What do Joe Biden, Tom Cruise, J.K. Rowling, and Bill Gates have in common?

You won’t find them at IBPA Publishing University.

But you will find a tech superstar and author, a digital pioneer who founded the largest woman-owned publisher in the country, the foremost expert on how to publish your own book, a founder of one of the fastest-growing reader community sites in the world, and more than 50 other industry experts who will be converging on Chicago on April 26 and 27 to give you the benefit of their publishing experience at IBPA Publishing University, Windy City edition.

“The program captured the pulse of the publishing and bookselling industries perfectly. It gave us the information we needed to redirect our business model and the course of our business,” one attendee declared after Publishing University 2012. And another reported: “The content and speakers were amazing, and everyone was so willing to guide and support our work. I learned so much in such a short amount of time and have already implemented what I learned a week out. Having self-published two books, I was eager to learn more, and I certainly did.”

Program Particulars

Kicking off the IBPA Publishing University 2013 on Friday, April 26, the opening keynote will be presented by Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist at Apple; founder of several tech companies, including Garage.com; and author of 10 books, including, most recently, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur—How to Publish a Book.

A panel moderated by Christopher Kenneally of the Copyright Clearance Center entitled “Beyond the Click: There’s More to Publishing Than Uploading a File” will follow Kawasaki and will include Allen Lau of Wattpad, the reading/writing community boasting more than 10 million monthly visitors; Matthew Cavnar of Vook; and at least one other surprise guest.

Highlights of Saturday, April 27, include the luncheon keynote headliner Dominique Raccah, who began her company, Sourcebooks, with one book and has grown it to be the largest trade publisher in the country owned by a woman. Dominique is a digital publishing pioneer and continues to innovate in the e-book and book app space.

She will be joined by David Houle, author and futurist, who is regarded as a leading authority and trend forecaster, has spoken to numerous groups worldwide, and received a Speaker of the Year award from Visage International.

A full day of breakout sessions on Saturday will begin with an early-bird event with Dan Poynter. Author of more than 75 books, including The Self Publishing Manual, Dan is a publishing expert who has inspired thousands to get the book inside them out into the world.

As if that weren’t enough, take a look at some of the topics you can expect to learn about at the 20 breakout sessions:

● SEO and mobile marketing solutions

● How to partner with a distributor to sell more books

● E-book trends—who’s buying and who’s reading

● E-book and print production techniques that won’t break the budget

● Why reviews matter

● Promotion tips to grab readers

● The latest social media tools to help expand your market

● Techniques for reaching online reader communities

And that’s just a hint of all that awaits in the classroom.

Outside the classroom, the popular Ask the Experts program will run all day on Saturday, offering attendees the opportunity to talk one-on-one with the instructor of their choice. If you have a question, IBPA’s experts have the answer—and all Publishing University attendees are eligible to participate.

Cut to the Chase

OK, what are the main reasons I think it’s so important for both new and experienced publishers to attend IBPA Publishing University—the “fabulous update on the state of the publishing world and how we independents can maintain our competitive edge,” as an attendee in 2012 summed the event up?

● Because you’ll take back the latest hands-on tools and techniques to help you run your publishing program better and smarter?

● Because what you will discover from informal networking with your fellow students may be even more valuable than what you learn in the classroom?

● Because what you take away from your day and a half of education will save you from expensive and time-consuming mistakes?

● Because the contacts you make at IBPA Publishing University will be valuable far beyond two days in April?

Yes, indeed.

But there’s one more reason.

No, Joe Biden, Tom Cruise, J.K. Rowling, and Bill Gates will not be at IBPA Publishing University 2013.

But I will be. And it will be my last as your IBPA President/Executive Director, as I will be retiring at the end of June. Please join me so I can thank you in person for your support and your friendship. Serving you these past five years has been a joy and a privilege.

See you in Chicago!

Follow Florrie and IBPA on Twitter at twitter.com/ibpa, and on IBPA’s blog at ibpablog.wordpress.com. Join Independent Book Publishers Association–IBPA group on LinkedIn (linkedin.com).