Explore the sessions shaping this year’s Vancouver International Publishing Conference.
June 6, 2026 | The Wallace at The Shipyards, North Vancouver
From industry-wide trends to firsthand author insights, each session is designed to give you practical knowledge, insider strategies, and real-world perspectives you can’t find anywhere else.
Explore the full agenda below to see what you’ll learn, who you’ll hear from, and how each session can strengthen your knowledge and broaden your perspective on the publishing process.
Session 1: Publishing Trends
How this year’s publishing economics, reader behavior and sales decisions have shifted, stabilized and solidified.
Session 2: From Book to Bestseller
What Makes A Book a Bestseller: Beyond beautiful writing, discover the machinery that moves units, drives pre-orders, and nudges algorithms. We’ll unpack list qualifications, sales thresholds, publicity timing, distribution power, publisher backing, and the marketing tactics that build velocity.
Author Panel: Sales & Success
Is it sales numbers? Status? Awards? Or is it the opportunity? These authors evaluate and share an honest account of what success has looked like and meant for them in their career thus far.
Session 4: Bookstore Business
Learn how bookstores work, so they can work for you: How do bookstores decide what books to carry, what books land on the front table, and when they say “Thanks, but no thanks.” How can authors best network and navigate getting their book in bookstores.
Author Panel: Tales from the Trenches
What works and what flops? Learn from the plans, strategies, opportunities, and mistakes that authors have experienced personally.
Session 6: Book Marketing & Publicity
Is it all about the book, or is it all about the author? Hear from book-influencers and industry marketers about how to make marketing work for you and your story.
Meet Our Panelists
We’re excited to introduce some of the voices joining us this year. Stay tuned as we announce more panelists in the coming weeks.
