New Conferences Show Resilience of Physical Bookshops
Two new conferences for physical bookselling demonstrate the resilience of the sector. The inaugural RISE bookselling conference has just wrapped up in Prague, while the second Sharjah International Bookselling Conference is scheduled for 1-2 May in the UAE.
The RISE initials stand for ‘Resilience, Innovation and Sustainability for the Enhancement of Bookselling’. The conference was organised by the European and International Booksellers Federation and saw a range of international speakers and moderators, among them Meryl Halls, chief executive of the UK Booksellers Association.
Panel discussions covered topics including sustainable bookselling, launching bookstore day celebrations, and creating diverse and inclusive bookstores. Among keynote speakers was the British comedian and author Robin Ince who talked about his love of bookstores and “book people” and the capacity for books to foster compassion and expand a reader’s worldview.
The vision of the RISE conference is to ‘upscale, reinforce and maximise the capacity and resilience of the European bookselling sector. By participating in training and events, booksellers and bookselling professionals will be able to acquire skills, tools and resources to ensure they are properly equipped to support the ongoing transformation of the bookselling sector’.