The Bookseller's Children's Conference 2025 tickets now on sale

The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference (KidsConf) will return to London’s County Hall in Waterloo on 29th September 2025 and tickets are now on sale.

This year’s conference theme is 2030 Vision: Making the Most of a Year of Reading. It promises to be a bold exploration of where children’s publishing needs to go next, bringing together experts from the book world and beyond to address what today’s children and their families need from the trade and how the industry can cater to them. It will also be a chance for publishing professionals to come together and discuss how to capitalise on the government’s recently-announced National Year of Reading campaign.

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, president and publisher of Walker Books Group, will deliver a keynote speech. Other confirmed speakers include The British Book Awards’ reigning Illustrator of the Year, Rob Biddulph, and World Book Day ambassador MC Grammar. Talks will cover sales trends and data on children’s reading habits, deep dives into how the industry can work with schools and bring books to life through events, showcase presentations sharing best practise and more.

The Bookseller’s children’s editor and deputy features editor Caroline Carpenter is the conference programmer. She said: “Everyone working in children’s books is aware of the statistics about the decline in reading for pleasure among young people, which is both an existential threat to the industry and a major concern for our society as a whole. KidsConf 2025 will explore this and the other big issues of today, while also celebrating the industry’s innovative efforts to engage young readers despite the challenging circumstances. As we look ahead to the National Year of Reading and beyond, these conversations have never felt so urgent or so important.”