A LETTER FROM ISSUU CEO, JOE HYRKIN Welcome to Issuu’s Generators Summit. Issuu was founded with the mission to digitally transform the publishing world and to empower creators in their efforts to share their content and to tell their stories to a global audience. In coming together today to explore the marriage of technology, creativity, and content, we’ll focus on the sources of inspiration that drive us to create, share our passions & visions with the world and the ways to build lasting communities & businesses that support these efforts. This is “A New Age of Storytelling”; the discussion of the role of stories is vital in understanding what lies ahead for creators. The possibilities for impact on innovation and digital storytelling are endless. Stories unite us in shared interests and transcend our differences. Stories serve as the bedrock for moving a culture forward. And stories represent the best aspects of our creativity. Creativity is at the heart of how a society moves forward. It’s the creators who inspire and stand for new ways of thinking & seeing. That creativity that we access through the best art, publications, books, movies, photography, music and more is accessible to each of us. By exploring the Story, we each learn how to share our own and how to bridge cultures and ideas. Stories are at the heart of impact. It’s in this impact that new movements are formed and communities created. It’s this creativity that serves as the antidote to the fears or anger to which society resorts to, at times. We are fortunate to live in a world where technology is available to accelerate the ways in which we can create and offer our creations to people globally who share our curiosity and interests. Technology is at the heart of the distribution of ideas and content around which movements are born. Technology also serves as a tool to build the business containers that provide sustainability to our creativity. So today, we celebrate “A New Age of Storytelling”: the creatives and future voices who inspire, unite and use the tools of technology available to all of us now to share their stories around the globe. The Issuu Generators Summit is about beating the drum for the creative voice, the authentic expression that each of us and many more like us, bring to our work and our communities every day. #AlwaysBeTelling is about the will to never stop creating and generating from a place of passion and wisdom. In telling our stories...in speaking up, we stand together to further unite and align the global community. Enjoy the day. Dive in. Get inspired. Ask questions and tap into the stories that drive you to be a Generator! Best wishes, JOE HYRKIN
Issuu Generators Summit 2018 A New Age of Storytelling
What is the Issuu Generators Summit? The 2018 Issuu Generators Summit is a one-day event on December 4, 2018 in New York City. The Generators Summit features content leaders discussing the role of stories and discovering innovation in the digital narrative. Experience thought-provoking panels with content generators: changemakers, student activists and game changing brands that are creating the movements and moments that inspire breakthrough stories.
Morning Sessions 8:00am-9:30am Registration & Breakfast 9:30am-9:40am Opening Remarks 9:40am-10:20am Session 1 The Rise of Stories: The Driving Force Behind Today’s Top Brands We’re celebrating The Year of Stories. We’ve seen the major platforms like Snapchat and Instagram grow Stories content with great success. Heading into 2019, more brands plan to open their platforms for content creators to produce stories. Issuu brings together a panel of heavy-weight creators to share their vision of using Stories as a critically important format to grow brand discovery and engagement. This panel features Joe Hyrkin, Patrick Janelle, Whitney Little, and Antonia Sutter. 10:20am-10:35am Session 1 Q&A 10:35am-10:50am Break 10:50am-11:35am Session 2 How Creative Media Is Evolving Who are the players that are going to be dominant over the next 20 years, and how is the way they present their information evolving? Content creators, self-starters, and brands have more and more tools to produce their creative vision, so the media landscape keeps changing with an array of applications to launch and grow their media empires. From storytelling strategies, emerging technologies, and techniques to perfect your craft — how can content creators impact new media? This panel features Mindy Abovitz Monk, Lauren Alexis Fisher, Ghen Maynard, and Carl Van Arsdall. 11:35am-11:50am Session 2 Q&A 12:00pm-1:00pm Lunch: Public Kitchen, Ground Floor
