London Book Fair 2012: The Great Debate: Will Publishers Perish? – Publishers Weekly – Andrew Albanese

I certainly hope not!

Will today’s existing conglomerates continue to dominate the future of publishing? Or, will technology enable a rising tide of upstarts and independents that will forever change the publishing landscape? That was the question at the heart of the London Book Fair’s Second Annual Great Debate, which put forth the following resolution: In the fight for survival, outsiders and startups are taking on today’s heavyweights and will ultimately deliver a knockout punch.

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While the two sides obviously have some genuine disagreement, it was quite obvious that the resolution was designed to be provocative, and the two sides were playing their parts. In fact, it was clear that both sides believed the future does not hold a knockout blow. Throughout a brief question and answer period, both sides spoke of the value of new technology and traditional publishing have to offer, and occasionally seemed to argue the other’s point.

See what each of the sides say!