There has never been so much information available. And, paradoxically, it has never been so difficult to tell what is true from what is merely plausible. Abundance hasn’t brought clarity, it has brought noise.
In an ecosystem where any content can be produced and distributed in seconds, the value of editorial work hasn’t diminished. On the contrary, it has grown. At its core, editorial work is about selection, context, and responsibility. It requires time, judgment, and a commitment to the reader that digital platforms rarely make.
In this sense, publishers are agents of trust. By putting their name on a book, they take on a responsibility that goes far beyond the marketplace. They are telling the reader: this knowledge has been carefully weighed, this author has been heard, this perspective deserves your time.
In a society that needs to rebuild its relationship of trust with knowledge, this role matters more than ever. This is precisely the kind of debate that Book 2.0 places at its centre, year after year. This year, the conference will take place on 15th and 16th September, at the Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon.