Earlier this week, the Digital Book World publishing conference returned to New York City for the first time since 2016. Karine Pansa, newly installed president of the International Publishers Association, delivered the keynote for several hundred attendees at the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square.

“Pansa said that the main focus for her two-year term, which started January 1, will be collecting data on business activity in the industry,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.

According to Pansa, adoption of digital publishing business models varies wildly around the world.

In Japan, for example, digital audiobooks account for 35.8% of the total revenue of the book market, while the format represents less than 1% of sales in other countries with large book markets, such as Mexico and Colombia.

“Pansa also urged publishers to make more books more accessible to more people,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “Africa’s growing population, she said, represents a strong opportunity for global publishers.”