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Publisherspeak UK 2026
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Monday, May 18, 2026
Inside Publisherspeak UK 2026
Publisherspeak UK 2026 is an in-person unconference-style event by Kriyadocs, taking place on May 18 (Monday) in London. This event will bring together stakeholders from the publishing industry to collaborate, generate innovative ideas, and acquire actionable insights to overcome the challenges faced in scholarly publishing today.
We are excited to announce Shehnaz Ahmed as the Conference Chair for Publisherspeak UK 2026! With her proven expertise in scholarly publish, Shehnaz will once again lead the way at our unconference-style event in Washington, DC.
Shehnaz has worked in the UK for nearly 20 years mainly with society publishers and has in-depth knowledge and experience. She is one of the co-chairs of the AI working party group for ALPSP and a Council member for SocPC, a like-minded forum for society publishers.
At the British Association of Dermatologists, she has oversight of research and publishing. Like many societies, she has to balance the publishing landscape while delivering the charity's mission towards its members and community.
More information about our exciting line-up of speakers, panelists, and breakout session chairs coming very soon!
Our theme: AI Governance in Publishing
AI is no more a speculative topic in scholarly publishing. Today, publishers are establishing policies and actively experimenting with tools. Yet, there is a critical gap in this industry between having an AI policy and implementing it.
This theme for Publisherspeak UK 2026 steers the conversation from AI governance towards practice. How are policies implemented? How are tools validated? Once automation has been applied, what checks are needed to ensure that it is still correct? What has worked, and what has failed? Is governance limited to application only or to understanding the limits of these tools? Are people in the publishing system aware of blindspots of AI tools or are we relying unaware? These are some of the questions we aim to answer. Governance of implementing tools for peer review becomes even more important when trust is critical.
As AI adoption accelerates, the need of the hour is structured oversight. We hope that Publisherspeak UK 2026 will provide the platform for publishers to openly share learnings and, as a community, explore how we can move towards responsible governance of AI.
Hear from the community about past Publisherspeak events
I'd thoroughly recommend attending if you work in scholarly publishing.
Conference program
09:30 AM
Registrations & coffee/tea
09:40 AM
Welcome address by the Conference Chair
Shehnaz Ahmed, Director of Research and Publishing, British Association of Dermatologists
10:25 AM
Keynote address on the theme of "AI Governance in Publishing" with Q&A
Full details coming soon
10:40 AM
Short break
11:30 AM
Panel discussion with Q&A
Full details coming soon
12:20 PM
Show & tell sessions (success stories from the industry) with Q&A
Full details coming soon
12:30 PM
An introduction to the unconference-style breakout sessions
Shehnaz Ahmed, Director of Research and Publishing, British Association of Dermatologists
1:20 PM
Lunch break
3:00 PM
Unconference-style breakout sessions
Interactive, design-thinking-driven discussions where delegates brainstorm, ideate, and develop actionable solutions to key challenges in scholarly publishing.
3:15 PM
Short break
4:15 PM
Presentation sessions
Groups take the stage to share their ideas, key insights, and practical solutions from their breakout session discussions.
4:45 PM
Closing presentation by the sponsor of Publisherspeak
Ravi Venkataramani, CEO, and Sowmya Mahadevan, COO, Kriyadocs
5:00 PM
Closing address
Shehnaz Ahmed, Director of Research and Publishing, British Association of Dermatologists
6:00 PM
Drinks & networking hour
Register for Publisherspeak UK 2026
Registrations for Publisherspeak UK 2026 are now open and free for publishers. We hope you will join us on 18 May at 1 America Square, London, for a day of invigorating conversations and collaboration.
Who is Publisherspeak for?
This one-day in-person event is for publishing professionals looking to engage in discussion around topics such as scholarly publishing workflows, research integrity, evolving best practice, agile publishing, digital transformation, and more.
Publisherspeak will also facilitate breakout sessions, akin to an unconference where attendees will collaborate in groups to devise solutions for current challenges in scholarly publishing.