【TIBE FBM Publishing Innovation Lab 2025】AI Workshop & Publishing Expert Talks

How do we approach the challenges of today's publishing world? In this conference we want to find out and learn from different experts how they deal with today's challenges – be it the fact that people tend to spend less time and money on books or that small independent publishers work very differently from big publishing groups. What works for each of us? Let's get some inspiration, with a special focus on how AI can drive efficiency and creativity in publishing.

The two-day programme will cover:

【DAY 1】 AI in Publishing: A Practical Workshop for Publishing Professionals

【DAY 2】Marketing and Rights Sales in Publishing Organisations – How to maximise your impact

SPEAKERS

Claudia Kaiser

Germany, Vice President, Frankfurter Buchmesse

Claudia Kaiser was trained as bookseller, and has a MA degree in Chinese Studies. She lived in China for more than 10 years, as editor for China Foreign Literature Publishing House, started an agency and, in 1998, set up the German Book Information Centre by Frankfurter  Buchmesse in Beijing, and was  its first director. 

She moved on to United Nations Publishing in New York (External Publications Officer, in charge of rights and sales).

She has been in the senior management (Vice President) of Frankfurt Book Fair since 2003, in different positions: head of international department, General Manager of KITAB (Abu Dhabi International Book Fair), head of Cape Town Book Fair, just to mention a few.

As Vice President Business Development of Frankfurt Book Fair she presently looks into the South East Asian markets and South Asia, Arab World and Africa. She is also closely involved in organising the Jakarta Content Week (Jaktent), together with the 17000 islands of Imagination Foundation.

Hermann Eckel

Germany, Digital Publishing Expert

Hermann is a digital-publishing expert with many years of experience within the publishing industry. Having studied German and history, he held a number of sales positions at the sheet-music publisher Baerenreiter and and Oxford University Press before acting as managing director at the renowned music publisher C. F. Peters from 2010 to 2106. After an interim period at the Medienforen Leipzig, Hermann led tolino media as managing director from 2017 to 2022. In that role, he was primarily responsible for significantly expanding tolino’s self-publishing business. Since late 2022, he has worked as a self-employed consultant, trainer, lecturer and speaker, supporting publishing companies and bookdealers in the various dimensions of their digital transformation. Continuing this freelance work, in September 2024 Hermann also took over as Chief Digital Officer at ArchiTangle, a young publisher for books on architecture that is also developing digital-publishing solutions based on blockchain technology. Besides that he has been heavily engaged in voluntarily work as co-spokesperson of the digital work group within the German book-trade association, driving digital change within the industry in this role, too.

Nadim Sadek

UK, Shimmr AI

Nadim is Founder & CEO of Shimmr AI, which creates automated advertising that sells books. He is also author of the Amazon best-seller, "Shimmer, don't Shake – how Publishing can embrace AI", globally published by Forbes and in all other languages by Mensch. Trained as a psychologist, Nadim founded and led global market research agencies, a whiskey, food and music brand from an island off the west coast of Ireland, and an AI-driven brand management platform. Nadim also manages a Warner-signed artist and reviews motorcycles for Boss Bikes Club.

Lee Ann Bortolussi

Italy, Foreign Rights Manager, Giunti Editore

Currently the foreign rights manager at Giunti Editore, with her team LeeAnn is involved in the international rights sales for titles across the catalogues for Giunti Editore and Bompiani, both children and adult, as well as for other companies within the  group (Editoriale Scienza, Edizioni del Borgo, Fatatrac, Dami, Giunti Psychometrics, Slow Food Editore, Topic Edizioni, and Giorgio Nada Editore), for both publishing and cinema. LeeAnn began in 1990 as the foreign rights manager for Dami Editore; Dami joined the Giunti group in 2008. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Santa Barbara, California, LeeAnn graduated in English with an Italian minor at Stanford University in 1985, and she has lived in Milan, Italy since then.

Dr. Niels Peter Thomas

Executive Vice President Books, Springer Nature

As Executive Vice President, Niels Peter Thomas is responsible for Springer Nature's book portfolio, which includes more than 300,000 academic books across all subject areas and 13,000 new books per year. He is also responsible for more than 500 publishing colleagues worldwide and coordinates the book business across Springer Nature's renowned book imprints such as Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, J.B. Metzler and others.

His main tasks also include the further development of printed and electronic books, innovative technical features, new business models and workflows. Building on his previous position as Chief Book Strategist, he is responsible for defining Springer Nature's global strategy to shape the future of book publishing and reading.

Niels joined Springer in 2005 and has worked in various editorial and management positions in Heidelberg and Wiesbaden, Germany, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai, China.

In China, he set up an Editorial team of acquisitional editors to publish original works from Chinese scholars starting from 2011, and later in 2021, during the global pandemic he was appointed President for Springer Nature Greater China to connect the Chinese academic community with global activities in difficult times.

In December 2020, Niels received the Special Book Award of China from the State Press and Publication Administration of the PR China, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to the academic and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Niels holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in economics. He is visiting professor at the university “Beijing Institute of Graphical Communication” where is regularly lecturing in publishing studies.

WHEN WHAT HOW

【Time】

Day 1 Session: 2/5(Wed) 14:00-17:00, Entry at 13:30

Day 2 Session: 2/6(Thu) 14:00-17:00, Entry at 13:30

【Entry】

Please present the ACCUPASS e-ticket (QR code), and bring your business card. 

【Venue】

Conference Room 3, Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1

【Language】

The event will be conducted in English and will provide real-time Chinese subtitles.

【How to take part】

To be an audience, please complete the online registration in advance.

The registration will be open until 2025/1/20. Event participation options and fees as below.

 *Participants in the Day 1 session are required to bring their laptops to participate in the workshop activities.

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.