Bloomsbury's founder and CEO Nigel Newton will become executive chairman, effective immediately, as part of what the company describes as a "five-year leadership succession plan" that will see a new CEO appointed in two years, the Bookseller reported. Once the CEO is in place, Newton will remain executive chairman for three more years before becoming non-executive chairman after 2031. He has led the publisher since its founding in 1986.
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The recruitment process will be led by John Bason, who moves from chairman to deputy chairman and senior independent director, and who chairs the nominations committee. Newton told the Bookseller he expected a range of internal and external candidates to come forward, with the recruitment consultants Russell Reynolds Associates to run the search.
The nomination committee will recommend a candidate to the full Bloomsbury board to make what Newton said he expected to be a "consensual" decision.
"I will remain executive chairman for another three years for that person to bed in--so that things don't go wrong," said Newton, stressing that he would be "fully running Bloomsbury" until he becomes non-executive chairman, at which point he will become more focused on the culture and direction of the business, rather than the day-to-day decision making.
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The FutureBook Conference, organized in conjunction with the Bookseller, will take place at Excel London on March 15, 2027, the day before the London Book Fair (March 16-18). The one-day conference and awards for global publishing leaders and future leaders will have its first international incarnation at LBF, featuring high-profile thinkers and executives from across the international book, creative, media and commercial industries.
Philip Jones, editor at the Bookseller, said: "With the future of the book once more under serious scrutiny, bringing together two of the biggest brands in the book trade and combining the conference know-how of the Bookseller with the international reach of the London Book Fair felt like a no-brainer. We are also delighted to be supporting LBF in its mold-breaking move to Excel, and look forward to helping kick off the week with a day of insight and challenge."
LBF director Emma Lowe commented: "Bringing FutureBook and the London Book Fair together feels like a full circle moment for me. LBF is all about having insightful conversations in an environment which exists to help us find new stories and also continue some of our old ones. FutureBook has long been a harbor for these interactions too, so it feels like a natural home for it. I'm excited about what might happen when we add the international element of the fair to our programming as well as joining the buzz of both events."
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Booksellers in Trinidad & Tobago are adjusting as parents watch their budgets with the start of the new academic year rapidly approaching. The T&T Guardian reported that booksellers "have mixed views on the back-to-school season. Some booksellers are reporting an uptick in sales, while others say business has been slower than usual, as parents try to manage the cost of school supplies."
Mervyn Baisden, who has been selling used books for several years, said business has been slower than expected, and cited the Ministry of Education's AI-assisted digital textbooks as one of the reasons for sales being "a lot slower, because they introduced the AI." Despite this, he tries to work with parents who have limited funds by helping them get all, or most, of the books they need.
At Unique Bookstore, however, manager Simone Hosein said business has been picking up as the new academic year approaches: "It's great. The season has been shaping up good. It had a little slow period, but it has been building momentum. We have great staff, great customers, and we ready for the season." She added that sales have been building for the last month, but last-minute shopping is a "trini thing."