The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Summit over BA conference

22.05.08 Graeme Neill

Publishers have expressed exasperation at the cost and content of this year's BA conference and British Book Industry Awards. Heads of publishing companies and retailers have privately expressed fears to The Bookseller that next year's conference in Newcastle could be poorly attended following what they saw as a lack of relevance in seminars and poor retailer visibility this year.

Trade Publishers Council (TPC) chair Ursula Mackenzie said the conference was discussed at the last TPC meeting. "We would always . . . follow up with the BA to highlight particularly successful sessions and see if there are any ways it could be improved still further," she said. "We enter these discussions with an open mind rather than a fixed agenda."

A BA spokesperson said that seminar content was based on the "major issues" being dealt with by both the BA and PA. "The retailer attendance included c.e.o.s from two of the three major chains, supermarket and online representation as well as strong independent representation. In fact, year-on-year, retail attendance was up [by 7%]. Work is already underway to refresh the British Book Industry Award format through an industry working party and the BA looks forward to its meeting [on 6th June] with the PA's TPC to refine plans for the 2009 conference."

However, one m.d. of a publishing company bemoaned a lack of senior retailers. "I can't see the point of spending two or three days in a hotel just to talk to other publishers," he said. "Although independent attendance was slightly up, there just weren't enough major chains in Brighton."

An-other questioned seminar content. "It looks like our economy is heading towards a recession, and what did we get?" asked one. "Practically the same seminars on the environment and digital issues that we had last year."

The first m.d. said feelings were so strong among publishers that they were going to propose to the BA that the conference is reduced to one day and held in London, with a shorter version of the Nibbies to follow. "Why should we send 40 staff to eat rubber chicken and sit through so many awards that we end up paying for?" he said. But he played down fears that publishers would boycott Newcastle, adding that he wanted to see "real change" for 2010.

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