Afternoon Sessions 1:20pm-2:05pm Session 3 A World Without The First Amendment The Importance of Journalism, Free Press, and Speaking Out Without journalism, our future is at risk. So, who are the next generation of voices and what news do they care about most? High School and University publications are covering major social and political issues, proving how critical it is for young journalists to delve into topics that are much deeper than were discussed even in the recent past. This panel features an impressive group of next generation journalists who are leveraging digital content platforms to broadcast their message to the world to impact social and political change. This panel features Joe Hyrkin, Melissa Falkowski, Lori Oglesbee, Neha Madhira, and Rebecca Schneid. 2:05pm-2:20pm Session 3 Q&A 2:20pm-2:40pm Break 2:40pm-3:25pm Session 4 Change Makers Using their unique perspectives, a group of change makers tell their story on how they’re using their experience to drive conversation across media channels with the intent of inspiring others to join them in their missions for change. Our panel will share their strategies to influence impact and reflect on their personal and brand stories that are changing the future narrative. This panel features Grace Bonney, Tavi Gevinson, Jen Tolentino, and Nora Gomez-Strauss. 3:25pm-3:40pm Session 4 Q&A 3:40pm-3:45pm Closing Remarks 4:00pm-6:00 pm Session 5 Craft a Story, Craft a Cocktail - an Interactive Happy Hour Experience We’re mixing food, music, and mingling for an experiential session with featured Issuu publishers who bring creativity to the next level at The Roof PUBLIC’s rooftop cocktail lounge with a jaw-dropping 360-degree panoramic view of New York City.
Featured Speaker Mindy Abovitz Monk Founder|,Tom Tom Mag Mindy Abovitz Monk is an award-winning entrepreneur and social activist, committed to diversifying the music industry. Through her media company Tom Tom, Mindy inspires a global audience of musicians to play with power, pride and to be seen. This year, she was recognized by the Grammys as a Change Agent.
Grace Bonney Founder & Editor In Chief, Design*Sponge & Good Company Grace Bonney is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Design*Sponge. She is also the founder of our new print magazine, Good Company and its weekly podcast of the same name. She authored the New York Times best-selling book, In the Company of Women, in 2016. Grace was named one of The Frederick Douglass 200 by The Guardian in 2018. She has been called a “Martha Stewart for Millennials” by The New York Times and was named a Top Home Influencer of 2017 by Forbes Magazine. Grace lives in the Hudson Valley with her wife and their three pets.
Melissa Falkowski Faculty Adviser & Teacher, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Melissa Falkowski is the faculty adviser of The Eagle Eye newsmagazine, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which she has been advising for the last four years. She has been teaching for 15 years at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Melissa advised the MSD Aerie yearbook for nine years, and currently advises the school literary magazine, Artifex. In addition to newspaper, she teaches English and creative writing courses. She holds a Bachelor’s in English Education from Florida Atlantic University and a Master’s in Journalism from Kent State University. Journalism has long been a passion of Melissa’s. She began as a student journalist on her middle school yearbook staff and continued to pursue that passion throughout high school. She became a teacher to empower students and help them find their voices through student journalism. She credits her high school journalism teacher, Jeanette Johnson, for inspiring her to become a journalism and English teacher. When Melissa is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family - her husband of 14 years, John; her 7-year-old son, John Thomas; and her 1-year-old daughter, Evangeline. Her other interests include trips to Disney World and reading.
Lauren Alexis Fisher Editor, Harper’s BAZAAR Lauren Alexis Fisher is a digital editor at Harper’s BAZAAR where she covers fashion news, trends, shopping, and more for BAZAAR.com. In addition to writing for BAZAAR, she also oversees the site’s e-commerce and SEO initiatives. Before landing at BAZAAR.com, Lauren studied fashion and business at LIM College in New York where she gained industry experience while interning at Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, College Fashionista, and Harper’s BAZAAR.
rs Tavi Gevinson Founder, Rookie Magazine
Tavi Gevinson is a writer, actor, and founder of the online teen magazine Rookie. Gevinson launched Rookie in 2011 at age 15, and has edited its five print anthologies, the Rookie Yearbooks and Rookie On Love, published by Penguin Random House. Dazed called Rookie “one of the best things to happen to the internet. The cultural impact has never felt like something that merely happened on the internet.” Gevinson has appeared in Broadway productions of This Is Our Youth, The Crucible, and The Cherry Orchard, and in the films Enough Said and Person to Person.
