The London Book Fair and the Publishers Association are delighted to announce that the Building Inclusivity in Publishing conference will return, for a third year on 27 November 2018 as a half-day event, following the great success of the past two years’ full day programmes.

Entitled Building Inclusivity in Publishing – Reflecting All: Effecting Change, the conference will highlight the action currently being taken to improve diversity across the publishing industry, while exploring what more needs to be done to ensure equal representation. Topics under discussion this year will be regional diversity, children’s entertainment, and the class ceiling.

The conference will feature case studies, inspiring talks, and panels, and speakers will include new voices from books and other aligned creative industries.

Orna O’Brien, Conference Manager of The London Book Fair, said: Much has been achieved in the book industry, from charters, new Inclusion Director roles and new imprints, to BAME traineeships, spare room projects and increasing number of role models. But there is much more to be done to achieve full inclusion. All credible analysis indicates that more diverse teams lead to better problem solving, greater innovation and ultimately, competitive advantage. It’s the right thing to do ethically, but also it’s the right thing commercially. The London Book Fair, in association with the Publishers Association, remains committed to keep this important topic on the publishing agenda.

Emma House, Deputy CEO at the Publishers Association, commented: “Diversity and inclusion is top of the agenda for many publishers and we are seeing commitment and drive to establish and embed practices that build inclusivity in our industry. This conference is a valuable opportunity for publishers to come together and share best practice. For example, where publishers have introduced measures such as blind recruitment, traineeships, mentoring or have developed new roles. The PA’s workforce survey data and aligned inclusivity action plan are key components to drive change in the industry. This conference is a forum where we can exchange ideas, reflect and hone in on where future work should focus. Progress is being made, but there is a huge amount to be done and we need to double-down on our efforts as an industry.

Building Inclusivity in Publishing is open to all those working in the book industry and the wider creative industries, and attendees include booksellers, agents, authors, literary festival and event organisers, and publishers.

The ticket price to attend the half-day also covers a number of free places for unemployed publishing professionals; and highly discounted tickets for students. In addition, for each full price ticket bought, The London Book Fair will make a contribution to The Spare Room Project.

Tickets are now available via the LBF website.