*CFP* "THE CULTURAL VALUE OF THE E-BOOK: AUTHORSHIP, PUBLISHING & CONSUMPTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE", SYMPOSIUM

The Cultural Value of the e-Book

Authorship, Publishing & Consumption in The Digital Age

23rd October 2019

Birmingham City University

Organised by the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR), this symposium addresses the status of the book, its economics, culture and the practices associated with publishing in the digital age. The event seeks to address the following key questions:

• How have the e-reader and other digital media impacted on the economics, cultural meaning, and status of the book? 
• How has the digitization of the book impacted the practices of authors, readers, publishers, and cultural intermediaries? 
• What comparisons might be drawn between the production and consumption of the book and other fields of culture after the digital turn?

We encourage submissions from scholars across all areas of media and cultural research. Topics may include (but are not limited to):

• Production, circulation, and consumption of the digital book 
• The economic and symbolic meanings and value of the e-book 
• Cultural Intermediaries and the production of cultural value 
• Literacy, taste and social identity in the digital age 
• Digital self-publishing and DIY culture 
• The relationship and comparisons of the digital book with other cultural fields

Presentations should be no more than 15 minutes long. Please send an abstract of no more than 200 words and a short biography to Christian.moerken@mail.bcu.ac.uk by 9th August 2019

Confirmed presentations/papers by participants of the symposium include topics such as:

• The impact of haptics for reading 
• Impact of digital media on adult education 
• The legacy of e-Readers 
• Choosing a format for reading books 
• Books trailers as production/consumption platform 
• Leveraging Blogger influence in the launch of Storytel
• Self-Publishing of LGBTQ-writers

and more.

Christian Mörken is a PhD research student at the Birmingham City University School of Media researching the cultural value of the book in the digital age. He has a professional background in the German Music- and Publishing Industry. Today he works as a journalist and writer for children’s books and audio drama.