Nora Gomez-Strauss Director of Digital Strategies, Public Art Fund
Nora Gomez-Strauss is an arts administrator and freelance writer, currently serving as Public Art Fund’s Director of Digital Strategies. Her freelance writing mainly focuses on sharing the stories of women making an impact in the creative field. In an effort to represent her local community, she recently ran for and a won seat in the Queens Democratic County Committee. Nora holds a BS in Art Education with a concentration in Photography from SUNY New Paltz and a Master’s degree from Pratt Institute in Arts & Cultural Management. She currently lives in her native borough with her husband and two children, where they can be found going for long walks and listening to records.
Joe Hyrkin CEO, Issuu Joe is the CEO of Issuu, the world’s leading digital publishing and discovery platform connecting people to the content they love most. He has more than 20 years of experience in startup and growth technology leadership from early stage through to IPO. He served as CEO of Reverb during two rounds of financing; in addition, as head of SingleFeed, Joe oversaw that firm’s acquisition by Alibaba. Before that, Joe held sales and leadership positions at Gaia Interactive, Yahoo, Flickr, and Virage. He directed the Economist Group’s business in China and has extensive board and tech-advisor experience. Joe was educated at the State University of New York at Albany and as a foreign student at Beijing Normal University in China.
Patrick Janelle Creative Director and Entrepreneur, A Guy Named Patrick After living across the United States and across the globe, Patrick settled in New York in the fall of 2011. Following several years working in the art department at Bon Appétit magazine, he stepped out on his own to forge brand partnerships, co-produce secret pop-up gatherings across Manhattan, and pursue a lifestyle worthy of the constant photos he posts on Instagram. Patrick has been recognized by The New York Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian as a top Instagrammer and was awarded the inaugural Fashion Instagrammer of the Year award by the CFDA. As a creative director, Patrick continues to work with clients on projects that leverage his expertise in branded content, experiential marketing, and event production. He is also a co-founder of The Liquor Cabinet, an authoritative mobile app dedicated to the world of spirits and cocktails.
Rolf Leer founder & Editor-inChief, Quoted
Rolf Arne Leer is an entrepreneur and journalist from Norway with a passion for storytelling and meeting new people. He immediately fell in love with New York through his encounters with locals, each of whom shared unique insights into what the city meant to them and why they called it home. Rolf Arne started visiting New Yorkers in their homes to conduct interviews and to gather their perspectives. First featured in the Huffington Post, Rolf began to gain followers from around the world with his innovative, unfiltered portraits. He decided to share these insights through his own publication and Quoted was born. Quoted is a love letter to New York from the people who live here. It is an unfiltered take on the city through the eyes of locals. Every issue of Quoted features 10 New Yorkers from their home, sharing intimate stories from their lives and perspectives on New York. Four issues in, Quoted in New York is distributed at 41 boutique hotels, 5 airlines and more than 150 local coffee shops.
Whitney Little Associate Director of Social Media, The Knot
Whitney Little is the Associate Director of Social Media at XO Group, overseeing the social strategy for The Knot and The Bump. During her time at XO Group, she’s spearheaded the company’s first all-day Facebook Live to answer couples’ wedding planning questions and launched The Knot’s first longterm influencer program, the Most Influential Weddings of 2018. Whitney previously worked at DKC, specializing in digital marketing and social media strategy, and Full Picture, where she created the social media division and worked with clients such as Victoria’s Secret, Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, and Project Runway. She also spent three years at People Magazine, where she oversaw the brand’s social media platforms. During that time, she specialized in influencer and celebrity outreach, red carpet activations, and strategic growth of the brand, including People’s partnership with Snapchat Discover. Before that, she worked at MTV.com, where she helped produce the network’s digital sites and monitored social media strategy for their evening programming. Whitney graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Journalism.
