Last Friday at the Book Industry Study Group's annual meeting in New York, Sourcebooks publisher and CEO Dominique Raccah was honored with the Sally Dedecker Award for Lifetime Service. Her acceptance speech, a call to action, was so appreciated that she received the event's only standing ovation. Here Shelf Awareness offers the speech:
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| Award presentation: Dominique Raccah with incoming BISG chair Matt Kennell of Versa Press. | |
Good morning, friends, colleagues, and fellow book lovers!
Thank you, BISG, for this extraordinary honor--one that carries the name of Sally Dedecker, a woman who deeply believed, as I do, that every book deserves a reader, and every reader deserves that perfect book! Sally's legacy reminds us that progress in publishing is not just possible--it's imperative.
Standing here in New York--a city where stories are practically a public utility--I'm reminded of why I joined BISG nearly two decades ago, when Sourcebooks was just a spark of what it would become and the ebook revolution was just beginning. I wasn't looking for just another committee meeting (my calendar was quite full, thank you!). I was looking for kindred spirits--people who were also experimenting, who saw the future not as something to survive, but as something to shape. People who understood that books are bridges--and that the real magic happens where ink meets code, where metadata meets imagination, where an idea meets its reader at just the right moment.
Serving as BISG Board co-chair and chair from 2006 to 2012, and on the executive committee for nine years, I witnessed that magic unfold. Together, we navigated the complexities of the 13-digit ISBN transition--an act that quietly revolutionized our supply chain and commerce. We tackled the ebook revolution, strengthened ties across our ecosystem, and proved that even in a competitive industry, collaboration is still our greatest catalyst for growth. Sally taught us that no detail is too small, and no mission too ambitious, if it serves our readers and our authors.
And now--once again--the ground beneath us is shifting.
Today, we're living through another defining moment. AI is no longer on the horizon--it's in the room. Our supply chains are transforming in real time. Metadata has evolved from a back-office function to a front-line force in discoverability and sales. And data itself--how we collect it, structure it, interpret it--is no longer a quiet infrastructure. It's a creative engine, a compass, a powerful storytelling tool in its own right.
The questions we face now aren't just operational--they're existential. How do we preserve creative integrity while embracing efficiency? How do we leverage AI and data to elevate--not replace--the human genius that fuels publishing? to deepen the connection between authors and readers?
At Sourcebooks, we've chosen a path rooted in stewardship. We protect the integrity of every author's and illustrator's work while embracing AI to clear away the repetitive and the routine, giving our teams more space for the inspired. Starts with humans and ends with humans is the way we're currently talking about it. We see AI not as a threat to creativity, but as a force that--if guided wisely--can amplify our ability to serve readers, connect communities, and elevate voices that might otherwise go unheard. Make no mistake... we believe it is essential at this time to protect the livelihood of our authors and creative partners and protect this fragile ecosystem that's so important to all readers. Lest I be less than clear, we must participate in the decisions that are being made in order to create a future for books.
And that moment calls for bold leadership.
We must ask better questions--not just about what's possible, but about what's right. We must ensure AI is implemented with transparency (with full respect for authors' and artists' intellectual property and creative contributions), with ethics, and with equity. We must challenge ourselves to be not just faster or leaner--but better. More inclusive. More innovative. More aligned with the values that brought us into publishing in the first place.
And who better to lead that charge than BISG?
Tell me: what other industry places its bets on imagination? What other community shows up--day after day--to build bridges between cultures, generations, and futures still unwritten?
This room is full of people who believe that books matter. That stories matter. And BISG continues to prove that when we come together, even as competitors, we can reimagine the entire framework of this industry for the better.
That is the baton Sally handed us. And I have no doubt we will carry it further than even she dreamed possible.
To BISG's staff, board, committees, and volunteers--thank you for your dedication to progress. And really, thank you to Brian, Laura, Joe, Tom, Fran, Maureen, Phil, Jan, Mike Shatzkin, all the people who worked so hard... to make it possible for us to build today's supply chain. And to Sally--thank you for reminding us that the future of books is not only bright but beautiful, if we're willing to meet it with both imagination and integrity.
BISG didn't just make a difference in our community--it made a difference in who I became.
I've always hated the idea of a "lifetime achievement" award, because it sounds like the story is ending. It kind of says you're done. But none of us are done. This isn't a finale--it's an invitation.
An invitation to all of us, together, to keep dreaming, building, leading--and above all--believing that books (and the work we each do every day) can change lives.
Thank you.