DBF Interviews: Ivan O’Brien

Ivan O’Brien is Managing Director of The O’Brien Press, a family-owned book publishing company based in Dublin. An interest in science led to several years investigating the stars before the world of books drew him back. Ivan built the website and worked in both sales and production before broadening his job to become MD in 2006. The world of books is changing all the time and The O’Brien Press has changed with it, embracing modern technologies and constantly exploring new areas of publishing for readers big and small. Ivan attends the world’s major book fairs in Frankfurt and London, and is currently President of Publishing Ireland, the industry’s trade body. When he’s not working you’ll find him with his wonderful children, singing in a choir or out on a bike, climbing a remote hill somewhere.

You can hear from Ivan again on Sunday 18 November at our Meet the Publishers panel discussion, at which aspiring authors can learn all they need to know to get their books into print in this fast-paced print and digital environment.

Here, he joins us for a chat about how to break into publishing, social media for writers, running a family business and exploiting his kids for underage labour.