Building an AI Workflow: Dedicated Software or Roll-Your-Own?

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) Fall 2024 AI Webinar series, co-produced with Thad McIlroy, is our ongoing exploration of artificial intelligence and its impact on the book industry.

Description

Many of the AI tools available to authors and book publishers focus on just a single task, like editorial, or marketing. But what does a broader AI workflow look like? Is it just an assortment of tools, or is there a unifying AI-enabled structure that defines it?

Join us as we explore what it means to an author or a book publisher to consider their work to be “AI-enabled.”

Speakers

Diem Bloom, Director of Publishing Operations, Hopkins Press Books

Diem Bloom is the Director of Publishing Operations for the Books Division of Johns Hopkins University Press. In this role, she oversees the design, manuscript editorial, and production teams and works closely with directors across Hopkins Press in strategic planning and process workflow initiatives. Diem has extensive experience in publishing going back 25 years having worked in India for services provider Newgen and in the United States for publishers including the Modern Language Association, Oxford University Press, Simon and Schuster, and Wolters Kluwer. Diem received her BA in English from Dartmouth College.

Barbara Ruehling, CEO, Book Sprints Ltd.

Barbara Ruehling has been the CEO of Book Sprints since 2016, where she focuses on optimizing services, refining workflows, and expanding the company’s portfolio with new formats and a diverse client base. Before stepping into the CEO role, she spent three years as the lead facilitator, and has facilitated close to a hundred Book Sprints. Barbara received her M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Freie Universität Berlin.

Pam Baker, Author

Pam Baker is an award-winning freelance journalist, analyst, and author. Her new book, Generative AI For Dummies, has just been published by Wiley. The second edition of her previous book, ChatGPT For Dummies, will be published in early 2025. Pam writes for numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, Ars Technica, InformationWeek, and CSO. Baker is also an instructor on prompting and GenAI for LinkedIn Learning.

Thad McIlroy, The Future of Publishing

Thad McIlroy is a digital publishing analyst and author based in San Francisco. His site, The Future of Publishing, provides in-depth coverage of book publishing industry trends, currently focusing on the intersection of AI with book authoring and publishing.

A well-established expert in the technology and marketing issues surrounding digital publishing, he has authored a dozen other books and over 500 articles. McIlroy is also a partner in Publishing Technology Partners, and a contributing editor to Publishers Weekly covering artificial intelligence, publishing innovation, and book publishing technology startups. His latest book is The AI Revolution in Book Publishing: A Concise Guide to Navigating Artificial Intelligence for Writers and Publishers.

Sponsors

Thank you to our Presenting Co-Sponsors for their support of our Fall 2024 AI webinar series!

• Association of American Literary Agents (AALA)
• Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP)
• Association of University Presses (AUPresses)
• Authors Alliance
• Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP)
• Copyright Alliance
• CreativePro Network
• Educational Book and Media Association (EBMA)
• Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
• Protestant Church-Owned Publishers Association (PCPA)
• PubWest
• Women's Media Group

Recordings and slide decks will be made available to all registrants within one week of the event.