AAP Seeks 21st Century Solutions

New York, NY, January 26, 2009—The Association of American Publishers will host its General Annual Meeting on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at the Yale Club in New York City. The meeting will center on developing “Twenty-First Century Solutions” with a focus on “convergence” and will host the leaders in the field of copyright convergence, new and old media convergence, publishing and politics convergence, and public and private partnership convergence, and their related impacts professional, trade and academic publishing.

“The business hurdles that book publishers have faced in the final weeks of 2008 alone—including the shrinking economy and competitive retail landscape, the digitization of book content, and Washington-driven enactments impacting books—have had a profound impact on the publishing community. The need to convene as senior executives for ‘big idea’ thinking, education and collaboration has reached critical mass,” said AAP President and CEO Patricia Schroeder. “We’re grateful to our speakers for coming to share their insights into the changing landscape of the publishing world with us.”

Highlights of this year’s meeting include an interview with David Drummond, Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer of Google, Inc. on “21^st Century Digital Solutions” and a discussion of the digital news media environment with Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones & Company Les Hinton. At the General Annual Business Meeting Will Ethridge, President and CEO of Higher Education for International and Professional Publishing at Pearson Education, and David Young, Chairman & CEO of Hachette Book Group, are expected to take up the roles of AAP Board of Directors Chair and Co-Chair, respectively, for two-year terms. A conversation with Bob Barnett on publishing and politics will follow; he will be interviewed by Jonathan Karp, Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of Twelve/Hachette Book Group.

The attendance fees have been discounted from previous years, and publishers are encouraged to register early as seating is limited. To download a registration form and for current schedule of the day’s events, please visit the AAP Conferences/Publications web site at http://www.publishers.org/main/Conferences/conf_Calendar.htm.

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.