You probably can tell that we’re very excited about Tech Forum turning 15 this year. As part of the celebration, we’ve started a new blog series called Tech Forum to-go where we revisit past sessions and break them down into digestible takeaways, we’ve also shared a list of the most-viewed sessions, and today we’re bringing you a list of the BookNet staff top picks along with our favourite memories from the conference.

Monique Mongeon, Project Manager

Monique’s top pick is Teresa Elsey’s 2016 session “When nothing ever goes out of print: Maintaining backlist ebooks.”

This session is a must-watch for anyone in publishing, regardless of their role in the process. When your book never goes out of print, the decisions you make have an infinite shelf life.

Her second favourite session is the 2022 panel “What makes #BookTokers tick: Everything publishers need to know”.

A more recent pick, but #BookTok is making waves, and publishers ought to be paying attention! Hear it straight from the Booktokers' on this great panel!

Here’s what Monique shared with us about her favourite conference memory:

Remember that year we had those microphones in squishy foam cubes you had to hurl across the room at question-askers? Great times.

Tim Middleton, Project Manager & Retailer Liaison

Tim’s top pick is the 2009 session “Reading electronically on Stanza” by Neelan Choksi.

Neelan Choksi of Lexcycle was at our second Tech Forum and filled me with enthusiasm for the direction that ebooks were going in. Sadly their company was gobbled up by Amazon but I still found this early perspective on ebooks very stimulating.

And his second favourite session was also a 2009 session “Time, love & books” by Hugh McGuire — talk about nostalgia!

Hugh McGuire of Pressbooks, Librevox, and more spoke passionately about the potential of the Open Web and the place of books in that ecosystem. He spoke without a power point presentation and captured the hearts and minds of the room.

Here’s what Tim told us about his favourite Tech Forum memory:

For me, the very first Tech Forum brought the legendary book biz whiz Jason Epstein to present on his print on demand invention — the espresso book machine. It was weird and wonderful.

Lauren Stewart, Director – Customer Relations, Conferences & Operations

Lauren’s top pick is also the 2016 presentation “When nothing ever goes out of print: Maintaining backlist ebooks” by Teresa Elsey.

"When nothing ever goes out of print: Maintaining backlist ebooks" by Teresa Elsey is a masterwork in how a team, a department, and how a company can approach a complex and previously not understood problem. This topic is evergreen and should be revisited frequently by firm decision-makers — your backlist only ever grows and so does the associated workload for your teams. Elsey's storytelling style will ease you through.

And her second favourite is the 2015 session "How an 11-minute podcast can change a book's life" by Anshuman Iddamsetty.

"How an 11-minute podcast can change a book's life" by Anshuman Iddamsetty is a favourite because it inspired BookNet's then Marketing & Communications Manager, Zalina Alvi (now Communications Coordinator at The Writers' Union of Canada), to create BookNet's podcast, and even present about that process herself five years later, in 2015!

Adaobi Nnaobi, Marketing & Research Associate

Adaobi’s top pick is the 2022 session “The difference queer fanfiction makes.” In this session, Nikoo Sarraf and Jennifer Chen from McGill University's .txtlab shared insights from their research: revealing the stylistic qualities of queer fanfiction that allow readers to form strong attachments with the material and showing how queer fanfiction authors approach content from a place of emotional vulnerability, explore taboo topics, and offer character-focused storytelling.

Adaobi’s second favourite session is “I opened a bookstore in the pandemic!” For this panel, we were joined by a group of booksellers, all of whom launched their bookstores during the pandemic. They talked about what motivated them to start a bookstore, what it was like to open their doors, virtual and physical, during a pandemic, how they establish themselves within their communities, and much more.

Nataly Alarcón, Marketing Associate

Nataly’s top pick is the 2020 session “Be seen be heard: A workshop to help you reclaim power in your career” by Cynthia Pong.

Cynthia’s energy was contagious and powerful. I left the session feeling empowered and ready to take on the world!

Her second favourite session is the 2021 panel “Moving pieces: Industry initiatives you don't want to miss.”

It’s always interesting to hear what other organizations are doing and potentially identify ways to collaborate.

Here’s what Nataly told us about her favourite Tech Forum memory:

Remember the super delicious cheese table from the Tech Forum 2019 closing ceremony? I do.

Aline Zara, Research Coordinator

Aline’s top pick is the 2021 session “Foreign object in the house of Canadian literature.”

In this session, Annahid Dashtgard, Chelene Knight, and moderator Léonicka Valcius had an important, nuanced, and solution-based conversation about how the publishing industry cares for authors who share difficult truths in their work.

Jackie Fry, Director – Product Development

Jackie’s top pick is the 2010 session “Publishing 3.0” by Richard Nash.

I remember it all these years later because Richard is an awesome presenter, but also because he used the cursor as an analogy for his resting heart rate. He forgot his beta blockers! Looking at the cost of publishing.

And her second favourite session is 2018's “Libraries bridging the digital divide” by Jessamyn West.

Jessamyn West gave a very timely talk about the value libraries bring to people who are alienated from technology or not having access to computer technology, a good reminder that we are not all on the same playing field.

Here’s what Jackie told us about her favourite Tech Forum memory:

The smoothies! The donut wall! The fantastic lunches! And the enamel pins!

Vivian Luu, CataList Project Coordinator

Vivian’s top pick is the 2019 session “How publishing is attacking the diversity problem: A data-driven approach” by Ashleigh Gardner.

It's interesting how Wattpad's tags reveal there are popular themes and stories that aren't reflected as strongly in titles published by traditional publishers, and how Wattpad follows those trends to decide the types of books they publish. Using data to find popular themes shows how publishing can be less about what a small number of individuals believe will be popular, and more about what stories readers want to see more often — and I think that's a step in the right direction to making publishing more inclusive.

And her second favourite is the 2022 panel “I opened a bookstore in the pandemic!”

I enjoy learning about the human element in publishing, how the people working with books are tackling problems and promoting change. This one is very timely, and it's interesting to hear about how bookstores have fared during the pandemic.

Ainsley Sparkes, Marketing & Communications Manager

Ainsley’s top pick is “Games and gamification” by Jon Ingold.

Does anyone else remember 2012? It was a simpler time. It was a time when I first learned about gamification of content from gaming expert, Jon Ingold. I learned, in a more formalized way, what games are, why they work, and what makes for a good one. He explained how publishers could use gamification with their content as well. It’s a presentation that has stayed with me.

And her second favourite is the 2019 session “A crisis management lens for #MeToo and the media industry” by Melissa Mack.

Similar to my first pick, this more recent session in 2019 was the first time I thought about how I could be more like Olivia Pope in my professional life. Melissa Mack, Director at Witt O'Brien's spoke about how the principles of Crisis Management can be used to successfully mitigate the consequences of all types of crises. And as a bonus, we were lucky enough to have Melissa Mack return in 2020 for a two-part session all about business disruptions — a timely topic then and still very worth your time!