The printed page may be going the way of the silent movie so writers keen to learn about the latest innovations in digital publishing are being offered a look into the future at the 7th annual Puerto Vallarta Writers’ Conference on February 24-26 at Biblioteca Los Mangos.
Joe Staszak, Mexican director of ExLibris, a self-publishing group, and a senior consultant for the Printing Industry of America in both traditional and digital production workflow, promises to provide “a basic ABC of digital publishing” with a checklist of “must dos” before publishing a book digitally.
In particular, Staszak will be introducing Puerto Vallarta writers to Apple’s iBook2 which launched on January 12.“What iTunes did for music, iBook2 will duplicate in spades for the publishing industry” Staszk predicts. He describes the device as a publishing system that includes interactive text, video, 3D and almost any other visual-image trick the writer may care to add to his or her book.
“The world of publishing will be changed dramatically, along with our entire educational system,” he says. “You won’t believe how much power has been unleashed for small-and-large publishers (plus authors who want to publish digital editions on the iPad or iPod Touch). Now, we can all use iBook2 for publishing powerful new editions ... and republish new augmented versions of existing books.”
The conference will also include a keynote address by acclaimed novelist Jacquelyn Mitchard, workshops and seminars on Using Social Media, Writing Dialogue, Short Stories/Flash Fiction, Short Essays/ Journal Writing and Writing for Children and a free book fair on the Sunday afternoon. All book fair profits go to support the biblioteca.
Conference registration is 125 dollars or 1,800 pesos. Seating is limited so early registration is recommended. To register, go to the web page www.puerto-vallarta-writers-group.com/Registration.php. For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..