Third Thursdays Webinars

2026 PCPA 3rd Thursday Calendar

• January 15, 2026 AI That Thinks With You: Custom GPTs in Publishing for Smarter Pitches and Market Insights led by Jannis Baltuttis of knkSoftware
• February 19, 2026 (no webinar due to scheduling conflicts)
• March 19, 2026 An Introduction to Audio Book Delivery Methods, and other accessibility aids", led by Dr. Skylar Covich
• April 16, 2026 topic TBD led by LinkedPrint (note: This month's webinar will be at 9 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. CDT/6 a.m. PDT because our guest will be Zooming in from Shanghai where it will be 9 p.m.)
• May 21, 2026 Help all readers read better, led by Klaus Krogh of 2K/Denmark
• June 18, 2026 Future-Proof Your Metadata: Accessibility, AI, GEO & More, led by Joshua Tallent of Firebrand Technologies
• July 16, 2026 Effective Collaboration in the Design Process and Beyond led by Emma Elzinga of Inksplatter Design
• August 20, 2026 Print with Purpose: A Publishers Guide to Vetting Printers, led by Brandie Herrell of Friesens, Matt Kennell of Versa Press & Joe Upton of Gasch Printing
• September 17, 2026 Relieve some of the pains of publishing led by Klaus Krogh of 2K/Denmark
• October 15, 2026 topic TBD, led by Books International
• November 19, 2026 topic TBD, led by Virtusales
• December 17, 2026 TBD

What you'll learn:
Custom GPTs in Publishing:

Explains how personalized AI bots (custom GPTs) can automate repetitive publishing tasks like research, pitching, and metadata creation, and distinguishes between static GPTs and more dynamic agents.

Comparison of AI Tools:

Compares OpenAI GPTs, Google Gems, Copilot Studio, and others, with recommendations for starting out and notes on each tool’s strengths and weaknesses.

Building and Configuring Custom GPTs:

Outlines the steps to create a custom GPT: writing prompts, uploading files, enabling features, and testing for quality.

Data Security and Risks:

Stresses turning off AI training for confidential data, and highlights risks like model changes, context limits, hallucinations, and biases. Urges users to verify AI outputs.

Live Demo of the custom GPT “Editorial Pitch Generator”

Will show live how a custom GPT can do market research, map audience segments, find suitable BISAC / Thema codes, research the author and their social media reach, and more, all within a few minutes.

Access to Custom Prompt

Attendees will get access to the editorial pitch research prompt and the link to the custom GPT to experiment with themselves. Users without a premium/plus subscription can also use the prompt in normal conversations with an LLM, albeit not in their own custom GPT.

Your instructor:

Jannis Baltuttis, Presales

PCPA Adjunct Member knk Software

Jannis Baltuttis is an accomplished technical consultant at knk, driven by his passion for new technologies and its potential to empower publishers and media companies.

With a primary focus on North American and Canadian publishers and experience around the world, Jannis specializes in Editorial, Rights and Royalties, Digital Subscriptions (Paid Content & Databases), Sales Management, and Finance. As a dedicated systems analyst, he collaborates with publishing and media companies to intimately understand the challenges they are facing

Description

Dr. Skylar Covich, a blind Christian political scientist and access technology professional, Vice President of the Board at Xavier Society for the Blind, will argue that audio books are essential for the survival of Christian publishing. Audio books were initially produced for the blind as records and then tapes, became popular with others who have various reading disabilities, and are now arguably a primary reading method for the majority of readers.

That said, recognizing the expense of producing professional human narrated audio books that all may purchase, he will go over alternative audio book delivery methods, including making books available to the Library of Congress to be produced as audio books for those with reading disabilities, and making books available to other services which may convert them to be read with synthesized or AI voices.

Dr. Covich will go on to introduce the concept of access technology, particularly different types of screen readers, AI reading apps, and magnification settings, and end with a discussion of braille and large print. Regarding braille, he will discuss the spiritual benefits of reading the Bible in this way, and its importance for reading aloud to children and making professional presentations.

Your instructor:

Dr. Skylar Covich

Dr. Skylar Covich is an independent consultant in access technology and in political science higher education living in Santa Barbara, California. He is blind since birth, and became a Catholic Christian in college. He earned his BA in politics from Saint Mary's College of California and his PH.D. in political science from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2017. He taught college government classes at two state universities, and then served as Access Technology Program Lead at the Braille Institute.

He is Vice President of the Board at PCPA Adjunct Member Xavier Society for the Blind, a Catholic braille and audio book publisher headquartered in New York City, and is a member of the Santa Barbara Access Advisory Committee by appointment of City Council.

Dr. Covich is a professional member of AI and Faith, and wrote an article for them introducing the concept of access technology. He has presented in person at the Symposium on Religion and Public Life at Calvin University, and the CSUN Assistive Technology conference, and has lead recent webinars for Wiki Education and the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. He is married to Theresa, a librarian at Westmont College, and has two sons, ages 4 and 1. He sings in a Gregorian chant choir.

