IBPA Publishing University 2025: Full Schedule

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8:30am CDT

Breakfast and Intentional Membership

Saturday May 17, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Grab a yummy breakfast and learn about IBPA's committees, board, and volunteer opportunities.

Saturday May 17, 2025 8:30am - 9:00am CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Community Building

Audience For This Session Everyone, Start Strong Independent Publishers, Established Independent Publishers, Author Publishers (A.K.A. Self-Published Authors)

9:15am CDT

Saturday Morning Keynote Panel: Re-Thinking Business Models

Saturday May 17, 2025 9:15am - 10:30am CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Brooke Warner, Publisher of She Writes Press, in conversation with Jonathan Merkh (President and Publisher of Forefront Books), Angela Engel (Publisher and Founder of The Collective Book Studio), and Dr. Ayo Sekai (Founder, CEO, and Publisher of Universal Write Publications) about rethinking business models, what to do with business models that straddle more than one category, and issues like co-opting business model terms to the point of dilution. The panelists will talk about how they think about their own models, how they're changing with the times, and how they position themselves relative to traditional publishing and other models.

Speakers

Brooke Warner

Publisher, She Writes Press

Brooke Warner is publisher of She Writes Press and SparkPress, president of Warner Coaching Inc., and author of Write On, Sisters!, Green-light Your Book, What's Your Book?, and three books on memoir. Brooke teaches memoir intensives online and in person, and publishes around 50 memoirs... Read More →

Angela Engel

Publisher & Founder, The Collective Book Studio

Angela Engel is the visionary founder of The Collective Book Studio, a publishing company committed to honoring the author’s voice throughout the entire creative process. With a rich background in traditional publishing, Angela has a keen eye for bringing beautifully crafted books... Read More →

Jonathan Merkh

President & Publisher, Forefront Books

Jonathan Merkh is a seasoned publishing executive with over 30 years of experience in the book industry. Throughout his career, he has worked with a diverse range of authors, including Brad Paisley, Glenn Beck, Dave Ramsey, and the Robertson family from Duck Dynasty, helping to turn... Read More →

Dr. Ayo Sekai

Founder, CEO & Publisher, Universal Write Publications

Dr. Ayo Sekai stands as a force in academia, championing equity, intellectual rigor, and the amplification of Black scholarship. With over 20 years of groundbreaking leadership in publishing, she is the visionary Founder, CEO, and Publisher of Universal Write Publications, LLC (UWP... Read More →

Saturday May 17, 2025 9:15am - 10:30am CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Plenary

Audience For This Session Everyone, Author Publishers (A.K.A. Self-Published Authors), Start Strong Independent Publishers, Established Independent Publishers

10:40am CDT

Breakout 3 (Start Strong Independent Publishers) - How to Successfully Partner With Your Distributor

Saturday May 17, 2025 10:40am - 12:10pm CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

How to Successfully Partner With Your Distributor
Faculty and Details to be announced.

The Start Strong Independent Publishers breakout sessions are for independent publishers who are just starting out and are looking for help navigating the basics of successful publishing. (Generally you will have been in the publishing industry for three years or less and have published fewer than ten titles.)

Speakers

Keith Riegert

President / CEO, The Stable Book Group / Perfect Bound

Keith Riegert is the CEO of the SaaS platform, Perfect Bound, as well as the president of The Stable Book Group. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and is a member of the Board of Advisors and an adjunct professor at NYU’s Masters... Read More →

Laura Stanfill

Publisher, Forest Avenue Press

Laura Stanfill is the publisher of Forest Avenue Press and a freelance metadata consultant for distributed presses. She's the author of IMAGINE A DOOR: A Writer's Guide to Unlocking Your Story, Choosing a Publishing Path, and Honoring the Creative Journey, out April 2025 from Forest... Read More →

Jeff Tegge

Vice President, Client Services, Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (BTPS)

Jeff is a native of the Chicago area. He holds a BA and an MA in History. He began his career in publishing in 1990 as an encyclopedia editor. Jeff has been involved in virtually every aspect of publishing over the past 34 years. Since 2006, he has held executive positions in book... Read More →

Rachel Zugschwert

EVP Marketing and Associate Publisher, Lerner Publishing Group

Rachel Zugschwert is the executive vice president of marketing and associate publisher at Lerner Publishing Group. Previously, she has worked in book marketing at 1517 Media, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, and Simon & Schuster. She has a Masters in Publishing from Pace University... Read More →

Saturday May 17, 2025 10:40am - 12:10pm CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Breakout Sessions + Ask the Experts

Audience For This Session Start Strong Independent Publishers

12:15pm CDT

Lunch and Meet Our Sponsors!

