The Newspaper Works has named the date for the PANPA Future Forum.

The event, to be held on September 6-7 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, will have News Limited chief executive Kim Williams as a keynote speaker.

Entry will be free for those who are members of, or subscribers to The Newspaper Works – including those who were members of the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association, which has now merged into The Newspaper Works.

Outgoing PANPA chief executive Mark Hollands says everyone who participated in PANPA activities will be “more than welcome again”.

While the merger might have created a little confusion, the spirit of the PANPA organisation was always to favour inclusion, not exclusion. “And there’s no reason for this to change,” he says.

“It should be a great event again. We have asked a variety of speakers from around the world to join us.”

Newsprint supplier Norske Skog, will again be platinum sponsor.

The event includes the Newspaper of the Year dinner, which will be held on September 6 in the Grand Hall of the Convention Centre.

Hollands says this would provide an opportunity to look at staggering the deadlines for the awards: “Some colleagues get absolutely crunched at PANPA Awards time… they are asked to co-ordinate every entry and it can be overwhelming.

“Awards should not be like that. They should not be a burden, and this year we’ll attempt to avoid the bottleneck scenario.”

Editors are encouraged to keep their entries as simple as possible and not wait for the last minute.