The full conference program will be available closer to the conference date. Be sure to check back!

Keynote Speakers

Rachel Noorda

Rachel Noorda is Associate Professor of English and Director of Book Publishing at Portland State University, where her research specializes in entrepreneurship, marketing, and consumer behavior in book publishing, emphasizing small business and identity. Dr. Noorda serves as Editor of the Business of Book Publishing strand of Cambridge Elements in Publishing and Book Culture and sits on the Executive Council for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. She is author of Entrepreneurial Identity in US Book Publishing in the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and co-author of International Bestsellers and the Online Reconfiguring of National Identity (Cambridge University Press, 2024) and Research Methods in Publishing and Book Studies (Routledge, 2025). Her work bridges scholarly research and industry practice, exploring how publishing professionals navigate contemporary challenges in an evolving media landscape.

John W. Warren

John W. Warren (he/his), Director and Professor, Graduate Program in Publishing, George Washington University, formerly held the positions of founding director of the George Mason University Press; marketing and sales director at Georgetown University Press; and director of marketing, publications at the RAND Corporation. He has a master’s in international management from the School of Public Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is also a classical guitarist and composer and writes about guitar technique, composition, and improvisation. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, John is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has authored several articles on digital publishing and other topics.