We’re honored to announce that Vook CEO Brad Inman has been invited to speak at the West Coast’s first digital book symposium: All About eBooks. This unique symposium will bring together a dynamic group of innovators from the digital publishing world. Get all the details from this guest post by event organizer, literary agent Laurie McLean:

The San Francisco Bay Area…It’s the second largest publishing center in America and the number one technology innovator in the world. It’s a magnet for change and a leader in new ways of thinking.  Why is this important? Because technology is evolving the publishing industry at the fastest pace since Gutenberg invented the printing press. And New York heads are spinning.

Considering the powerful emergence of eBooks and enhanced books, the agency pricing model, efficiencies of digital publishing and the opportunities of localized print on demand, the publishing world is simultaneously horrified and inspired to greatness. Everyone wants to know what to do.

How does this affect you as a writer, editor, publisher, content creator, agent, librarian or bookseller? I know a place where you can find out.

Come to the first digital publishing symposium of its kind on the West Coast: All About eBooks. Industry leaders Brad Inman of Vook, Mark Coker of Smashwords, Rob MacDonald of Scribd, Mark Wolf of GigaOM, Philippa Burgess of Studio Mythopoeia/Creative Convergence, David Marshall of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Jay Hartman of Untreed Reads, online marketing expert Stephanie Chandler and many others are going to join me at this one-day intensive mind-meld that will cover all aspects of the eBook phenomenon.

You’ll learn how to create and distribute your own eBooks for free and how to market them online. You’ll hear about the future of enhanced eBooks and transmedia.  Authors who’ve successfully sold eBooks will share their tales.  And industry professionals will give their perspectives. In one day you’ll dive deep into the pool of everything eBooks.

Here are the facts:
All About eBooks Symposium
Friday November 12th from 9 am to 6 pm
At the San Francisco Hilton-Financial: 750 Kearney at Washington
Cost: $199 (including all sessions, lunch and a cocktail reception)
Limited to 75 seats for an immersive learning experience

To learn more,  go to allaboutebooks.us. To register go to: sfwritingforchange.org and then click on ‘Register for All About eBooks’. Hope to see you there.

Laurie McLean is a literary agent with Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco and Dean of the new San Francisco Writers University. She has been immersing herself in digital publishing news, trends and perspectives since 2008.

We’ve launched a string of great vooks over the past month, and now we’re pleased to announce our latest title: The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen. Breakaway is our first “cookvook”—a vook that lets you read inspiring recipes and watch author Eric Gower make the dishes right in front of you. Eric prepares meals such as roasted hamachi with a miso-apricot glaze, udon with herby pesto and smoked salmon salad with edamame.

“The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen” is available in both of our  standard formats—as a browser based vook and as an app for your iPhone or iPod Touch. We’ve also included a free preview mode of the vook so that you can try it before you buy it. This premier cookvook features recipes and professionally shot videos so you can easily learn how to prepare Eric’s contemporary Japanese dishes.

Having lived in Japan for more than fifteen years, Eric has developed an appreciation for minimalist cooking that achieves singular bold flavors. A cooking teacher and private chef, Eric is also the author of three cookbooks. “The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen” cookvook features more than a dozen videos of Eric preparing dishes, shopping for ingredients and guiding readers through his approach to bold, Japanese-inspired dishes.

“When Vook approached me about doing the first cookvook, the epiphany was immediate,” said Eric Gower. “Integrating written recipes and stories with in-the-kitchen visuals is such a no-brainer way to connect with home cooks everywhere. It’s the perfect medium to make hesitant cooks feel more comfortable, because you can SEE how simple the breakaway approach really is, yet still have the written instructions to guide you.”

Vook CEO Brad Inman summed up the appeal of The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, saying, “A cookvook is able to take written recipes and complement them with an engaging visual component. It’s like having a personal chef to guide the home cook in the kitchen, step-by-step.”

Try the Breakaway Japanese Kitchen in the free preview mode or get the complete vook and start cooking today!