Saturday May 17, 2025 12:15pm - 1:30pm CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Grab some food, meet a few sponsors, and connect with your community!

Saturday May 17, 2025 12:15pm - 1:30pm CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Community Building

Audience For This Session Everyone, Start Strong Independent Publishers, Established Independent Publishers, Author Publishers (A.K.A. Self-Published Authors)

12:30pm CDT

Diversity in Publishing Roundtable Discussion

Saturday May 17, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Grab your food and join this candid discussion with room for everyone to contribute. We'll talk and share about how we are all impacted in an industry and culture that is pulling back from diversity commitments, and generate ideas for how we move forward by building trust, authenticity, and mutual learning within the publishing community to help diverse books reach the readers who need them.

Saturday May 17, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Community Building

Audience For This Session Everyone, Start Strong Independent Publishers, Established Independent Publishers, Author Publishers (A.K.A. Self-Published Authors)

1:40pm CDT

Breakout 4 (Start Strong Independent Publishers) - Book Reviews: Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

Saturday May 17, 2025 1:40pm - 2:40pm CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Book Reviews: Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool
With Cevin Bryerman (Publishers Weekly), Patricia Moosbrugger (Blue Ink Reviews), and Michelle Schingler (Foreword Reviews), moderated by Christopher Locke (IBPA's Director of Membership and Member Services).

Book reviews are among your most powerful marketing tools. They assure readers that your book is laudable and worth their time. But the process can be a bit mysterious. This panel, moderated by IBPA's Christopher Locke will give authors a peek behind the curtain. Curious about how reviewers are chosen? What they look for? How to know when your book is ready for review? Ways to avoid common mistakes that lead to negative reviews? This panel — including representatives of some of the most esteemed book review services for indie titles — will entertain these questions…and more!

The Start Strong Independent Publishers breakout sessions are for independent publishers who are just starting out and are looking for help navigating the basics of successful publishing. (Generally you will have been in the publishing industry for three years or less and have published fewer than ten titles.)

Speakers

Cevin Bryerman

CEO/President Content Services, Publishers Weekly

Cevin Bryerman is the CEO and publisher of Publishers Weekly, the international news platform of the book publishing industry. He has been at Publishers Weekly, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022, for more than 35 years, and prior to that in the magazine publishing industry... Read More →

Patricia Moosbrugger

Managing Partner, BlueInk Review

Patricia Moosbrugger is a managing partner of BlueInk Review, a professional book review service for authors. She started her career in publishing 35 years ago at Curtis Brown Literary Agency and worked in major publishing until founding her own literary agency in 2002. The Patricia... Read More →

Saturday May 17, 2025 1:40pm - 2:40pm CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Breakout Sessions + Ask the Experts

Audience For This Session Start Strong Independent Publishers

3:30pm CDT

Breakout 5 (Start Strong Independent Publishers) - Environmentally Responsible Production and Publishing

Saturday May 17, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Environmentally Responsible Production and Publishing
With Karla Olson, Clare Davis, Liz Hunter, and Elise Gochberg.

Details to be announced.

The Start Strong Independent Publishers breakout sessions are for independent publishers who are just starting out and are looking for help navigating the basics of successful publishing. (Generally you will have been in the publishing industry for three years or less and have published fewer than ten titles.)

Speakers

Liz Hunter

Business Development Manager, Ingram Content Group

Liz Hunter is Business Development Manager at Ingram Content Group, focusing on large-scale projects in the Lightning Source print-on-demand business. Prior to joining Ingram, Liz worked in Field Sales management at Workman Publishing and Hachette Book Group.

Karla Olson

Director of Books, Patagonia

Karla Olson is the Books Publisher at Patagonia, which publishes books as a mission outreach for Patagonia, the clothing company. She is the past chair of IBPA, president of IBPA affiliates Publishers and Writers of San Diego and Publishers and Writers of Orange County, and founder... Read More →

Saturday May 17, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Breakout Sessions + Ask the Experts

Audience For This Session Start Strong Independent Publishers

4:40pm CDT

Closing Session and Raffle

Saturday May 17, 2025 4:40pm - 5:30pm CDT

Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront

Don't miss our closing session of raffle prizes and rapid-fire takeaways!

Saturday May 17, 2025 4:40pm - 5:30pm CDT
Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101

Community Building

Audience For This Session Everyone, Start Strong Independent Publishers, Established Independent Publishers, Author Publishers (A.K.A. Self-Published Authors)