Mark Gottlieb is an Executive Vice President and literary agent at book publishing’s leading literary agency Trident Media Group, representing bestselling and award-winning authors.

Tony specialised in Human Behaviour, author of the #1 bestseller Climb Greater Heights™, and architect of the 12-Step Accelerated Growth Methodology®. Featured in over 1,000 TV, radio, podcast, and magazine interviews reaching more than 100 million people worldwide, Tony delivers a future-proof system for authors, entrepreneurs, and visionary leaders to transform their words into legacies that outlive them.

Brian O'Leary is the executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, which oversees standards and best practices for the book industry supply chain in the United States.

An accomplished actress, https://www.kateorsini.com/credits, Kate Orsini, on screen, she's been, among other things, Maria Bello's ex, Robert Patrick's nemesis, Hank Azaria's nemesis, Hayden Panettiere's lawyer nemesis, Gina Rodriguez' yuppie nemesis, Ed Begley Jr.'s angry daughter, Malcolm McDowell's daughter...
Shakespeare on stage, Chekhov on film, and her own material, culminating in the zoom episodic she's just co-written and starred in,
"The Corona Dialogues," for which she just won Best Actress at The Indie Fest Awards. Coming soon to a sofa near you (um, Hulu).

Creatorwood turns books, scripts, and any written story into movies and shows with AI. Bring your story to life 1,000x cheaper and faster than traditional means and sell it directly to viewers on our streaming platform.

Nadim is the Founder & CEO of Shimmr AI. An AI-native business, it focuses on publishing, making under-monetised titles more productive, improving publishers’ profitability, and bringing fulfilling books to psychologically-matched readers. Previously, Nadim was Founder & CEO of ProQuo AI, an AI-driven brand management platform, which proved a new sector in marketing technology. Earlier, he used his degree in Psychology to found and lead what became the world’s largest qualitative market research company, Sadek Wynberg Research. This was sold to WPP, and he led two of their global networks, Millward Brown Qualitative Network and Research International. He studied Pure Psychology (and Mental & Moral Science) at Trinity College, Dublin.

Olczak is the publisher of BookCAMP magazine, which addresses authors and publishers' challenges of book publishing. He also manages the marketing for the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award, he is the magazine publisher of the awards.
Olczak is a career-long publishing professional, Master's Degree in Marketing Management in Book and Magazine Publishing from New York University.
His experience includes Independent Book Publishers Association, Independent Press Award, NYC Big Book Award; Publishers Weekly; National Business/Lifestyle Magazines (FORTUNE, Money, Delta, United, and 14 others); helped New York Magazine create its sister visitor publication IN-New York Magazine.

Gloria Mindock is editor of Cervená Barva Press. She is an award-winning author of six poetry collections, two translations into Romanian and Serbian, and three chapbooks. Her poems have been published and translated into twelve languages. Her recent book, Grief Touched the Sky at Night (Glass Lyre Press, 2023), won the NYC Big Book Award, and the Independent Press Award. The book went on to win five other awards besides being a finalist twice, long listed and a few honorable mentions.
Recently, Gloria received the Sam Cornish Award for contributions as an international publisher, activist, and poet whose unflinching eye bears witness to atrocities inflicted on people around the world, from the New England Poetry Club.

Lee Woodman, known as an award-winning public radio producer at the Library of Congress, and a film and multimedia producer at the Smithsonian Institution, Woodman has used the power of words and images to educate and enlighten broad audiences.

She is the author of the “Scapes” poetry series and winner of 2023 IPA, Independent Press Award, for Distinguished Favorite in Poetry. Her other awards include: the 2020 William Meredith Prize for Poetry, the 2021 Atlantic Review International Poetry Competition Merit Award. Her essays and poems have been published in Poet Lore, Tiferet Journal, Zócalo Public Square, Grey Sparrow Press, The Ekphrastic Review, vox poetica, and The Concord Monitor. A Pushcart nominee, she received an Individual Poetry Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities FY 2019 and FY 2020, and a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship in March 2022. Her poetry collection, Mindscapes, was published by Poets’ Choice Publishing in 2020, Homescapes in 2020 by Finishing Line Press, Lifescapes by Kelsay Books in 2021, Artscapes by Shanti Arts in 2022, and Soulscapes by Shanti Arts in 2023. Woodman has been a featured guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts. She has just completed Colorscapes.

