The UK’s Literary Consultancy, self-described as “the UK’s most established editorial consultancy, supported by Arts Council England,” and “the UK’s leading editorial assessment service,” has launched The Literary Conference, billed as “an essential event for writers and those working with them, to catch up on the very latest in technology and thinking in the book publishing world.” The event, subtitled “Writing in a Digital Age,” will take place on June 13th-15th at the Free Word Centre, the Literary Consultancy’s premises, in London. The Literary Conference, however, is not free, with tickets for the full two days of conferencing, plus one day of networking and workshopping, running at £390 ($653).

Sponsored by Kobo, the conference also has Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace as Associates. The Royal Society of Literature and The Guardian are both cited as partners.

With this kind of endorsement, it’s probably safe to assume that the Literary Conference is reasonably credible, but you’ll have to make your own judgments about value for money. It’s fair to point out, though, that the full conference ticket appears to be cheaper than one session with the Literary Consultancy’s manuscript assessment service. The 2014 lineup includes Cory Doctorow, Joanna Penn, the Alliance of Independent Authors’ Orna Ross,  author and entrepreneur Piers Alexander, and numerous other figures from the publishing and book world.

In case you need to know the Literary Consultancy’s own stake in the game, here are its details courtesy of the Arts Council. “Manuscript assessment and editorial service The Literary Consultancy aims to provide a detailed, constructive and honest critique for writers at any level. The Literary Consultancy also provides online mentoring, an annual writing holiday and literary conference,” states the Arts Council blurb. “In 2001 The Literary Consultancy received funding from Arts Council England which enabled the Free Read Scheme. Free reads are selected via a range of literary development bodies across the UK.”

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