Join us to learn all you need to know to make your publishing business future-proof.
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The world continues to evolve and introduce new challenges, which are also felt in the publishing industry. Challenges, however, also give way to opportunities. Publishers play an integral role in society. Because it is about more than mastering social media and reaching readers or buyers, but also about taking a stand, raising voices, empowering freedom of speech and promoting a diverse range of authors. The publishing industry has already proved its resilience – and can continue to lead the way in the future.
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This year's programme will look at a selection of topics that will be important for publishing in the coming years. The two-day programme will cover:
【DAY 1】 How to thrive – even in times of crisis
Feb.1 (Wed) | Topic | Speaker |
14:00 | Opening | |
14.00-15:00 | #Session 1 – Stay ahead! Costs and a sustainable business Costs are increasing everywhere: paper shortage, inflation, transport costs, low book prices. All these aspects may already have impacted your business. This session will help you to pinpoint what economic hurdles may affect your business and how to prepare for and handle them constructively.
| Robert Schefenacker CFO / S. Fischer / Germany
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15.00-15.30 | Break | |
15.30-16.30 | #Session 2 –How to scout your next bestseller The publishing market is focusing on bestselling authors, more than ever before. As bestsellers will certainly play a role in the future of your publishing house, this session takes a closer look at how scouting new authors and the selection process leads to some of the most key decisions for a successful publishing list.
| Karthika V.K. Publisher / Westland Publications / India |
16.30-17.00 | Break | |
17.00-18.00 | #Session 3 – A Future Talk: Southeast Asia / ASEAN, where are you headed? And what does this mean for our publishing industry? The world as we know it is changing radically. Geopolitics is undergoing shifts of tectonic proportions. We all feel this in our daily lives, as in our daily work. In this panel, our experts discuss what the implications for the publishing industry mean especially for ASEAN countries and the best possible strategies for the future.
| Linda Tan Lingard Founder / Integra Creative Media Sdn Bhd (ICM) / Malaysia |
【DAY 2】 Social media marketing & TikTok
Feb.2 (Thu) | Topic | Speaker |
14.00 | Opening | |
14.00-15.00 | #Session 1 – Kick-start your TikTok journey TikTok’s hottest community has ignited the publishing industry in many international markets, driving sales and recognition across the world. Why is TikTok so successful and how can a publisher boost book sales with it? This session provides answers to questions like: Who is on TikTok? What do we need to know about it? Most importantly, how to kick-start your TikTok journey?
| Randy Anthony CEO / Republik Media Kreatif / Indonesia |
15:00-15:30 | Break | |
15.30-16.30 | #Session 2 – Octagonal Marketing: Boosting User Engagement on Social Media This session invites Mr. Chun-Te Cheng, the manager of Taiwan’s most popular reader’s social media platform, to share his know-how on promoting books and reading online. Cheng will talk about how to increase user engagement and repost counts by applying effective copywriting, octagonal marketing, and the concept of content curation. Let’s make reading an exciting group activity!
| Chun-Te Cheng Founder & Editor-in-Chief / Read-life / Taiwan
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16.30-17.00 | Break | |
17.00-18.00 | #Session 3 – How to make your books and authors more visible on social media and attract new readers In this session, we discover a whole range of formats and ideas to establish a successful social media marketing strategy for your publishing house, make your authors more visible on TikTok & Co., build up a community of readers, and reach younger audiences. | Naomi Bacon Founder & Director / Tandem Collective / UK & Porter Anderson Editor-in-Chief / Publishing Perspectives / US |
SPEAKERS

Robert Schefenacker
CFO / S. Fischer / Germany
After studying economics at the University of Hohenheim and in Toronto, Canada until 2007, Robert Schefenacker held various positions in the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, including CFO of J.B. Metzler Verlag (a humanities publisher). From 2016 to 2019, he was CFO of Argon Verlag, Berlin (an audio publisher) and also Senior Project Manager of Holtzbrinck Buchverlage. Since January 2020, he has been part of the management team at S. Fischer Verlag in Frankfurt (one of Germany's leading trade publishers) as CFO. In addition, he is a volunteer on the budget committee of the German Bookseller’s and Publisher’s Association. He also has close family ties to Taiwan and admires Taiwan's local publishing and bookstore sector.

Linda Tan Lingard
Founder / Integra Creative Media Sdn Bhd (ICM) / Malaysia
Linda Tan Lingard has worked in the communications and publishing world for more than 30 years. After several years in tax and legal publishing, she started her own publishing company to publish children's books. Together with some friends, the imprint, Oyez!Books was first conceived in 2018. Today, with about 300 titles published, Oyez!Books is a leading children's book publisher in Malaysia, focusing on picture books. The company has published award winning authors and aims to continue to develop and publish more wonderful children's books. The Museum of Picture Book Art, a retail outlet and educational centre, opened in 2021 to showcase the best of Malaysian picture books as well as the best from the rest of the world.