Neha Madhira Student & Editor-in-Chief, Prosper High School
Neha Madhira is a senior at Prosper High School in Texas. Two years ago, after registering into a Journalism I class, she started to compete in UIL Academic competitions because she was inspired by the passion her former adviser, Lori Oglesbee, displayed for writing. Madhira has won 19 journalism awards over two years, including the achievement of the All-State Journalism Award and a National Quill & Scroll Gold Key Award. Currently, Madhira is Editor-in-Chief of her high school’s paper, Eagle Nation Online. After her prior principal censored the paper, banned editorials, and fired her adviser, Ms. Oglesbee, last year; Madhira spoke out, along with Haley Stack. Their story received coverage from over 30 media publications, including The New York Times. The duo was nominated for the National Courage in Journalism Award. Madhira continues on the journey to student press freedom as a student leader of the New Voices movement in Texas and speaks about the importance of student & teacher rights across the country. By communicating with legislators and First Amendment advocates such as Mary Beth Tinker, as well as educating others on their student press rights, she is fighting to make Texas the next state with the free press law. Eventually, Madhira hopes to have the other 35 states without New Voices, pass it as well.
Ghen Maynard Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Studios
Ghen Maynard was named by TV Guide as “one of the bold ones.” Convinced he had a way to draw young viewers to CBS without alienating its then older core, Ghen developed and championed what would become the first broadcast-TV reality show, the mega-hit Survivor. Survivor not only brought unprecedented mass young viewers to CBS but also changed the face and economics of all of TV, inspiring less costly yet highly successful reality TV programming. Subsequently, he developed and oversaw the Emmy Award-winning The Amazing Race, the U.S. version of Big Brother, and CW’s America’s Next Top Model (now on VH1). As Executive Vice President, Primetime Development, at NBC, Ghen and his team developed My Name Is Earl and Heroes, both the highest-rated new TV series in their respective debut seasons. As Vice President, Drama Development, at CBS he co-developed such hits as Judging Amy, The District, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the highest-rated new drama in its first season. In November 2016, Ghen was asked to return for his third stint at CBS to launch a new alternative programming studio as Senior Executive Vice President, where he is currently building a new business and assembling several projects for networks both in and outside the CBS universe. Ghen is a graduate of Harvard College, where he concentrated in social psychology while working fulltime as a publisher of the best-selling Let’s Go travel guides. Subsequently, he worked as a Business Analyst at Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston.
Lori Oglesbee Educator and Advocate
Lori Oglesbee taught high school journalism to more than 4,000 students over 35 years. Those students won awards at the regional, state, and national levels making their programs one of the top in the country year after year. Oglesbee was Texas Journalism Teacher of the Year in 2005 and the Journalism Education Association National Yearbook Adviser of the Year in 2009. In her last year in the classroom, she and her students battled administrative censorship of their work. The policy was overturned in favor of her students. However, the principal refused to renew her contract. She lives in McKinney, Texas, works as an educational consultant, and continues to advocate for students’ rights to a free press.
Antonia Sutter Founder Carry-On Publishing
Antonia Sutter studied Business Administration with a focus on Finance and Strategic Management at HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management. After graduation she started her career at YOC AG, the German pioneer in mobile marketing, mobile Internet and mobile advertising. She was responsible for Business Development at YOC Group before taking over the management of the subsidiary YOC Ltd. in London in 2011. In January 2013, Antonia Sutter founded, together with Theresa Neubauer and Alex Sutter, the digital media company, Carry-On Publishing. The company currently publishes two digital-only magazines, sisterMAG and CVmag, which are both internationally oriented.
Rebecca Schneid Student & Co-Editor-in-Chief, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Rebecca Schneid is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Class of 2019. She is a third year staff member of their high school newspaper, The Eagle Eye and is now serving as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the 2018-2019 school year. Through her work as a journalist at The Eagle Eye, she has found her true calling in journalism, communications, and political science. Schneid often chooses to write about hard-hitting feature topics she is passionate about, such as activism, rape culture, diversity in entertainment, and politics. She chose to join the newspaper because of her interest and skills in writing, but continues to devote her time to it because of the creativity, growth, design, friendships, and love she has come to find at The Eagle Eye. After the incident of gun violence at her school on February 14th, 2018, Schneid not only advocated for policy change, but reported on her school, the activism that rose out of it, and possible solutions to the issue.
