Slow Fire is an irregular unmeeting of like-minded professionals working with books in the UK. It is intended to foster new and creative ideas in all areas of publishing, and provide support and inspiration to attendees.

What’s an unmeeting?

An unmeeting is a meeting where the content of the discussion is driven and created by the participants, during the course of the event, rather than by a single organizer, or small group of organizers, in advance.

For a longer explanation, see this Wikipedia article on unconferences, or read about BarCamp, a similar endeavour in the technology industry.

Why?

Publishing is not, by any account, a cutting-edge industry. However, it is changing rapidly. Shifts in readership and the advent of new technologies will radically transform the industry in the coming years.

There is a need for a forum where (mostly, but not exclusively) young publishers who care about literature and its future can come together to discuss the possibilities, the challenges, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Sounds a bit serious…

It’s not meant to be. Slow Fire is also a social group - have a drink, make friends, find out what other people in the industry are up to, and talk about books.

Who can come?

Meetings are open to all interested parties who are already professionally involved in publishing, in any role - including agents, booksellers and others.

If you’d like to attend, add your name to the mailing list at the top of the page.

It should be stressed that Slow Fire is not a place for people outside the industry to look for jobs, or for writers looking to get published.

What’s with the name?

A slow fire is a term used in library and information science to describe paper embrittlement resulting from acid decay (Wikipedia). Over time, books printed on acidic papers destroy themselves, and the information they carry is lost.

The name is intended to convey similar notions of transformation over time - but hopefully with better results.

Who is behind Slow Fire?

Slow Fire is a project of booktwo.org, a website and forum dedicated to discussing the future of books. More information about booktwo.org can be found here.