Participants: Alma Čaušević Klemenčič, Pedro Sobral, Bence Sárközy
Moderator: Nathan Hull
Summary:
The participants of the panel will discuss the obstacles audio publishing confronts on small markets and debate the usability of AI to get around such hurdles.
Description:
Given the growing interest in audiobooks, can smaller book markets and smaller language markets reap the same rewards as the US, UK, France and Germany? We examine how Slovenian, Portuguese, and Hungarian publishers, at different stages of development and entering the market through different routes, are approaching, embracing, and experimenting with the audiobook format. Representing many regions facing the same issues, panellists will discuss format types, international reach, finding new readers, AI opportunities and challenges, normal retail versus D2C, and how to make this format cost-effective within the narrow confines of modest language markets.
Alma Čaušević Klemenčič works for Beletrina, one of Slovenia’s most ambitious and innovative publishing houses, since 2013. She's been in her current role of ME since 2016, and became CEO of the subsidiary Beletrina Digital in 2021. Previously, she worked as a researcher, producer in culture, and as chief producer and assistant programme director of the European Capital of Culture - Maribor 2011.
Pedro Sobral is Chief Publishing Officer and board member of LeYa, Portugal’s largest publishing house. Furthermore, he has been President of APEL (Portuguese Publishers and Booksellers Association) since 2021. Pedro holds a Bachelors in Economics from Católica Business School, a Bachelors in Political Sciences from Católica Political Studies Institute and a General Management Program certificate from Harvard Business School.
Bence Sárközy has a degree in Hungarian and Comparative Literature from the University of Szeged. Sárközy has worked 8 years as an editor at Magveto Publishing House between 2003-2011, the last 3 of which he spent there as editor-in-chief. In 2011, he started his own businesses. He was a co-founder of Libri Publishing Group in 2011, by this time the market leading company in Hungary where he has been working as CEO and publishing director. Libri Publishing Group publishes around 400 new titles and sells 2.5 million copies of books annually under the umbrellas of five imprints: Helikon, Jelenkor, Kolibri, Libri and Park.
Nathan Hull is Chief Strategy Officer at Beat Technology and takes responsibility for its international expansion. It is the the pulse within Fabel (NO), Adlibris (SE/FI), Skoobe (DE), Volume (PL), Audiotribe (RO), Fluister (NL) and AkooBooks (Africa). Before Beat, Nathan launched Bookchoice in 9 markets and was Chief Business Development Officer at Denmark’s Mofibo. Notably Nathan was also Penguin Random House’s Digital Product Director, with strategic responsibility for its award-winning digital portfolio and innovation strategy working closely with the likes of Stephen Fry, Jamie Oliver, Jeff Kinney, and Roald Dahl’s estate.