Jen Tolentino Director of Policy and Civic Tech, Rock the Vote
Jen Tolentino is Rock the Vote’s Director of Policy and Civic Tech. She leads the organization’s engagement in election administration, voting rights, and technology policy by identifying opportunities to increase access for young voters across the country through policy, innovation, and partnerships. She also spearheads the continued development and distribution of Rock the Vote’s online civic tech resources, including its online voter registration platform that is utilized by hundreds of national, state, and local partners across the country. Jen directs the organization’s work to protect and expand the voting rights of young people, through grassroots organizing, legislation, and participation in litigation efforts. To ensure young people not only have equal opportunities to participate in our democracy, but also understand the importance of voting, Jen also oversees the development of strategic partnerships with brands, such as HBO, Twitter, and TOMS, and nonprofits partners, to reach young people with targeted and authentic messaging and resources. Prior to joining Rock the Vote, Jen led the national government outreach for the Voting Information Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts, an open data partnership of Pew and Google, to make voting information more accessible through partnerships with organizations such as the Internet Association and Rock the Vote. During that time, Jen oversaw the development of several open source projects and coordinated the national voting data standardization efforts for the 2014 midterm elections. She has also spent time engaging advocates across the country and lobbying the Administration and Congress on behalf of preservation, public lands, and green building issues at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Jen is based in Los Angeles and a native Californian, receiving her BA in English from UC Riverside, and her MPP from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. While obtaining her MPP, Jen was a graduate student researcher to former Gov. Michael Dukakis and served as a legislative fellow to Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. She is part of the Future of California Election Advisory Board.
Carl Van Arsdall Studios
Software Engineer & Render Technical Director, Pixar Animation
Carl Van Arsdall began at Pixar Animation Studios in September 2008. As a member of the Studio Tools team, Van Arsdall has contributed to every Pixar film since the Academy Award®-winning feature film UP in 2009 to Incredibles 2 which released earlier this year in 2018. As a software engineer, Van Arsdall works on the platform team at Pixar. He is responsible for various aspects of the studio infrastructure with a focus on the development infrastructure. Van Arsdall worked on “Cicada,” a tool that automatically builds and tests changes, logging results, and providing applications for the inspection of those results used by various teams at the studio. Van Arsdall is also responsible for the system that produces Presto each day to the Pixar animators and technical directors. He is currently working on rotation as a render technical director on Toy Story 4 which opens in theaters June 2019. Raised in Livermore, California, Van Arsdall received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2003. He received his M.S. in Computer Engineering from San Jose State University in 2006, and also received an A.A. in Music Technology from Foothill College in 2009. Prior to Pixar, Van Arsdall worked at MontaVista Software, an embedded Linux distribution where he ran their build infrastructure. Even outside of his professional career, Van Arsdall is deeply committed to creative expression. He started “vt100”, a personal project that he has been working on for ten years. With “vt100”, Van Arsdall composes, engineers, and releases electronic music that is made exclusively on hardware synthesizers and sequencers. The project’s third full length LP is about to be released. More recently in late 2017, Van Arsdall founded an art collective in his local community to explore how technology empowers discovery, immersion, and interaction. Through interactive LED sculptures, interactive audio & video walls, and even modified vintage technology, FILMA blends the relationship between the artists, and those who love art. Van Arsdall currently resides in Berkeley, California
