Introducing Book Summit

This year at Web Summit be prepared to enjoy literary-themed talks and interviews at Book Summit, a new track featuring authors including Harper’s Bazaar royal editor Omid Scobie, ACLU president Deborah Archer, and CEO of video game and VR startup Herman Narula.

Book Summit is a brand new Web Summit track showcasing authors, publishers, and other influential figures across the literary world. You can expect plenty of leading thinkers to present their newest work and ideas on a stage that includes short extracts of reading and a mix of keynotes and fireside chats.

And Book Summit goes beyond publications in the world of tech. Check out some of the speakers joining us this year, spanning popular culture, high society, the metaverse, and social justice.

Omid Scobie – royal editor, Harper’s Bazaar

Omid Scobie is the royal editor-at-large at Harper’s Bazaar. The British journalist is also the author of the New York Times best-selling book, “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family”.

Omid is a leading authority on the British royal family and has covered their activities for over a decade. Reporting from across the globe on the royals, Omid most recently covered Queen Elizabeth’s II funeral.

As well as hosting ABC’s The HeirPod, a podcast about the British royal family, Omid has inked another book deal with HarperCollins for a further tome on the Sussexes.

Deborah Archer – president, ACLU

As the president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Deborah Archer’s career has been defined by fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable members of society, acting as a voice for change. Deborah is a nationally recognised expert in civil rights and racial justice in the US.

After graduating from Yale Law School, Deborah’s career began as a public interest lawyer, working on cases that challenged discrimination and fighting for the rights of the poor and marginalized.

The ACLU president is also a professor at the New York University School of Law and in this capacity recently wrote for the Iowa Law Review about how transportation policy has affected the development of Black communities in the United States.

At Book Summit, Deborah will be talking about forthcoming book Other Side of the Tracks: Transportation Infrastructure and the Color Line (published by Norton/Liveright).

Herman Narula – co-founder and CEO, Improbable

Herman Narula is the co-founder and CEO of VR and video game development company Improbable, which partners with entertainment companies, defence

companies and academic institutions to enable powerful, virtual worlds of unprecedented size and usefulness.

The company was founded in 2012 with Herman’s brother Rohan. The Cambridge graduate has worked in the video game industry for over 10 years, including at Rockstar Games and EA DICE.

Herman is passionate about how video games, VR and metaverse technologies are impacting upon society. This is illustrated in Virtual Society: The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience, a new book where Herman looks at the metaverse through the lenses of psychology, history, and sociology.

Book Summit is one of three new tracks being brought to Web Summit this year. Browse all 20+ tracks here. Click below to see what other speakers are joining us at Web Summit this year.

Main image: Web Summit