CBCP Symposium: People in Publishing: Diversity, Leadership and Publishing’s Futures, 29 June 2026
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Date: Monday 29th June 2026
Time: 10.00am – 5.00pm
Venue: Henley Business School, University of Reading (Whiteknights Campus)
To book tickets to attend the symposium in person or online, click here.
(Please note: For standard delegates, we will charge £10 to cover a sandwich lunch, and morning & afternoon refreshments. Students & independent researchers can attend free of charge. Online attendance is also free of charge)
Schedule
10:00 – 10:05: Welcome
10:05 – 10:35: Opening Address: “Building Diversity in the Media Industries”
Joanna Abeyie MBE – Former Director of Creative Diversity BBC, Founder BlueMoon Consultancy
10:35 – 11:30: Panel: “Bridging the Gap: Academia and Industry in Dialogue on EDI in the Publishing Industry”
Moderator: TBC
Panel:
- Melissa Carr – Lecturer in International Human Resources Management & EDI Director at World of Work Institute
- Vaseem Khan – Crime Fiction author
- Emma Shercliff – Laxfield Literary agency
- Aarti Kumari – The Emma Press
11:30 –11:45: Comfort break
11:45 – 1:00: Research Papers: “Geo-politics and Global Structures”
Chair: TBC
Panel:
- George Cooper & Christopher Adams – UCL
- Hyei Jin Kim – University of Reading
- Karishma Koshal – University of Exeter
- Frances Weightman – Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing
1:00 – 1:45: Networking lunch
1:45 – 3:15: Lightning Talks & Research Papers Parallel Session
| Stream 1: “Commercial Approaches to Diversifying Publishing” | Stream 2: “Networks & Institutional Power” |
| Bronwen Price – CEO Seren Books | Liciane Correa – Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janiero |
| Nicola Daly – University of Waikato | Amanda Allen – Eastern Michigan University |
| Swara Shukla – Independent Researcher | Chrissy Taylor – University of Waikato |
| Agata Mrva-Montoya – University of Sydney | Maria Belen Riveiro – University of Buenos Aires/University of Newcastle |
| Megan Farr – Bath Spa University | Kanupriya Dhingra – BML Mujal University |
3:15 – 3:30: Coffee/tea break
3:30 – 4:30: Roundtable: “Digital Platforms and AI in the Future of Publishing ”
Moderator: TBC
Discussants:
- Basak Bak – Lecturer in Law TBC, Copyright and AI
- Simon Rowberry – Associate Professor of Publishing, UCL, Academic Director of Education for the Department of Information Studies
- Julie Cohen – Author, PhD Candidate, University of Reading
4:30 – 5:00: Keynote: “Inclusive Talent Pipelines”
Professor Katy Shaw – Director of the UKRI/AHRC Creative Communities Programme; Professor of Publishing & Writing Northumbria University
5:00: Wrap up followed by an informal CBCP social/drinks (5 – 6pm)