As the author of the novel "Bell Hammers," praised as "a hoot" by Publishers Weekly, Schaubert has published dozens of stories, hundreds of poems and essays.

A full voting member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, Schaubert edits "The Showbear Family Circus" and the anthology series "Of Gods and Globes." Schaubert believes art should change us for the better, motivating us to be true and good. My goal is to create work that fosters virtue in both myself and others.

Megan Sells, Acquisitions Manager and Developmental Editor at Atmosphere Press, helps authors navigate hybrid publishing contracts and shape their manuscripts into powerful, polished books ready for publication. They are excited to connect with authors who bring energy, originality, and heart to their work.

Is your book a movie? What steps do you need to take to make it so? In this session, seasoned veteran Eddie Garmarra, known for The Maze Runner (2014), Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Actress and writer Kate Orsini speak directly to process.

Presenting "Next Level Printing – Taking Your Book from POD to PRO"

Becky Parker Geist is the Founder and CEO of Pro Audio Voices, a Portland-based company. They work with rights-holders who may feel challenged in navigating audiobook & podcast production, distribution and marketing, helping them create an exceptional audio experience, get it out there and reach more people, all while staying in control.
In 2023, Pro Audio Voices launched AMPlify Audiobooks-The Equitable Audiobook Platform-a game-changer in the industry.
AMPlify Audiobooks provides authors with the high royalties and control they deserve but that other platforms fail to deliver. It also gives audiobook listeners a way to significantly increase their impact with their purchasing dollars and to connect with the creators.
Becky has been serving as the President of Bay Area Independent Publishers Association for about ten years. She hosts the podcast Audiobook Connection - Behind the Scenes with the Creative Teams.
She's also authored 5 published books.

Brian has worked in book publishing, public relations, and marketing for three decades, having helped thousands of authors, from first-time, self-published writers to New York Times best-selling authors, including Dr. Ruth, Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, Mark Victor Hansen, and Comedian George Wallace, and is a published author and an award-winning blogger.

Sponsor of the Independent Press Award as well as the NYC Big Book Award for the past nine years, and journalist. Host of the www.theGABTALKS.com podcast show, which can be found on the YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/
Independentpressawardspringnycbigbookawardfall as well as dozens of streaming services including, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Apple, Google, Amazon, Pandora, etc.

Brian Jud is an author, book-marketing consultant, speaker, seminar leader, television host and president of Premium Book Company that sells books to non-bookstore buyers on a non-returnable, commission basis. Brian is the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books (Without Worrying About Returns) This is the ultimate do-it-yourself guide to selling your books to non-bookstore buyers in large quantities, with no returns.

Jessica Powers is publisher of Catalyst Press (www.catalystpress.org), an independent traditional and hybrid publisher with three imprints--Catalyst, Flare, and Powers Squared. An award-winning author of 9 books for children and young adults, a freelance editor, and professor of writing in UTEP's MFA program, Powers has midwifed almost a thousand books for writers through a variety of publishing paths. She recently founded Maverick Independent Book Review (www.maverickindependentreview.com), a book reviews service for indie authors. She lives in Texas with her son.

Isabella S. Olczak is an attorney at Sheeley, LLP. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Finance, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Rhode Island; and obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Roger Williams University School of Law.
Isabella held legal intern positions at Shiseido Americas Corporation, and CVS Health. She served as an intern Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Richard A. Licht of the Superior Court of Rhode Island. Isabella worked as a teaching assistant and was President of the Tax and Business Law Society.
Lastly, she has experience helping businesses forming business entities including nonprofits, and LLCs.

David Benjamin is a prolific and oft-awarded storyteller, author of more
than twenty books, most of them published under his imprint, Last Kid
Books. Benjamin and his wife, technology journalist Junko Yoshida, live
sometimes in Madison, Wis., and the rest of the time in Paris.

Ann Mracek is the multi award winning author of Unpacking the Attic: A Path to Healing Your Inner Child, a composer, pianist, and creator of the YouTube channel My Best Friends Live in the Woods with over 300k subscribers. Her newest novel, Compose Your Life: Symphony of Self will be accompanied by on line courses, retreats and keynote music concert experience.

Platform program on Roku TV for access on multiple streaming services, an Independent Press Publisher with national distribution; provides expert authors with a hybrid / partner publisher model.

Kristen Tate has been a freelance editor for over a decade, helping authors transform their work from rough draft to finished book. She is the author of Novel Study: Decoding the Secrets and Structures of Contemporary Fiction.