BA | The Bookseller

BA speaks out on DRM

Publication Date: Thu, 21/02/2013 - 15:43

The Booksellers Association has spoken out on the issue of e-books, DRM and a healthy marketplace, following the launch of a lawsuit by independent booksellers in the US.

Three US independents have launched a case against Amazon and the six major...

BA | Benedicte Page | digital | DRM | e-books | Home
Daunt condemns business rates rise

Publication Date: Fri, 01/02/2013 - 09:00

Waterstones m.d. James Daunt (above) has called on the government to address the issue of high business rates which disadvantage high street businesses compared to online operations. The government intends to up business rates by 2.6% in April, despite the squeeze on consumer spending.

"Rates is a huge...

amazon | BA | business rates | high street | Home | James Daunt | Lisa Campbell | Sydney Davies | Waterstones
Sales slump in rain-hit areas

Publication Date: Fri, 30/11/2012 - 08:30

The book trade took a battering this week as customers shunned high streets to shelter indoors from the severe rainfall which has left many parts of the UK flooded.

The extreme conditions meant many stayed away during one of the most crucial retail shopping weeks in the run-up to Christmas. Statistics from Nielsen BookScan show that...

BA | Booksellers Association | Bookshops | Christmas | Floods | Home | Katy Lazenby | Lisa Campbell | Matthew Clarke | Penzance | Rachel Howorth | Retail | Sue Keates | weather
Kobo launches roadshow as indies ponder e-book options

Publication Date: Mon, 30/07/2012 - 08:25

Kobo is due to launch a country-wide roadshow to showcase its e-book offering to independent booksellers, though with booksellers still waiting to hear what terms the company will give them on unit sales.

Kobo country manager Phil Wood is embarking on a nationwide tour to present Kobo’s e-book model to facilitate independent...

BA | e-books | e-readers | Home | indies | Kobo | Lisa Campbell | UK
Kobo, Hive and Anobii pitch e-book options to indies

Publication Date: Fri, 15/06/2012 - 08:40

Independent bookshops are to have access to Kobo e-book devices, a Hive-sourced e-book tablet and an Anobii-run affiliates scheme as part of a range of methods aimed at helping booksellers sell e-books to their customers, as print book sales hit a nine-year low and the number of high street bookshops continues to fall.

The measures...

anobii | BA | e-readers | high street | indie booksellers | Kobo | Lisa Campbell | Retail | ron johns | Tim Godfray
Indies continue to decline on high street

Publication Date: Fri, 15/06/2012 - 08:35

Booksellers Association chief executive Tim Godfray has renewed calls for publishers to "seriously consider" their business models to support independent bookshops as their numbers continued to decline in 2011.

Casualties included Dartmouth's Harbour bookshop, opened by A A Milne's son, which closed after 60 years,...

BA | Bookshops | high street | Home | Independents | indies | Lisa Campbell | Tim Godfray
BA calls for nominations for IBW Book Award

Publication Date: Wed, 21/03/2012 - 15:01

The Booksellers Association is calling for publishers to nominate titles for the Independent Booksellers' Week Book Award 2012.

The IBW Book Award is the only award chosen by UK independent booksellers and their customers, giving publishers what the BA calls a “prime opportunity to promote key titles into the...

BA | Booksellers Association | Home | Independent Book Week | Independent Booksellers Week Book Award | Independents | Lisa Campbell | Prizes | Retail
BA letter goes out to council chiefs

Publication Date: Mon, 30/01/2012 - 10:00

The Booksellers Association has called for “dynamic and innovative” authorities to take the lead in supporting the future of high streets, in a letter sent to 390 council chiefs on Friday (27th January) requesting improvements to help bookshops stay in business.

Parking strategies that encourage visitors to town centres...

BA | Home | Lisa Campbell | Mary Portas | Tim Godfray
BA asks local authorities for tax cuts

Publication Date: Wed, 18/01/2012 - 15:56

The Booksellers Association has pledged to write to the chief executives of all 390 local authorities to call on them to lower business rates for bookshops. The move comes following a call in the House of Commons for booksellers to be given a special business rate incentive to set up on the high street.

During the six-hour Commons...

BA | Government | high street | Home | House of Commons | Independents | Lisa Campbell | Mary Portas | Retail
BA announces conference shake-up

Publication Date: Fri, 06/01/2012 - 08:10

The BA has announced that this year's flagship book trade conference is moving out of London to Warwick. The event is reverting to a more purist, bookseller-first feel, with the BA delivering a conference designed primarily for retailers, with publishers attending to meet and sell to retailers.

The other major change is that the...

BA | bookselling | conference | high street | Home | Independents | Neill Denny | Tim Godfray | Warwick