Meryl Halls, and CEO of the Publishers Association, Dan Conway. They will discuss the potential challenges and opportunities in the books and publishing industry as we look ahead to 2027.

Online Industry Insider events – free for all + donation

All donations made go towards the Society of Authors’ Access Fund. The fund is to help provide authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. If you would like to make a donation with your booking, please do so when registering for the event below.

Online

• • Industry Insider – The big conversation: the future of publishing | Monday 16 November, 11.00-12.00
  • AGM online member social | Wednesday 18 November, 11.00-12.00
  • SoA Annual General Meeting | Thursday 19 November, 17.00-19.00

Programme

• Welcome, introductions and housekeeping from Anna Ganley – Chief Executive, SoA (3 mins)
• Anna Ganley (SoA) chairs a discussion with Hellie Ogden, Meryl Halls and Dan Conway (40 mins)
• Q&A with audience (15 mins)
• Summary and closing comments (2 mins)
• This event will be moderated by Elsa Robert – Executive Administrator, SoA

The Line-up

Anna Ganley, Society of Authors                   

As Chief Executive, Anna is responsible for overseeing the running of the Society of Authors and driving the SoA’s mission of empowering and supporting authors in the UK. Working closely with the SoA’s board of directors (Management Committee), Anna ensures that SoA’s activities and campaigns remain aligned with the SoA’s core mission.

Anna sits on the board of the International Authors Forum and is a member of the London Book Fair Advisory Board.

Born in Sunderland, Anna grew up on the north-east coast. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Durham and her MA in Management from Durham Business School.

Hellie Ogden, Association of Authors’ Agents

Hellie is co-head of the UK Book division and Partner at WME. She is the current President of the Association of Authors’ Agents. She represents fiction, children’s books and non-fiction and enjoys bold storytelling, moving prose and vivid, thought-provoking characters. She is actively taking on new clients and as an editorially focused agent, she has a keen interest in helping to develop and nurture debut writers. Hellie was shortlisted for Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards 2025. She represents a number of global bestsellers and award-winning writers and often speaks at writing conferences and mentors debut writers.

Meryl Halls, Booksellers Association

Meryl Halls has been Managing Director of the Booksellers Association since 2018 and was named FutureBook Person of the Year in 2020. A leading advocate for bookselling, she chairs the Book Trade Charity, serves on the Board of Bookshop.org, the British Retail Consortium Policy Board and the Executive Committee of the European and International Booksellers Federation. She is also a former Vice Chair of the Independent Retailers Confederation and former Trustee of World Book Day.

Dan Conway, Publishers Association

Dan became CEO of the Publishers Association in 2022, having previously been the membership organisation’s Director of External Affairs. Alongside his role at the Publishers Association, he is a Board Trustee for World Book Day, Non-Executive Director at Publishers’ Licensing Services, and a Board Member of the Creative Industries Council.

Send us your questions

If you would like to send questions in advance, email ERobert@societyofauthors.org with ‘The big conversation: the future of publishing’ in the subject header. We will prioritise questions sent in advance and answer as many as we can from the audience on the day.

Accessibility

• Attendees will have the option to turn on the live transcript, to watch with subtitles
• If you require BSL interpretation for this event, please email events@societyofauthors.org

Booking

Please either use the form titled ‘Register – no donation’ or the option of the different ticket options with a donation amount depending on how much you would like to donate towards the Society of Authors Access Fund.