The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Philip Jones is the managing editor of theBookseller.com. He will blog with links and comment about the book business.

Blogging the BA Conference - Day one

12.05.08

There are about five members of The Bookseller's reporting team covering the BA Conference on what must be one of hottest days of the year. Currently a few of us are sitting in a room in The Grand hotel overlooking the sea.

Meanwhile, these are the initial reports from our journalists: check back here for more as they are filed.

17.20
Philp Jones writes: 

In a strong BA speech, Random House deputy c.e.o. Ian Hudson urged the business to embrace the challenge of digitisation: "In my opinion the advent of the e-book and the mass digitisation of book content presents the single biggest opportunity to the industry since the development of the printing press."

Hudson called on the industry to address one of the more pressing needs its faces, DRM. "In lay terms, this means we need to have one standard file format and one standard DRM so that consumers can buy e-content in the confidence that the file will work on whatever e-reading device they possess. The battle to secure full inter-operability could be a long one but if we don't win it then the only way forward is DRM-free e-books which I would hope we could avoid."

 17.00
Graeme Neill writes:

With day one almost over (and two welcome events to come in the BTBS drinks reception and the President's Party on the pier), the early theme that is emerging from the murk of the conference room is that of the importance of communities. Michelle Harrison from consumer insight company Henley Centre spoke this morning of how people are placing more importance on communal activities. The challenge for booksellers is translating book reading, typically the most solitary of activities, into a shared experience.

She demured when asked what the industry should do but Borders chairman Luke Johnson carried the baton on in his afternoon keynote. He spoke of the importance of having individual Borders stores engage with their local communities, their schools and their hospitals. He hinted that Borders' new website would also have a social element. But the biggest surprise has been how well attended the seminars have been, with a gorgeous beach and glorious weather a mere 50ft from the hotel. Although numerous publishers and retailers have been seen eating a sneaky ice cream in the sunshine.

Read Graeme Neill's report: Bookseller recommendation "least influential"

15.30
Philip Jones writes:

Borders chairman Luke Johnson delivered a paean to the book, the bookshop and also to Borders in his keynote address at the conference.

In truth, it was a slightly rambling affair, full of interesting nuggets and a little detail - according to my colleague Graeme Neill, Johnson had been travelling 18 hours to get to the BA, so if the talk felt laboured at times fair enough. [Less impressed is Kieron Smith, managing director of BookRabbit, who is blogging the conference on his site. Smith writes: "If this is the book world's 'key note' then I fear that we're looking to the past rather than really embracing the future".]

Johnson extolled the virtues of the "plain old traditional book", saying that the iLiad (recently on sale in Borders' stores) and the other ebooks available, would not represent publishing's iPod moment. One nugget picked up by Graeme Neill is that Borders has so far sold 10 iLiads, since they went on sale on Saturday in seven of its stores.

He said Borders had "untapped" potential and was a "work in progress", and highlighted children's bookselling as a "crucial market sector" (he said he reads to his two-year-old every night). He also stressed the importance of being local, saying that the most successful Borders stores were those embedded in their local communities. He suggested one possible future for Borders--as a publisher, tapping into the self-publishing vibe.

He ended his address saying "keep reading", a slightly odd message to give out to book suppliers, but perhaps not a misplaced one.

Here are few of Johnson's soundbites:

"I read every day, I write every day and I can spend hours in bookshops."

"Borders is passionate about and believes in the future of books".

"Only in bookshops can I escape the office and the mobile. Books are a sanctuary and a refuge."

"I believe in bookshops and the importance of good service."

"One of the great strengths of good book retailers are the booksellers themselves."

"My main message: keep reading."

Read Graeme Neill's report: 'iLiad not iPod moment for books'

13.50
Graeme Neill writes:

"Author intercourse" was the slightly off-putting way that Faber's Will Atkinson described the Independent Alliance dinner on Sunday night. What it was in reality was around 50 independent booksellers being entertained by authors including comedian Hardeep Singh Koli and Fay Weldon. Koli got one of the biggest laughs of the evening when he stood up, clad in one of the most lurid pink Haiwaiian shirts I have ever seen, and apologised because he thought the event was fancy dress.

In his president's address this morning (Monday), Graham Rand revealed his bookselling pedigree. Among the titles that he didn't think would be a success were the Dangerous Book for Boys, A Woman of Substance and A Brief History of Time. Perhaps not the best person to take advice from about what Christmas titles to stock.

Read Graeme Neill's report: Rand's firm sale concerns

13.00
Neill Denny writes:

First thoughts based on what I have seen on the first morning, which is the big picture stuff.

Essentially, despite the glorious sunshine and holiday atmosphere of Brighton, the underlying fundamentals are a little poor. Strip out Harry Potter, and the market is flat, or declining, in real terms, ie when you strip out inflation as well as the wizard. And of course, Harry is no longer with us.

The big consumer trend is that a society we are looking to come together more, see the growth of music festivals as evidence – I am taking this from the Henley Centre presentation – and it is  a trend that trade need to make a renewed effort on. Yes, we have done coffee and reading groups, but now we need some new thinking.  But reading is an individual pleasure, not necessarily suited to collective experience. Hmmm.

Read Graeme Neill's report on the presentation later today.

BA IN PICTURES:

Laughter on file: Denis Norden was his usual jolly self at a HarperCollins-sponsored author lunch at the conference. His Clips from a Life is due from Fourth Estate this autumn.

Behind the scenes: The Bookseller team HQ at the De Vere Grand Hotel, with news editor Alison Flood directing news coverage.

Rabbiting on: BookRabbit's Kieron Smith practices as he preaches, connecting to fellow onliners with his blog from the conference.

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