The most valuable asset in publishing—besides your backlist—is your relationship with the reader. Audience development, the discipline of knowing, growing, and monetizing your direct reader base, is a strategic priority in its own right. We’ll explore why first-party audience data is becoming a competitive edge, what it takes to build this capability inside a publishing organization, and how leaders are using it to de-risk retail dependency and unlock new revenue.

Aparna Rishi is Executive Director of Audience Development & Consumer Insights at Hachette Book Group, where she leads strategy and execution across content marketing, brand strategy, and direct-to-reader engagement. She works at the intersection of data and storytelling, helping one of the world’s largest publishers build owned audiences and turn consumer insight into growth.