INNOVATION IN PUBLISHING SYMPOSIUM 2025

Summary of the presentations from the fifth annual symposium focusing on innovations in publishing on September 16th 2025.

In September 2025, we hosted our fifth symposium, welcoming another group of researchers to discuss further innovations in publishing. We presented a variety of research exploring new approaches to publishing alongside current developments across various segments of the publishing landscape.

This year, topics included the use of artificial intelligence, the influence of US courts on international publishing, inclusive publishing, how digital technologies have shaped independent pop culture magazines and book collecting pop stars.

Pop Stars and the Social Value of Book Collecting

Prof. dr. E.A. Lisa Kuitert, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

This presentation addressed the intersection between pop stars and the social value of books. Despite popular culture and books perhaps not naturally fitting together, plenty of pop stars are known for their love of reading, with references appearing frequently in pop music itself. The presentation drew on examples including Dutch pop musician Henry Vrienten of Doe Maar, whose growing engagement with poetry saw him gain a reputation as a poetry expert, offering a counterpoint to his commercial pop identity.

The presentation framed book collecting as the deliberate curation of a personal library and identified a range of motivations from distraction, passion, connection, self-esteem, knowledge and identity. Books were shown to hold twofold value, functioning as both useful objects and fetishes, with the latter tied to emotional collection, belonging and intra- and inter-group positioning. The presentation concluded that a pop star’s visible engagement with books, and the libraries they curate, carries a highly symbolic value that reflects and reinforces the broader cultural significance of the books themselves.

Transmedia Immediate and Hypermediate

Sam Brooker, University of the Arts London, London College of Communication, UK

Sam Brooker – Sustainable Value Chains and Infrastructure for Interactive Fiction

This presentation examined the sustainability issues surrounding interactive fiction, with a focus on Twine, within changing digital publishing environments. It described how Twine rose to prominence in the early to mid‑2010s because it was free and accessible, which allowed marginalised creators to work outside traditional gatekeeping structures. This accessibility supported a period of expressive, experimental work, although the absence of reliable income created persistent economic instability. Research at the time showed that creators faced labour precarity, limited protection from censorship, and few dependable ways to distribute born‑digital literature to readers. 

It was argued that the problem of authoring interactive narratives was in fact a publishing problem, since creators lacked stable systems that could connect their work to audiences. Twine functioned as a medium, form, and community, yet it often relied on structures borrowed from game development that did not translate into long‑term financial support. Webcomics were used as a comparison because they developed more sustainable patterns of serial release and community engagement. 

It also noted a shift toward the label “content creator”, which placed new pressures on individuals to maintain constant visibility. The presentation concluded by suggesting that future interactive‑fiction ecosystems should be understood as flexible configurations that might be adjusted to support more durable creative value chains.

Inclusive Publishing and the Quest for Reading Equity

Dr Agata Mrva-Montoya, The University of Sydney, Australia

In 2012, less than 10% of books were accessible. For those living with print disabilities, those who cannot see, physically handle, or process information from printed books, there was a “book famine”. While there have been positive developments in the field, for example through The Marrakesh Treaty and the European Accessibility Act, which demonstrate a step forward as legislatures begin to act and change takes place outside of academic research, they have not gone far enough. There are two threads to accessibility here: accessible publishing, which is format-focussed, and inclusive publishing, which operates much more broadly. Inclusive publishing considers more than books and e-books being designed to be accessible, but also requires the software, retailers and websites to access these books, to be inclusive too.

A key concept introduced was “born accessible” content, the idea that accessibility should be central from the start of the publishing process rather than remediated after the fact. This represents a shift in how the industry thinks about the problem: not as an add-on, but as a design principle. The presentation drew on critical disability studies to frame the issue across three models: the medical model, which treats print disability as an individual pathology; the social model, which locates the barrier in systemic design choices; and the human rights model, which positions access to books as integral to education, employment and civic participation. Viewing inclusive publishing through this lens reframes it as an ethical and structural question, not just a technical one.

Practical progress was noted through initiatives like the PAAG Charter for accessible publishing and technological developments including accessible digital formats, format-neutral workflows and the use of AI for accessibility. However, significant gaps remain. In the UK, unlike Canada, there is no governmental funding dedicated to this area, pointing to the distance still to travel beyond legislative frameworks and into sustained institutional support.

