BIC Brunches 2024

#bicbrunch

European Accessibility Act: Fixed Layout

Overview

BIC Brunches are a series of live webinars which have been created for BIC members and non-members to explore book industry supply chain topics (including issues, successes, and challenges). Each BIC Brunch session is dedicated to one key area of the supply chain, offering attendees a unique opportunity to gather knowledge about that topic from experts in the field.

Introduction

Join us in this, the fifth session of our brand-new series of webinars dedicated to Accessibility, which we have put together with the 2025 European Accessibility Act (EAA) firmly in mind.

This event follows on from four incredibly well received sessions that have already examined i) Back to Basics – the Legalities, ii) Accessibility Metadata, iii) Accessible Content (EPUB and PDF), and iv) Alt Text.

Recordings of each of the above sessions (with the exception of the Legalities session) will gradually be made freely available via our YouTube Accessibility Playlist. Prior to them being published on YouTube, BIC members may request a copy of any of the recordings from the above 4 sessions via info@bic.org.uk at any time.

So having already looked at the legalities, metadata, content, and Alt Text, December’s session sees our expert speakers guide us through the often-complex topic of fixed layout titles. We will be discussing when to go fixed layout, when not to, and how best to tackle front and backlists in light of the requirements of the EAA. We’ll be both addressing the challenges of EPUB fixed layout and also hearing the technical side of how PDFs can be made accessible.

Host

• Karina Urquhart, Executive Director, BIC

Speakers

• Koko Ekong, Ebook Technical and Design Manager, Penguin Random House
• Duff Johnson, CEO of the PDF Association
• Wendy Reid, Accessibility and Publishing Standards Lead at Rakuten Kobo Inc.

Who should attend?

This event will be of interest to those concerned with complying with the EU Accessibility Act, particularly when it comes to fixed layout titles.

The EU Accessibility Act will have a far-reaching impact on the book industry supply chain and so this session will be of interest to anyone working in the book publishing world including publishers, vendors, and in particular, content creators.

Registration

Tickets are FREE for BIC and BISG members and MA publishing Students at City St George’s, University of London. Everyone else is required to pay a nominal fee. Please ensure you select the correct ticket type.

To register, scroll to the top of this webpage and click on the ‘Get Tickets’ button.
Not sure if your organisation is a BIC member? View our members list here.

Future Accessibility BIC Brunch sessions

In addition to November’s session, there are currently four further BIC Brunch sessions planned that will explore specific topics with regards to the EU Accessibility Act and they include:

• STEM/Educational/Scholarly Requirements – January 2025
• Websites/Platforms – February 2025
• Digital Audio – March 2025
• DRM, Text-to-Speech, and Accessibility – April 2025

Can’t make it? Watch it on YouTube

If you would like to attend this event but cannot for any reason, you can watch both our BIC Brunch and Green BIC Brunch sessions via the BIC YouTube channel. One month after the live event, the footage will be uploaded to the channel.

BIC Brunch attendees will have access to the recordings more quickly: Within a week of the live event. BIC members will also have access to the recordings as quickly, upon request.

If you are unable to attend this event but have a question for one of our speakers then do get in touch with us via info@bic.org.uk (prior to the event starting) to have your question put to our speakers.

If you would like to remain informed about all of BIC’s forthcoming events, including our BIC Brunch sessions, join BIC’s mailing list.

We look forward to seeing you!