Saturday, June 08, 2013

BA conference to explore 'books for the future'

07.06.13 | Lisa Campbell - The Bookseller

This year’s Bookseller Association Conference will take place on 22nd-23rd September and invite delegates to envisage what a “bookshop of the future” might look like, as well as what customers might want from it.

 BA chief executive Tim Godfray has urged publishers to attend the event, describing it as a “unique opportunity” to network and meet hundreds of booksellers in one place.
A ‘Fever Pitch’ lunch will allow publishers to pitch titles to booksellers over a meal. The conference will focus on the nationwide consumer launch of the Books Are My Bag campaign and chair Cathy Rentzenbrink will invite delegates to discuss the role of high-street bookselling in the industry.

 Godfray said: “Bricks and mortar bookshops are vital for the discovery of books – accounting for 45% of book spending where the buyer hasn’t decided what to buy; this is equivalent to £450m in value terms (according to research by Bowker). The BA Conference is a unique opportunity for professionals from across publishing to meet and network with hundreds of booksellers in one place, hear about the latest plans, and work with bookshops to encourage even more book discovery in the new publishing world.” He added: “Any publisher interested in evolving book buying consumer behaviour should attend.”

 Publishers already attending the Fever Pitch lunch are HarperCollins, Random House, Hodder and Bloomsbury.
The conference will kick off on Sunday evening, 22nd September, after the Gardners Tradeshow, with a practical session on effective selling, before the President’s Party.
Speakers so far include Foyles head of marketing, Miriam Robinson, who will discuss the Foyles bookshop model for the future; new research from Bowker; and discussions on the national Books Are My Bag (BAMB) campaign for bookshops, among other topics.
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