How Traditional Revenue Models Are Coming Under Pressure in the German Book Market

Dr Anke Vogel, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany

Traditional revenue models in the German book market are under pressure, with fixed book prices being challenged by the growth of used books, collector’s editions and streaming. A central focus of this presentation was the rising trend of re-commerce, the organised resale of used products through commercial platforms, as distinct from informal consumer-to-consumer exchange. The growth of Momox, now a ubiquitous presence on platforms like Amazon and eBay, is a key indicator of this shift, with established retailers Talia and Hugendubel also entering the second-hand book market.

The picture is not uniform across readership. Young adult readers are declining in used-product purchases, and subsequently YA and children’s books are among the least likely to be resold. Income levels appear to have relatively little influence on purchasing behaviour, though seasonal patterns were identified, with post-Christmas resales closely mirroring bestseller lists. Beyond resale, readers turn to charity donations and public bookcases, with throwing books away remaining a last resort.

From Story to Experience: How AI is Transforming Reading and Book Promotion

Anja Kamenarič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

AI is transforming both the reading experience and the promotion of books, creating new forms of engagement that move beyond the text itself. Platforms including Character AI, Janitor AI, NovelAI and YeschatAI allow readers to interact directly with characters from books, using long, detailed character biographies and situational descriptions to generate convincing interactions. The marketing potential is notable, though set against real challenges: the risk of inappropriate responses, difficulties in maintaining brand identity and high development costs.

Beyond character interaction, AI-generated soundtracks, interactive audiobooks and gamification each offer ways to deepen engagement and open new revenue streams, with gamification showing particular promise for improving reading skills when implemented with guidance. Running through all of these developments are recurring concerns around copyright, parental controls and balancing innovation with literary integrity.

Living with AI: Editor’s Meaning Making on Social Media

Dr Jocelyn Hargrave, University of Derby, UK

Within editorial communities, anxieties about AI are shifting from polarisation toward something more discursive, with spaces like Facebook groups fostering communities of practice where editors share experiences and negotiate meaning together. A key framing was the question “what is technology?”, with historical context used as a preliminary lens to understand how new technologies develop lives of their own, independent of their creators.

Social media was theorised as both diffusing and world-building: a secondary world through which people construct their primary one, with the “inside-out monologue”, externalised internal thought becoming social media narrative, as a way of understanding how editors articulate professional anxieties publicly while navigating between personal and professional identities.

In practice, editors reported using AI for explaining projects, drafting emails and automating tasks, while expressing a rear-view mirror perspective toward e-books. Common threads included fear, concerns around privacy and plagiarism, and a prevailing sense that the need for strong editorial skills will only increase.

Decoding the Docket: Understanding US Court Influence on International Publishing

Rita Faire, University of Stirling, UK

American courts are increasingly shaping the landscape of international publishing, with recent rulings on AI and copyright carrying implications well beyond US borders. The Bartz v Anthropic (2025) case centred on copyright infringement claims over the use of authors’ works to train large language models, with the court ruling in favour of Anthropic on the basis of fair use, with the caveat that the copies must be used for training purposes only. A notable critique raised was the under-prosecution of the authors’ case: the argument focused only on the input side, questioning whether training on copyrighted material constitutes infringement, without adequately addressing the output. The case also found that Anthropic’s retention of a library containing pirated works constituted infringement, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

For international publishers, the question is how to interpret and adapt to these judgements as they develop, given that US rulings on fair use do not map neatly onto other legal frameworks.

Nikki Onafuye, University of the Arts London, London College of Communication, UK

This presentation presented the researcher’s PhD research exploring how UK pop culture magazines – specifically Clash magazine, Dazed magazine, and The Face magazine – have transformed their production and distribution strategies in response to digitalisation between 2010 and 2025. It walked the audience through the bigger picture of what this shift actually means, not just in terms of moving from print to digital, but in how it has fundamentally reshaped the way content is created, circulated, and consumed.

It focused on how audiences have evolved from traditional “readers” into more active “users,” engaging with content across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. This shift has pushed magazines to constantly adapt, producing faster, more interactive, and platform-specific content while also dealing with the pressures of declining print circulation and changing revenue models.

The presentation also highlighted how each magazine responds differently to these challenges – Dazed taking a digital-first approach, The Face drawing on nostalgia while rebuilding its presence, and Clash moving between print and digital in a more hybrid way.

It also walked through the researcher’s research design, which combines interviews, content analysis, and industry data, before sharing early findings. These suggest that digitalisation has intensified journalistic labour, demanded new skills, and ultimately repositioned these magazines as multi-platform cultural intermediaries trying to stay relevant in a rapidly changing media landscape.