ISAP 2024

speaker bios - ISAP 2024

Ali Abdel-Moneim, CEO & Co Founder Arabookverse UK-EG
Publisher & Publishing & Partnerships Consultant/Egypt

Ali Abdel-Moneim is a seasoned publishing professional with over 24 years of experience in the industry. Currently the Co-founder and CEO of Arabookverse UK - EG, he spearheads the global distribution of digital Arabic content. Additionally, Ali is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Rufoof platform, where he contributes his expertise to shape strategic initiatives.

Before his current roles, Ali served as the Head of Content Acquisition and Publishing at Storytel MENA, during his tenure, he played a pivotal role in driving content acquisition strategies and building the Arabic audiobook market. He served on the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Publishers Association and chaired the Professional Development and Digital Publishing Committee from 2020 to 2022.

Porter Anderson, BA, MA, MFA, Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives

Anderson is a veteran newsman with CNN, CNN.com, and CNN International–as well as the Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, The Bookseller and others. He was named London Book Fair’s  International Trade Press Journalist in the 2019 International Excellence Awards.

In addition to his career in news, Anderson has worked as a diplomat with the United Nations, posted to the Rome headquarters of the World Food Programme. He has also served as Executive Media Producer of INDEX: Design to Improve life, the Danish award for humanitarian design under the patronage of HRH Frederik, Prince of Denmark. Anderson is a frequent speaker on the international publishing stage, in trade shows and book-fair settings in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and the Middle East.

Carlo Carrenho, Publishing Consultant based in Sweden

Carlo was the founder of book trade media PublishNews in Brazil and Spain. He recently joined a partner in his home country Brazil to launch Pop Stories, an audiobook company. He is also a partner at the Italian aggregator StreetLib and is actively consulting for audiobook publisher Dreamscape in the US. Carlo accumulates 30 years as a book publishing professional. He was invited to be the Audio Book Ambassador for the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023 and 2024.

Along his career, Carlo focused on digital developments in the publishing industry and also on new business models. His focus nowadays is definitively audio. He held executive positions in companies such as Thomas Nelson (Brazil), Ediouro (Brazil) and Word Audio Publishing International (Sweden). He has also consulted for companies in Brazil, Germany, Finland, Spain, Argentina, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia and the US.

Liza Faja, Director of Audiobooks, Lizzie, the audio imprint of Editis

Liza joined Lizzie at the launch of the company, which published 1400 audiobooks in a bit more than 5 years. Lizzie has already won 11 audiobooks awards. The audio version of Dune (120 hours) has been rewarded with a “Trophy of publishing”. Previously Liza Faja worked in audiobooks at Hachette and Audible. She also worked in print as a specialized publisher in psychology and self-help.

Helena Gustafsson, Chief Content Officer, Storytel

Since joining the company in 2013 as CEO of Storytel’s fully owned audiobook publisher StorySide, Helena Gustafsson has been a key player in establishing Storytel’s industry-leading presence, strategic acquisitions and partnerships and building the company’s original production of audiobooks. Helena Gustafsson has also previously had roles as Head of Licensing and Head of Global Publishing at Storytel. Today, she is Chief Content Officer and part of the Storytel AB’s management team.

Colin Hauer, CEO, Hörbuch Hamburg Verlag

From their offices in Hamburg and Berlin, Hauer and his team at Hörbuch Hamburg Verlag, one of Germany’s leading audiobook publishers, are building on a 25-year tradition of bringing some of the most popular and significant titles to the audiobook market – especially in the digital age.

Colin Hauer has been active in the audio world for over 18 years. Prior to joining Hörbuch Hamburg in 2022, he set up the podcast and audiobook business for Universal Music Germany. In addition to positions at Amazon, Bastei Lübbe, Bookwire and Sony Music, he has advised several publishers and subscription services on their digital strategy development. As an entrepreneur, he built and sold both an independent music label and an AI-driven audiobook publisher.

Lee Jarit, Head of ACX and North America Publisher Partnerships, Audible, Inc.

Jarit joined Audible over a decade ago and has held numerous positions within the company across business affairs and content and publisher partnerships. In his current role, Lee collaborates with independent creators and audio publishers, large and small, to ensure that their recordings are made available to millions of Audible listeners around the world. To date, Lee has listened to over 500 audiobooks.

Winnie Li, Business Development Executive & Senior Manager, OverDrive

A leading strategist in global expansion, Winnie supports audiobook publishers such as Storytel, Bonnier, China Publishing Group, Qingting FM, TrueLake and Discover 21 to expand their international presence and sales through institutional channels. Under her leadership, OverDrive now provides an extensive, multilingual selection of audiobooks to libraries and schools worldwide.

Active in her community, Winnie serves on the board of a local nonprofit MotivAsians for Cleveland and is a lifetime member of the Chinese American Librarian Association. An MBA graduate, she lives in Cleveland, Ohio (by choice) with her family. 

Ed Nawotka, Senior International and Bookselling Editor, Publishers Weekly

Ed has reported on books, media, and business for more than 30 years and from nearly 100 countries around the world. He was the co-founder of Publishing Perspectives, served as a columnist for Bloomberg News, and has contributed to a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, the New Yorker, and dozens of others. He lives in Texas. 

Chantal Restivo-Alessi, CEO International Foreign Language & Chief Digital Officer, HarperCollins Publishers

Restivo-Alessi has led the development of the HarperCollins Publishers’ global publishing program, with the acquisition of globally bestselling authors such as Karin Slaughter, Daniel Silva and Don Winslow, and the establishment of trade publishing operations in nine foreign markets, including Japan, Brazil, and across Europe. She has pioneered the use of new digital sales channels, signing numerous deals with new distributors, such as subscription services Scribd and Storytel, and growing digital sales exponentially (175%). In addition, she led the launch of the company’s e-commerce platform on HC.com and has spearheaded efforts for the company’s other direct-to-consumer programs across the globe.

Owen Smith, VP Product & Technology, Audiobooks, Spotify

Smith oversees the product, design, insights, and engineering teams responsible for building products and experiences that transform the way listeners discover and listen to Audiobooks. He has been with Spotify since 2011–previously leading Spotify’s Free and Premium products–launching the internationalization of its product into more than 180 markets. Prior to Spotify, he held roles at various start-ups and Sony Entertainment.