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Pan Macmillan hosts event for Female Leadership in Publishing (The FLIP) at The Smithson

Yesterday, September 22, Pan Macmillan hosted non-profit organisation Female Leadership in Publishing (The FLIP) at its London offices for an event titled The FLIPside of Publishing: Finding Readers in an Age of Disinformation and Distraction.

Pan Macmillan hosts event for Female Leadership in Publishing (The FLIP) at The Smithson

Bringing together authors, booksellers, and industry leaders, the event explored how publishers can champion books as immovable sources of truth, navigate the rise of artificial intelligence, and build meaningful reader communities in an increasingly fragmented digital landscape.

The FLIP

  • Keynote Speaker: Cassie Rocks (Co-director of The FLIP and Brand Marketing Manager at The Bookseller)
  • Panel Members: Sarah Wynn-Williams (Author of Careless People and former Facebook Director of Global Public Policy), Oenone Forbat (Author and co-host of Everything Is Content), Mercy Smartt (Co-founder of the book-ends and 2024 Bookseller Rising Star), and Cynthia Hamilton (Head of PR & Marketing at The History Press)
  • Panel Chair: Yanmin Zhuchen-Mander (Co-director of The FLIP and Senior Marketing Manager at John Murray Press)
  • Fireside Chat Speakers: Joanna Prior OBE (Chief Executive Officer, Pan Macmillan) and Rebecca Sinclair (Chief Brand Officer at Penguin Random House & President of the Publishers Association)

Books as an unshakeable source of truth

Co-director of The FLIP Cassie Rocks opened the evening with a keynote setting out the vital role books play in counteracting synthetic media, algorithmic bias, and online misinformation.

Inspired by a recent interview with Pan Macmillan CEO Joanna Prior OBE—who urged that publishers have ‘a fight on our hands: to publish weapons against misinformation’—Rocks emphasised the unique permanence of the written word:

‘Misinformation, disinformation and ultimately distrust are now a part of everyday life... And that is where books come in. Books have long had the power to do many things: to help us imagine, help us learn, help us escape – but they also have the power to testify. To be an immovable, veritable source of truth – one that offers a perspective that, once published, cannot be transcribed incorrectly, does not hallucinate and present fiction as fact, and will not change the narrative to suit what the reader wants when left unsupervised.’

The event was held at The Smithson, Pan Macmillan's Farringdon office.
The event was held at The Smithson, Pan Macmillan's Farringdon office.

Finding readers in an age of distraction

Chaired by Yanmin Zhuchen-Mander, the first expert panel brought together perspectives from across the literary ecosystem to discuss accessibility, AI ethics, and how to foster genuine connection with non-traditional reading audiences.

The panel featured Sarah Wynn Williams, author of the best-selling Careless People, which has been a mainstay of this year's non-fiction charts.

Addressing artificial intelligence in creative writing, the panellists agreed that technology must remain firmly separate from the creative process, with Oenone Forbat noting lightheartedly: ‘We don’t want to lose the fun jobs.’

On the subject of post-publication e-book editing, Cynthia Hamilton warned against removing historical context or controversial content to sanitise backlists, observing: ‘You can’t learn anything from the past if you sanitise it.’

Discussing reading habits, Mercy Smartt highlighted the importance of booksellers, local bookshops, and book clubs in helping readers break free from algorithmic recommendations. Smartt called for removing guilt around reading choices, emphasizing that the industry should champion ‘no guilty pleasures, just pleasures’.

L-R: Sarah Wynn Williams and Mercy Smartt
L-R: Sarah Wynn Williams and Mercy Smartt

Shaping the future of reading

The evening concluded with a fireside chat between Pan Macmillan CEO Joanna Prior OBE and Publishers Association President Rebecca Sinclair.

Reflecting on their careers, working motherhood, and industry-wide initiatives such as Lit in Colour, the leaders examined how publishing houses can maintain trust during moments of political and technological change.

Touching on the expansion of AI tools, Prior highlighted the enduring strength of traditional storytelling while detailing Pan Macmillan’s commitment to author advocacy: ‘Books are the best invention and fantastically resilient... It’s hard to ignore AI and the progress it has made. We put our authors first and we will use all the tools at our disposal to promote them.’

Closing the event, Prior and Sinclair issued a shared call to action across the publishing trade to unite behind the National Decade of Reading, building on the measurable impact established by the National Year of Reading campaign.

A full write-up of the keynote address and speech highlights can be read on The Bookseller.