Emma House founded Oreham Group, an international publishing consultancy specializing in event curation and management, business development, research, and project management, which she established in 2019. Previously Emma held senior positions at the Publishers Association and the London Book Fair. She is a trustee of the Publishing Training Centre and an advisory board member of Oxford International Centre for Publishing, and PublisHer, a global movement dedicated to gender equality in publishing.
"I work closely with organizations who want to engage with the publishing industry, ranging from technology companies to book fairs, to government organizations to publisher associations. I curate webinars, seminars, and conferences, reaching out to speakers around the world, and then manage the logistics of the events. I help organizations connect with publishers to develop their business with publishers. I also research different aspects of publishing for government organizations and publisher associations, writing reports for them, and finally, I manage a number of different projects including one which is particularly close to my heart, for a literacy charity in the UK producing books for adults who are new to reading."
"I’m not an early riser but I always check emails first thing to see what has come in overnight, especially as I work globally, I work with around 8-10 clients at a time so no day is the same. Some days I’m glued to my screenwriting reports and doing research, other days I’m on Zoom calls presenting to clients, and talking through projects, and other days I’m jumping on a train or a plane to go to a different part of the U.K. (if not London, it’s visiting U.K. libraries for some project work that I’m currently doing), and planes - often to book fairs or publishing conferences. If I’m lucky I’m speaking to students who want to join the publishing industry or catching up with fellow consultants or clients discussing potential projects and collaborations."
"There is so much talent in the publishing sector and so many undiscovered publishers and writers that the wider world needs to know about. I particularly love meeting female publishing entrepreneurs who have so much passion and energy."
"I’d love to see a lot more rights trading happening, especially with international publishers buying rights from African publishers. I’d also like to see international publishers licensing editions of books by African writers to African publishers (rather than sitting on the rights and relying on export). I also think there is a lot of 2-way knowledge sharing that I’d love to see happening. Bookselling is another area where knowledge can be exchanged."
"If only we had a global ball that could tell us what the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have on our industry, as it is AI technology that will change many things - publishing workflows, content generation, policy, copyright ownership, and remuneration, how we sell books. We have a lot of work to do to keep pace with the technology and learn how to use it to create efficiencies whilst not allowing it to take away the very existence of being a publisher. Meanwhile, we must focus on sustainability, both in the publishing supply chain and how we can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, reach carbon net zero targets, and play our role in tackling climate change."
"I really enjoy going to book fairs and my favourite one is the Sharjah International Book Fair, UAE which is every November. My advice to publishers participating in a Book Fair for the first time is to prepare yourself! Come armed with books, catalogues, business cards, be open to talking to everyone, explore and be curious about others and be alert to opportunities. And of course, have some fun. Publishing is a lovely industry full of great people, many of whom are very generous with their time and knowledge, and love to make time to chat!"
"My most recent favorite book that I love is Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell and can’t wait to see it on the stage. I love translated literature in general and will read anything by Ian McEwan. I also love Good crime and psychological thrillers!"
"My advice to young publishers at the beginning of their career is to be kind and generous with their time and knowledge to everyone they meet, it pays off. Be ambitious, be curious, take every opportunity that’s presented to you, and don’t be afraid to fail - as long as you learn from your mistakes."