Karthika V.K.
Publisher / Westland Publications / India
Karthika V.K. is Publisher, Westland Books. She has spent over twenty-five years editing and publishing fiction, non-fiction, translations, poetry and graphic novels. She started her career at Penguin Books India and spent a decade as Publisher, HarperCollins Publishers India before moving to Westland, where she set up Context, an imprint that focuses on literature and politics. She has published several award-winning and commercially successful writers including Anita Nair, Aravind Adiga, Manu Joseph, Manu Pillai, Mirza Waheed, Perumal Murugan, M. Mukundan, Rukmini S. and Shashi Deshpande. Karthika was shortlisted for the 2022 IPA Prix Voltaire Prize by the International Publishers Association.

Randy Anthony
CEO / Republik Media Kreatif / Indonesia
Randy Anthony is the CEO of Republik Media Kreatif and co-founder of patjarmerah.
Republik Media Kreatif is a company part of Agromedia Group one of the largest publishing group in Indonesia. Currently doing online and digital distributions for titles from inside Agromedia Group and from other publishers outside the group as well. Republik Media Kreatif is also the operating company behind Republik Fiksi, an online bookstore that currently place top 3 in TikTok shop with over 2 billion rupiah worth of transaction per month, not including other marketplace platforms such as Shopee or Tokopedia.
Republik Media Kreatif is also an official Google Play aggregator for Books in Indonesia. Currently there are around than 70 publishers and 100 authors use Republik Media Kreatif service to upload, sell, and manage their eBook titles mostly on Google Play Store.

Chun-Te Cheng
Founder & Editor-in-Chief / Read-life / Taiwan
Chun-Te Cheng is the founder and editor-in-chief of Read-life. Read-life is a Facebook fan page that shares book recommendations and hosts online author events. Founded in 2009, this platform introduces over a thousand books to its audience each year and has already attracted over 1.5 million followers. Cheng has also established several online book club and successfully make them an active community. Each week there are up to 500 book reviews contributed by the club members.
Currently, the operation and profit generation of Read-life depend on running employee book clubs for enterprises, online learning programs, and training courses.
Promoting reading as his vocation, Cheng believes that affecting an adult can positively lead to affecting a whole family. Engaging with the world through reading is his way of practice.

Naomi Bacon
Founder & Director / Tandem Collective / UK
Naomi Bacon is the founder and director of Tandem Collective, a global marketing agency with a focus on community building, partnerships and peer-to-peer marketing initiatives, predominantly servicing the publishing industry. Clients include Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Bloomsbury and Pottermore. In 2020, Naomi was nominated by The Bookseller as one of the top 150 most influential people in publishing.

Porter Anderson
Editor-in-Chief / Publishing Perspectives / US
Porter Anderson BA, MA, MFA, is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives, the daily news medium of Frankfurter Buchmesse for the world publishing industry. Anderson is a veteran newsman with Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN, CNN.com, and CNN International–as well as the Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, The Bookseller and others. He was named London Book Fair’s International Trade Press Journalist in the 2019 International Excellence Awards. In addition to his career in news, Anderson has worked as a diplomat with the United Nations, posted to the Rome headquarters of the World Food Programme. He has also served as Executive Media Producer of INDEX: Design to Improve life, the Danish award for humanitarian design under the patronage of HRH Frederik, Prince of Denmark. Anderson is a frequent speaker on the international publishing stage, in trade shows and book-fair settings in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and the Middle East.
WHEN WHAT HOW
【Time】
Day 1 Session / 2/1(Wed) 14:00-18:00 / Entry at 13:30
Day 2 Session / 2/2(Thu) 14:00-18:00 / Entry at 13:30
【Entry】
Please bring your business card.
Identification card required for borrowing interpretation device.
【Venue】
Conference Room 3, Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1
【Language】
English/Chinese, with simultaneous interpreting.
【How to take part】
To be an audience, please complete the online registration in advance.
The registration will be open until 2023/1/17. Event participation options and fees as below.
| Option | Registation Fee |
Physical Participation
*By attending the training programme, you will also receive a Professional pass of 2023 Taipei International Book Exhibition, which provides unlimited access to the exhibition during 1/31-2/5.
*The pass will be given to the participant at the beginninng of the program. | DAY1 Session 2/1(Wed) | TWD 1,200 |
DAY2 Session 2/2(Thu) | TWD 1,200 | |
Full Sessions | TWD 2,000 |
Should you have any questions, please contact:
Taipei Book Fair Foundation /Cecilia Chien / 886-2-27671268 #107 / cecilia@taipeibookfair.org
*The Organizers reserve the right to modify the program.









