Our first Future of the Book meetup: "Making Space" with Robin Sloan

Excited to start

We're ready to get things rolling with this meetup, and are excited to announce the first meeting, with speaker, Robin Sloan, a member presentation by Sam Ward, and a general introduction to each other.

Self-described media inventor Robin Sloan previews his talk, Making Space, like this: The conversation around books and ebooks has been mostly technical and economic, occasionally creative, but the biggest challenge for any book—in any format—is cultural. How does a book make space for itself in the world? I'll explain why that means more than simply "finding an audience"; try to convince you that distribution platforms and recommendation algorithms aren't enough; and suggest some next steps for writer & publishers alike.

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About Robin Sloan

Robin Sloan grew up near Detroit and now splits his time between San Francisco and the internet. He graduated from Michigan State with a degree in economics and, from 2002 to 2012, worked at Poynter, Current TV, and Twitter. His first novel, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, is coming from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in October. You can learn more at http://robinsloan.com and follow along at @robinsloan.

Want to talk, too?

This meetup is about exploring all aspects of the ongoing transformation of books, from cultural, professional, technical, and experiential points of view. We welcome fans, critics, innovators, and skeptics, as we bring some thought to where we are headed.

We would like to cultivate a sense of dialogue and group participation. So along with featured guests that we're inviting, we're encouraging presentations from members, with time for discussion. Let us know if you'd like to present!

Group member talk: Sam Ward from Center for Investigative Reporting

Sam Ward from the Center for Investigative Reporting (http://cironline.org/) will talk about a recent ebook project that he's undertaken at the CIR.

Timing

6:00 -- Mingling and meeting (with pizza and refreshments graciously provided by our hosts, Trulia)

7:00 -- Introductions

7:15 -- Robin Sloan

8:00 -- Sam Ward

We'll slot in another speaker after Sam if someone volunteers.