The Booksellers Association Conference & Gardners Trade Show was held earlier this week in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. On day one, the BA posted: "We're off!... and we're so excited to welcome everyone to Hinckley for two days of brilliant conversations and the very best of the bookselling community.... Tomorrow sees a packed program of keynotes, Skills Labs and the Booksellers Association Awards. Swipe through for the full program, and we'll see you there!"
In her opening remarks, BA managing director Meryl Halls "touched on the main issues impacting booksellers currently--business rates and late payments, as well as other concerns such as direct to consumer discounting by publishers, reps depleted and under-supported by publishers, too much incentivizing of over-buying and poor communications and customer service--but sounded a note of optimism," the Bookseller reported.
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| Meryl Halls | |
She noted that there are 1,095 independent bookshops currently in BA membership and the organization's 2026 supply chain survey suggests "things have improved," adding: "Every year I've had some riff or other about living in interesting times and the pace of change being exhausting, especially for small business owners. While that's all true, we're not going to do that this year because we know already what we're up against.... There are lots of reasons to feel sober and overburdened in this complicated world, but we're also incredibly lucky to work in this industry where we get up close to ideas, to incredible creativity, wonderful authors and we get to work together on stuff that really matters and that changes people's lives for the better."
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| Debbie James | |
New BA president Debbie James, owner of Kibworth Books in Leicestershire, said she would be spending her two-year term "identifying sustainability allies at as many publishers as I can.... I think it's so important to know about a book's cradle to grave journey and how much carbon is spent on it, especially as consumers of any product become more and more discerning about its provenance and ultimate disposal."
Conference panels included The New Normal: Navigating Intimidation & Censorship; a "new BA Conference experiment" chaired by Mr B's Emporium's Nic Bottomley, which put "hot takes"--such as whether book prizes do anything for sales or recommended retail prices should be removed from books--to panelists. Other sessions focused on how to sell audiobooks, effective use of Instagram, and online bookselling, the Bookseller noted.
As always, however, the key ingredient to any conference is the response of attendees. Indie booksellers posting about the gathering included:
Afrori Books, Brighton and Hove: "The BA conference is an important calendar date for us. @carolynnbain will be speaking to the conference today about how we build partnerships outside of the industry. A great opportunity to chat about our work with hair salons, youth organizations, prisons, and corporations."
Swindon Story Shed, Swindon: "Our very happy booksellers are at The Booksellers Association conference, chatting with loads of other booksellers, publishers, and authors."
Griffin Books, Penarth, Wales: "Three very happy, very tired booksellers! We've had the best two days at the Booksellers Association Conference and Gardners Trade Show.... We're heading back to Wales with heads full of ideas and suitcases full of books. Perfection!"
Dogberry & Finch Books, Okehampton: "Highlights were talks by the wonderful Ann Cleeves and Ben Macintyre (pictured), Phil Earle and Reece Shearsmith; a lively panel talk with Lucy Foley and Agatha Christie's great-grandson James Pritchard."
The Wonky Tree Bookshop, North Yorkshire: "We've got a busy couple of days.... Always a great opportunity to catch up with friends, network with publishers and be inspired."
The Book Shop, Lee-on-Solent: "What a conference! And boy have we got some amazing books and foresight for YOU!!... What a great few days of talks, interviews, skills labs and more. Huge thank you to The Booksellers Association and also to Gardners for putting on such a great event."
Thistle & Thorn Bookshop, Clitheroe: "The shop is open as normal today thanks to our amazing team. But we've managed to stay at the Booksellers Association Conference for the second day! Authors 'pitching' over dinner last night and breakfast this morning.... Some amazing books and some lovely people. Lots of stories to share with customers when we are back in the shop... Real people giving real advice and feedback on what might be worth a read. Not an Amazon bot review in sight."
Bert's Books, Swindon: "It is a massive gathering of indie booksellers and publishers from across the entire country (and world!) full of inspiring people, interesting talks and great ideas. Nearly all done, one more dinner (it's a hard life)...."
Quinns Bookshop, Harborough: "It is, officially, two days where we can find out about new releases ready for Christmas and hear about recently published or upcoming books for ourselves, with some great training for indie booksellers... but unofficially, it's a big meet-up (party) for booksellers and publisher reps, and is enormously good fun!"
Gwisgo Bookworm, Aberaeron, Wales: "Had a great couple days.... I didn't get many clips of the trade show as I was too distracted by all the books and talking to people! But had an excellent time meeting other booksellers and publishers, listening to authors and being surrounded by lovely people. Thank you to everyone involved to bring it together! See you next year!"
It was also announced that, subject to final arrangements, next year's BA Conference will be held in Leeds.