The publishing world is undergoing profound transformation and, with it, the role of the author is changing. Today, writing means engaging with new publishing models, a more complex market, digital tools, and issues such as visibility, rights, and the economic sustainability of creative work.
WritersLab was created to offer authors a structured environment for discussion, growth, and representation within BolognaBookPlus, the event dedicated to general trade publishing, held alongside the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
WritersLab is a space dedicated to authors of fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, professional publishing, and self-publishing. It starts from a clear vision: recognizing writing as a profession, in all its forms, and offering authors concrete opportunities to navigate the contemporary publishing ecosystem.
Within one of the most important international book fairs, WritersLab provide a point of reference for writers, filling the gap in representation, dialogue, and professional training for authors.
WritersLab hosts:
• talks and workshops open to the public
• opportunities for dialogue between authors and publishing professionals
• in-depth sessions on writing, editing, publishing, and the market
• focused moments on rights, contracts, promotion, and new skills
• activities dedicated to self-publishing.
The programme is designed to provide practical content and useful tools, placing the real experience of industry professionals and the actual needs of authors at its core. It also offers the opportunity to meet the most important players in the publishing value chain.
A central and distinctive element of WritersLab is the working table, a closed, invitation-only discussion that brings together authors, publishers, distributors, booksellers, platforms, and industry professionals, scheduled for Monday, 13 April.
The working table will open a structured dialogue on the transformation of the author’s profession and on the role that authors—including those who publish independently—can and should play within the publishing value chain.
The reflections from the working table will later be shared with the public in an open session on Monday afternoon (insert location).
This is not a simple debate, but an opportunity to:
• critically analyze current market dynamics
• identify challenges and opportunities for authors
• discuss models of integration between traditional publishing and self-publishing
• build shared proposals to strengthen the professional recognition of authors
The working table represents a first step toward a broader and ongoing reflection on the future of writing and authorship.
Taking part in WritersLab means:
• experiencing the fair not just as visitors, but as protagonists
• gaining useful tools for one’s path as an author
• exchanging ideas with other writers and industry professionals
• better understanding of the transformations taking place in the publishing value chain
• contributing to a collective reflection on the future of the profession
If you write, BolognaBookPlus is the place to be.
And WritersLab is the space where authors’ voices are heard.
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