Andy Hunter is one of the most interesting players in the discovery and commerce of books. Andy’s career took him from mainstream cultural behemoth Disney to beloved counterculture publisher Soft Skull Press, before founding online literary communities Electric Literature and LitHub. From there, he launched the indie e-commerce platform Bookshop.org in 2020 and stewarded its exceptional growth. Andy discusses the critical value of independent publishing and independent bookstores to culture, the wiring together of community and business model, and the power in a changing technology landscape.

Madeline McIntosh is a trailblazing publisher whose career spans leading roles at storied companies like Norton, Bantam Doubleday Dell, Amazon, and Penguin Random House. Madeline talks about her newest venture, Authors Equity, which just celebrated its first anniversary. Authors Equity uses a new kind of business model where publisher and author collaborate to drive a book’s success.

HarperCollins is a storied worldwide publisher with roots that go back more than 200 years, possessing a catalog of 200,000 titles from authors like Mark Twain, the Brontë sisters, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Barbara Kingsolver. Brian Murray talks about the company’s legacy of navigating changes in culture, technology and law, becoming a truly global publisher, and navigating evolving AI technology while protecting intellectual property.