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Artisan publishes illustrated books to inspire and instruct, produced with great intention and quality. Artisan was founded by Peter Workman in 1994 with the idea that many subjects can be best expressed visually, and today Artisan is as committed as ever to applying that visual mandate—whether through photography, illustration, or graphic design—to strong and meaningful editorial content. Artisan’s first significant bestseller was The French Laundry Cookbook, by Thomas Keller, and recent New York Times best sellers include In the Company of Women, John Derian Picture Book, The Dogist, The Kinfolk Home, and many more. Artisan specializes in cooking, design, crafts and hobbies, and expanding the boundaries of general nonfiction. It seeks authors who are thought leaders and tastemakers, working hand in hand with them to capture their voice, hone their message, and bring their unique ideas and insights to a wide group of readers. The physical book is Artisan’s great passion: finding the form, conceiving the package, digging deep into the details, until this concerted effort results in an object that is a singular pleasure to hold, to use, to read, and to give. FLOOD Magazine spans the diverse cultural landscape of music, film, television, art, travel, and everything in between. Between its covers—which have been graced by Neil Young, Iggy Pop, Jack White, the cast of HBO’s Veep, hip-hop supergroup Run The Jewels, chef Roy Choi, and John C. Reilly’s Dr. Steve Brule, among others—and on its website, FLOOD brings often overlooked culture and entertainment to the forefront. In a noisy world, FLOOD highlights the best and most intriguing players in pop culture through engaging media, intelligent op-eds, and thought-provoking interviews and features. In collaboration with top entertainers and creative thinkers, FLOOD engages the conversation while continuing to champion what inspires us. FLOOD Magazine is also published digitally on Issuu. FLOOD also produces annual events in various cities across the US, from FLOODfest Austin during SXSW—which has featured artists as varied as Spoon, Vince Staples, Peaches, and Run the Jewels—to FLOODfest Chicago, which this year, featured delicious food and libations alongside performances from Local Natives and Baio. Good Company Magazine is a bi-annual print magazine at the intersection of creativity and business. Good Company provides motivation, inspiration, practical advice, and a vital sense of connection and community for women and nonbinary creatives at every stage of life. Each issue of Good Company focuses on one overarching theme, including Change, Fear, Community, Mentors, Money, and much more. Good Company Magazine is run by author and blogger Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge and the New York Times bestselling book, In the Company of Women. Each issue of Good Company includes first-person essays and pep talks from well-known creatives, studio visits and interviews, stunning photography, group discussions, hand-drawn zines from today’s top artists and in-depth explorations of specific fields and niches, from designers in rural areas to the next generation of publishers providing platforms for marginalized voices and communities. With its emphasis on the power of inclusivity, community, and embracing our differences, Good Company provides an energetic, safe, and supportive place to connect, learn, grow, and work through the challenges that creative people experience in pursuing their passions and dreams. The majority of each issue is written by and about creative from underrepresented communities. The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally and internationally, as well as for work that has been inspired and influenced by black culture. It is a site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society. Studio Magazine, well into its second decade of circulation, appears in print biannually, and is updated weekly online. Studio Magazine is also published digitally on Issuu. Sweet Paul Magazine, Paul “Sweet Paul” Lowe is guided by his grandmother, Mormor’s, motto: “fullkommenhet er kjedelig” -- “perfection is boring”. Born in Oslo, his Mormor and Great Auntie Gunnvor instilled in him a love for cooking and crafting that carried over to his career in New York as a food and props stylist, and eventually the creative guru behind the quarterly Sweet Paul Magazine. Flipping through the pages of his eponymous magazine, you’ll be riveted by beautiful culinary and crafting ideas that remain humble and accessible -- but never boring! Sweet Paul Magazine is a lifestyle magazine for anyone looking to make simple, elegant meals and stylishly easy crafts for the home. We’re about homemade and handmade, and we’re helping our readers create a one-of-a-kind style for life’s everyday occasions. Sweet Paul Magazine is also published digitally on Issuu. Tom Tom Magazine™ is the only magazine in the world dedicated to female drummers. Tom Tom is a 74 page full color quarterly print magazine, website, social media community, academy, and more. Tom Tom serves as the ultimate go-to guide for the latest information about girl drummers and beat makers around the globe. The magazine seeks to raise awareness about female percussionists from all over the world and hope to inspire women and girls of all ages to drum, all while strengthening and building the community of otherwise fragmented female musicians. Tom Tom covers drummers of all ages, races, styles, skill level, sexualities, body size, and notoriety. It is also a proud producer and creator of the Hit Like a Girl Contest: the only contest for female drummers in the world. Tom Tom Magazine is also published digitally on Issuu.