Description

In this webinar, you will receiv an explanation regarding a number of elements related to reading and how publishers can assist readers, especially those with vision challenges become more engaged.

You will learn:

1. Where do letters come from

2. Reading is recognizing beautiful words

3. Creating a Cloud Reading® experience

4. When reading gets difficult

– explaining The Grace Dyslexia Project®

Your instructor:

Klaus Erik Krogh

Founder

2K/Denmark

Klaus Erik Krogh was born on January 26, 1952, in Frederiksberg, Denmark. A designer, publisher, and visionary, he has shaped the art of communication across borders. Educated in Copenhagen and Oslo, he began his career in Norway before founding 2K/Denmark in 1987—today a world leader in Bible design and typographic innovation.

His creative ventures span publishing, children’s media, and digital development. Krogh has served as Honorary Consul of Mexico, chaired societies for book and Bible craftsmanship, and external examiner at Danish universities. Married to Liv Sødal Krogh since 1984, he is father to two daughters, Lea and Oda.

Description

Prepare your titles for the publishing landscape of tomorrow. This fast-paced session will explore how to future-proof your metadata in the face of constantly evolving industry standards.

We will discuss the immediate impacts of AI-driven search, the necessity of enhanced GEO-coding, and meeting current and future accessibility requirements. Join us as we look into the future to equip you with actionable strategies to ensure your titles are visible, compliant, and ready for whatever comes next.

In this webinar you will

o Learn to optimize metadata immediately for AI and semantic search, ensuring your titles are found by modern algorithms and leading to increased discoverability and sales.

o Understand evolving global accessibility metadata requirements to avoid future penalties and costly remediation work.

o Gain a clear view of next-generation metadata standards and emerging market demands, allowing you to proactively build sustainable workflows instead of reactively patching problems.

Your instructor:

Joshua Tallent

Director of Sales & Education

Firebrand Technologies

Joshua Tallent is the Director of Sales and Education at Firebrand Technologies, where his focus is on helping publishers of all sizes learn about, and find solutions to, their workflow and metadata problems.

Joshua’s background is deeply rooted in ebook development, metadata, and other publishing technologies, and he is an acclaimed teacher and guide on the role of data in publishing. He serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the BISG Board of Directors and is the host of the BookSmarts Podcast which features practical discussions and interviews about publishing data and technologies. In his spare time, Joshua enjoys teaching Bible studies, playing complex board games, and fiddling with his home automation system.

Description

Publishing relies on effective collaboration between your team, your authors, and often externally contracted artists. The design process presents a unique challenge in incorporating feedback and ideas from multiple parties throughout the creative process. In this webinar, designer Emma Elzinga will share practical strategies to improve communication and creative flow between in-house teams, authors, and freelance artists, drawing on her work at Inksplatter Design with a wide range of publishers and authors.

You will learn approaches and strategies for collaboration with authors and artists that you can apply in the design process and across departments.

Your instructor:

Emma Elzinga

Founder & Designer

Inksplatter Design

Emma Elzinga is the founder of Inksplatter Design, a book-focused design studio providing strategic design solutions for authors and publishing houses. An experienced designer with a creative approach, Emma is drawn to the intersection of visual art and storytelling and specializes in designs that uniquely highlight the written word. Learn more about her book design studio at www.inksplatterdesign.com, or view her personal portfolio at www.emmaelzinga.com.

Description

A panel discussion with Q&A with experts from three PCPA Adjunct Member printers, Friesens, Gasch Printing and Matt Kennell.

In this webinar you will learn about the various printing options available, how to ask the right questions and provide helpful insights about your varied printing needs as you interview prospective printer partners for your ministry of publishing. Communication is key in customer/vendor relationships and identifying the printer who will be the very best fit for each type of print job will start your relationship off on the right foot. It will serve you as publisher, your printer partner and, ultimately, your customers!

Your instructors:

Brandie Herrell of Friesens

Joe Upton of Gasch Printing

Matt Kennell of Versa Press

Description

When publishing gets difficult

1. Production line costs increase

2. Limitations of book prices

3. Readers demand for better readability.

4. CO2 emission awareness

Can Sustainable Typesetting® help solve all the above?

A both hands-on and eyes-on experience

Your instructor:

Klaus Erik Krogh

Founder

2K/Denmark

Klaus Erik Krogh was born on January 26, 1952, in Frederiksberg, Denmark. A designer, publisher, and visionary, he has shaped the art of communication across borders. Educated in Copenhagen and Oslo, he began his career in Norway before founding 2K/Denmark in 1987—today a world leader in Bible design and typographic innovation.

His creative ventures span publishing, children’s media, and digital development. Krogh has served as Honorary Consul of Mexico, chaired societies for book and Bible craftsmanship, and external examiner at Danish universities. Married to Liv Sødal Krogh since 1984, he is father to two daughters, Lea and Oda.