Thursday 2nd May
In February, I was fortunate to travel to Chicago as part of a RISE Bookseller Exchange program, an initiative aimed at strengthening the sharing of information across the global bookselling community. My destination: Anderson's in Naperville, Illinois, a revered institution in the realm of independent bookstores. This opportunity, facilitated by RISE, was the most wonderful week of learning and sharing, and truly reinforced why I love working in bookselling so much.
Anderson's, a sixth-generation family-run bookstore, stands as a testament to their resilience and innovation in the book industry. What began in 1875, as a drugstore selling books at the counter for the town of Naperville, has evolved into two bookstore locations, a toy shop and a wholesale book fair business. Anderson’s has fostered an incredibly strong place in the community, running book launches for some of the world’s largest authors (hosting more than 7000 people for Stephen King!), community events, supporting schools, libraries, and local charities. I spent my week at Anderson’s in awe of their capacity to scale their business, rival non-independent competitors and stay true to their core values and the spirit of independent bookselling.
My time at Anderson’s was primarily to learn about their book fair business. Anderson’s Book Fair Company runs over 300 (!) book fairs each year. Anyone that has run a book fair before can probably imagine what a logistical nightmare this is. In order to facilitate the scale of their business, Anderson’s business is complete with trucks, a dedicated warehouse and staff.
I learnt a lot during my week in Naperville. From information sessions with local teachers, to experiencing their events firsthand, to one-on-one meetings with most of her staff, Becky Anderson (Anderson’s owner) was incredibly kind and generous with her time.
One of the key lessons I took from Anderson’s, which was pervasive throughout the business, was the importance of knowing your worth as a bookseller. Anderson’s and the staff at Anderson’s valued their time and their offerings incredibly highly, and ran their business accordingly. If they were offering a complimentary service (e.g. a free author school tour), the dollar value of this service was very clearly communicated to schools and teachers.
To see an independent bookstore fighting the good fight on such a large scale was such a wonderful experience. It was also incredibly heartening to work in a store half a world away that shared so many of our values as our own bookshop. That it is possible to ‘take on’ the big guys and grow sustainably, while not compromising on the things that want to be booksellers in the first place, was comforting. We shared resources, ideas and stories freely, and I left Chicago with a huge list of new ideas for our own book fairs and stores.
I would encourage anyone who is interested to consider applying for RISE Bookseller Exchange. Avid Reader and Where The Wild Things Are are now on the list to host an international bookseller, and we have our fingers crossed that someone will be coming to visit us soon. It is a wonderful thing to be able to share ideas and fight for independent books across international borders.
Amy McKinnon, Where the Wild Things Are Book Fair Manager
Tuesday 23rd April
BookPeople is thrilled to announce the 2024 Book of the Year Awards shortlists, celebrating exceptional Australian literature published in 2023. These awards recognise outstanding works that have connected Australian writers with readers nationwide, underscoring the significance of booksellers in fostering a vibrant literary community. These awards honour the remarkable talents of Australian authors and celebrate the passionate booksellers who play a pivotal role in connecting these compelling stories with a wider audience.
BookPeople BookData - Adult Fiction Book of the Year
BookPeople BookData - Adult Non-Fiction Book of the Year
BookPeople Kids' Reading Guide - Children's Book of the Year
The winners will be announced at the BookPeople Gala Dinner and Awards Night on Sunday, June 16, at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park.
Saturday 10th February
Opinion - The Age/SMH
Raymond Bonner
In his inaugural State of the Arts oration, Minister Tony Burke lauded the “history and legacy” of Labor’s commitment to the arts, tracing it back to Gough Whitlam.
Burke faulted recent Coalition governments for defunding many cultural programs. Writers have been “the most underfunded”, he added.
The Labor government has pledged $286 million to support the arts, the centre of its national cultural policy, which it has dubbed Revive.
It all sounds wonderful. But there is a glaring omission from Labor’s policy in Burke’s speech: how do you support writers if the market for their books is being steadily destroyed?
Sixty-five per cent of Australian bookstores shut their doors between 2013 and 2023, according to WordsRated, a research data and analytics group.
That’s an alarming number. But it’s a reality, and one that corresponds with the increasing plight of Australian writers whose books, with rare exceptions, do not sell in the numbers they did 20 years ago.
Yet, nothing in Labor’s policy, nor in Burke’s speech, calls for support of Australia’s small, independent bookstores. These shops provide shelf space, and a life, to writers who would otherwise toil in obscurity and poverty.
“Without independent bookstores, there is effectively little market for Australian literature and no future for Australian writers,” Richard Flanagan, one of our leading writers and public intellectuals, tells me.
The Albanese government doesn’t need to do much if it’s serious about its commitment to writers and the arts. It doesn’t need to give any subsidies or tax breaks. Nor does it need to spend any taxpayer dollars.
All the government needs to do is level the economic playing field: for a limited period after the publication of a book’s first edition, disallow discounting.
It’s not a radical idea. Fixed-price laws for books are the norm for most EU countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Norway and Hungary, as well as Mexico, Argentina and Japan.
