​BookCAMP DAY ONE: Split tracks:

Marketing & Sales Track; or Writing Track

Friday, April 24th, Focus on Experts 

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MARKETING & SALES track

 

Pre-conference sessions:

 

1pm-4pm Opportunities to meet with experts 

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​1pm:  Turning your Backlist from storage to revenue driver

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1:45pm:  Metadata and why it matters to small presses and independent publishing
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2:30pm:  Running a small press and building a business

Challenges of Small Press / Hybrid Publishing 

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3:15pm: From Microphone to Marketplace: An introduction to Audiobook production. Get an insider's perspective on the burgeoning Audiobook industry 

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3:45pm: 90-Day Book Marketing Plan using Artificial Intelligence or Streaming Channels Opportunities & National Media​​

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4pm Welcome to BookCAMP 2026! 

Opening remarks made by the

Printed Work Reviews' Publisher

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4:10pm Get the Most Out of the Show

Sponsored by

 

4:20pm: Marketing Strategies to sell more books; Publicity Gurus shares their secrets

 

4:45pm Path to create a "Bestseller"  

 

5:00pm: How to get the MEDIA and the PRESS working for you

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(Optional topic) Applying for Grants; fundraising; additional funding; 

 

5:30pm Meet with the experts

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BookCAMP DAY ONE Continued:​ ​

Friday, May 2nd, Fun and Networking

 

6:15pm Wine reception / Hors d'oeuvres served

 

6:30pm-8pm Networking event​

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Writing track:

Friday, April 24th, Focus on Experts 

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PRE-Conference:

 

1pm-4pm Opportunities to meet with experts 

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1:15pm CRAFTING AND MARKETING A SERIES Presented by Lee Woodman. 

Poet Lee Woodman will demonstrate how she created the umbrella, “SCAPES” for her poetry collections and how it spurs marketing. Her session at BookCAMP will show how she brings color and personality to a body of work. Woodman will share craft ideas that apply to all genres for place, character, and narrative, and discuss key elements of branding and outreach. Focus will include promotion calendars, blurbs and reviews, dynamic websites, presentations, mailings, and the importance of being a good writing citizen.

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2pm Putting the people and events of your life on the pages of your book Presented by Don Mazzella

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2:30pm BREAK - Coffee/Tea and snacks served

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2:45pm Writer's Block, how to deal with it so you can get writing

Presented by Gloria Mindock

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3:30pm From the OG: An Author’s Progress:

Walls and Passages: 

Presented by David Benjamin

A “writerly” talk. In the spirit of the conference,

the OG intends to emphasize the practical

lessons that an author learns—and puts to use—

from every setback and step forward.

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4pm Welcome to BookCAMP 2026! 

Opening remarks made by the

Printed Work Reviews' Publisher

 

4:10pm Get the Most Out of the Show

Sponsored by

 

4:20pm:  Performative Readings

Intro performance from Bell Hammers

Presented by Lancelot Schaubert

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1. The difference between oral manuscripts and literary manuscripts

2. Why most literary readings are bad.

3. What theater actors, rhetoricians, and preachers know that you don’t know.

4. How to find your authentic voice

5. How to know your present audience

6. Where voice and audience meet

7. There isn’t an audience: there only one reader

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5:00pm: How to get the MEDIA and the PRESS working for you

 

5:30pm Meet with the experts

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BookCAMP DAY ONE Continued:​ ​

Friday, May 2nd, Fun and Networking

 

6:15pm Wine reception / Hors d'oeuvres served

 

6:30pm-8pm Networking event​

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BookCAMP DAY TWO:

Saturday,  April 25th,

Focus on “Book to Screen,” Rights, ​Social Media, Book Sales, Marketing, Publicity

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​​10:00am:  BookCAMP Exhibitor Hours open

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10:00am: Soaring with AI on the Wings of Words: How to Climb Greater Heights and Scale Author Influence, Book Sales, and Profits with Intelligent Story Ecosystems

Presented by Tony J. Selimi

 

Too many books die in silence. Authors often publish with hope, only to be met with minimal sales, weak reach, and the sinking feeling that their message isn’t being heard. Obscurity is one of the greatest frustrations for writers with something meaningful to share.

 

This workshop reveals how to use AI to build an intelligent story ecosystem — transforming a single book into a web of influence across podcasts, social media, videos, and beyond. Attendees will discover strategies on how to scale their brand visibility, increase book sales, and generate new income streams that fuel one another, creating influence and profits that soar.

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11am:  How do independent authors and publishers reach librarians and independent bookstores effectively

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11:30am:  Nontraditional / Nonreturnable Bookselling / Big Box Stores

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Noon: Lunch

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​12:30pm Keynote Speaker Welcome/ State of the Industry 

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1:00pm:  "Book to Screen" (steps one can take to get their book to the movie studio)

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1:00pm:  GAB TALKS Interviews in Podcast Room (Inc. at no charge with a BookCAMP ticket, sign-up required​).

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2:00pm:  Social Media: How to build an audience and engagement for results.

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2:30pm:  Audiobooks & Podcasting​: Creation & Marketing;​

or for those ready for doing it yourself:

Recording Booth Ready: Prepping your manuscript, prepping your voice

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3:15pm Coffee Break

 

3:30pm Meet one-on-one with a personalized publishing expert Need personalized attention?  Meet with an expert that can help your particular publishing challenge

or specific need.  Need a new book cover? new printer? marketing? publicity? specific questions

answered?, here is your chance.

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3:45pm: Reaching a Global Audience: Rights Licensing

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3:45pm:  Meet your fellow author

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4:00pm:  Marketing using Artificial Intelligence

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4:30pm:  Keynote Speaker & Book Signing

​Nadim Sadek brings the human aspect into artificial intelligence. 

     Sadek is the Author of ‘Shimmer, don’t Shake – How Publishing can embrace AI’ and ‘Quiver, don’t Quake – How Creativity can Embrace AI‘, and will be signing his new book, free to the first 50 recipients.

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We also recognize our worldwide authors of our award programs. 

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This year we will host attendees for our

Independent Press Award / NYC Big Book Award

awards ceremony & dinner on April 25, 2026.

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A separate ticket is required:

 https://www.independentpressaward.com/awardsdinner  

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BookCAMP DAY THREE: Sunday,  April 26th, Meet-the-expert;

9am to noon: Meet one-on-one with a personalized publishing expert Need personalized attention?  Meet with an expert that can help your particular publishing challenge or specific need.  Need a new book cover? new printer? marketing? publicity? specific questions

answered?, here is your chance.

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BookCAMP DAY THREE: Sunday,  April 26th, Literary Book Fair ​​

9:00am to 1:30pm:  Award-winning books on display and for sale, as well as literary marketplace for authors, writers, publishers and industry folk. Register here.