Oxford conference on the future of book publishing opens call for papers

Researchers, publishers and educators have until Jan. 22, 2027, to submit proposals for the 12th international By the Book conference, which will take place at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom on June 16 and 17. Under the theme “Publishing Futures,” the event will examine challenges facing the global book industry, including market concentration, artificial intelligence, digital platforms and changing reading habits.

According to the organisers, the conference will bring together academic researchers and publishing professionals to explore how the industry can respond to technological and economic changes. The event combines academic research with practical industry perspectives, offering several presentation formats to accommodate different approaches.

The official call for papers identifies growing market concentration, technological advances and the increasing influence of major digital platforms as key challenges. Organisers also highlight the need to understand how smaller publishing businesses can navigate the adoption of artificial intelligence while competing with larger market players.

The proposed discussion topics are divided into three main areas: market structures, publishing processes and research.

The first covers book market regulation, regional market differences, dependence on digital platforms, market concentration and the position of authors as entrepreneurs. It also addresses public-private infrastructure, inclusivity and the relationship between media, public policy and populism. The organisers additionally raise the question of how to define a book, noting its importance for publishing research, sales statistics and taxation.

The second focuses on publishing workflows, innovation, content overload, sustainability and the financial and operational costs of adopting artificial intelligence. Copyright and licensing issues surrounding the use of protected works to train AI models are also among the proposed subjects.

The third area concerns the reliability of publishing industry data, changing reading habits, the role of libraries and the preservation of publishing heritage. Organisers also invite research on interdisciplinary cooperation, new methodologies, funding for humanities research and inequalities associated with open-access publishing.

The conference will accept four types of contributions: 20-minute research presentations, digital or printed poster presentations with a five-minute introduction, one-hour roundtable discussions and 15-minute presentations on innovative approaches to teaching publishing studies. Roundtable proposals must be submitted by groups rather than individual participants.

Applicants must submit a 250-word abstract and a 100-word biography for each participant in Word or PDF format. Proposals will undergo peer review, and selected papers will be published in a special issue of the academic journal “Logos.” Participants are not required to submit a full paper before the conference. 

The submission deadline is Jan. 22, 2027. The participation fee is 235 British pounds, with a reduced rate of 110 British pounds for PhD students. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses. Full submission guidelines and application details are available on the conference website.

By the Book is an international conference bringing together publishing professionals, researchers and educators to examine developments in the book industry and publishing studies. The 2026 edition, titled “Minds, Myths and Machines: Rewiring the Publishing Industry,” took place at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, and focused on artificial intelligence, digital transformation and changing business models.

The challenges identified for the 2027 conference reflect broader debates within the European publishing industry. As reported earlier, a study of European book markets found that AI was increasingly being used in translation, audiobook production and editorial workflows, while raising concerns about smaller language markets’ growing dependence on English and the costs of adopting new technologies.

Copyright protection has also become a major concern. In October 2026, more than 150 publishers and publishing organisations backed the Frankfurt Appeal, calling on European authorities to require greater transparency from AI developers about copyrighted works used to train their models.

Similar challenges concerning market sustainability and cultural identity were also raised during the 2026 Volia programme in Frankfurt. Publishing professionals from Ukraine and neighbouring countries discussed how independent publishers could maintain sustainable businesses, preserve their cultural identities and reach readers amid the growth of AI-generated content.

Main image: Oxford International Centre for Publishing / Oxford Brookes University