In Germany, the publisher fixes the price at which a book can be sold for the first 18 months after publication. It applies to every bookseller in the country, large or small, and to books being sold online. There are fines for violating it.
Everyone seems to benefit, including publishers, who have “flourished under the fixed-price system”, the CEO of a large publishing house noted in an article examining the German literary scene.
Books are on average less expensive in Germany than almost every other European country, including Britain, which operates a deregulated market like Australia’s.
According to Michael Robotham, the best-selling Australian crime writer, fixed price laws are a bonus for authors. His books have sold millions of copies around the world, but he told me recently that he makes the most money – and his royalties are highest – in Germany “because of the fixed-price laws”.
Delivering his arts oration at the University of Western Sydney in November, Burke lamented that the suburbs are routinely neglected when it comes to government funding. He could have talked about the dearth of independent bookstores in western Sydney. It won’t be easy getting new ones to open.
It used to be that you could sell enough books to pay the rent and the wages, and earn a modest return. Modest means 2 or 3 per cent, not the 10 or 20 per cent that Wall Street wants. That is no longer possible. Rent and wages have gone up, dramatically, while volume has declined.
Amazon isn’t the only culprit. Independents also can’t compete with the discount department stores that often sell books at less than cost – loss-leaders designed to draw customers into the store to buy socks, laundry detergent or toys, all items that have bigger margins.
Labor’s cultural policy calls for the establishment of a Writers Australia body “to support writers and illustrators to create new works”.
Where are they going to sell them? Not at Big W, Target or K-Mart, where shelves are reserved for bestsellers, the blockbusters, the authors who have already made it.
One publisher told me recently that of the 100 books that the company publish in a month, only eight to 10 will be stocked by Big W. That’s 92 writers to add to Burke’s morgue of the “underfunded”.
The first day Prince Harry’s memoir Spare was published, a woman came into our bookshop in Avalon and asked how much it was. $59.99, I told her. With that, she took out her phone and showed me that she could buy it at Big W for $35.
Big W boasts that it sells books at “50% OFF RRP” (the recommended retail price, which is what independents sell at). That is less than what it costs independents to buy them from the publisher. Fair?
A “fixed-price” law in Australia won’t drive Big W or the online retailers out of business; they can still sell books at a huge discount, they just have to wait six months or a year. But it will save many independent book stores – and with them Australian writing.
Raymond Bonner is former New York Times journalist and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and an Emmy. He is co-owner of Bookoccino bookshop in Avalon.
Thursday 15th February
2024 marks 100 years since the formation of the Australian Booksellers Association. 100 years of supporting Australian bookshops and booksellers to do what they do best — promote and nurture Australian literature.To celebrate this milestone, we invited our buying group booksellers to participate in selecting 100 must-read Australian novels. The result is a list featuring some of Australia’s national treasures, some underdogs and forgotten classics; award winners as well as breathtaking contemporary novels on their way to becoming modern classics. Now it’s time to share the list with readers through our 100 Must-read Australian Novels promotion. A range of point-of-sale materials has been supplied to participating bookshops.
Log in for the BookPeople 100 Must-read Australian Novels list, brochure, POS, and social media tiles.
Members read more ...Thursday 25th January
This year our Health of Business report comes off the back of repeat surveys in 2021/2022. It is always good practice to compare periods and back-to-back reports given with this opportunity. With all the pressures booksellers face it is helpful to step back and consider those things we can control. The Health of Business Report provides information on various income and cost aspects of respondent’s businesses, their inventory mix, staffing, and the factors that contribute to profitability.
Members can log in below to access a copy of the report.
Members read more ...Friday 8th December
Although we are no longer selling the Australian Book Vouchers, any vouchers still in circulation can be redeemed by bookshops. BookPeople will continue to guarantee bookshops that once they have exchanged a valid dated Australian Book Voucher for goods, an agreed monetary amount will be reimbursed on the return of the voucher.
It is important to remind staff to accept both Australian Book Vouchers and the new BookPeople Gift Cards whilst we are in this transition phase.
More information can be found here
There are now thousands of the new BookPeople Gift Cards in circulation with many more to come as the gift-giving season gets into full swing. Ensure you don't lose a sale because you don't know what to do.
Download this easy-to-follow step-by-step guide complete with screenshots and who to contact if you get stuck.
For any questions please contact the BookPeople office.
More information can be found here
March 2023
BookPeople's gift cards are the culmination of several years’ work and an important step for your Association in modernising a key activity. Driving people to your bookshops is the focus of the program, and the more liquidity we can inject into our market the more we all benefit. Through BookPeople’s ongoing promotional program we will continue to build the profile of our industry and the cultural importance of books and reading.
You can view the latest guide on the Reading Guide website.
See the latest newsletters here.
All ABA-produced marketing material seeks the involvement and contribution of BookPeople Buying Group booksellers in the curation of titles. Books promoted in the guides and newsletters are available to purchase at extra terms for Buying Group members and supported via the BookPeople and Kids’ Reading Guide social media channels.
More information and FAQs are available on the Buying Group page.
If you have any questions, contact Galina by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., P: 0414 166 203.
