THIS WEEK
Trade bodies
Owen Atkinson Josie Dobrin Kirsten Grant Meryl Halls Helgard Krause Stephen Lotinga Karen Napier Bridget Shine Marion Sinclair Nicola Solomon
The Lead Story The Bookseller 150
Owen Atkinson ALCS Executive director and c.e.o.
Atkinson’s Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society is a lifeline for creatives trying to make a living out of working with their pen. This year, the organisation paid out £34.8m to 100,000 members for secondary (photocopying, scanning, educational use, etc) rights. But ALCS has a campaigning side, too, consistently keeping the issue of author pay front and centre—with Atkinson ably helped by deputy c.e.o. Barbara Hayes. Prizes are another key part of the portfolio, including the recently launched Educational Writers’ Award.
Kirsten Grant World Book Day Director
Following a stormy 2018 World Book Day, 2019 saw the overall kids’ market during WBD week grow by 38% in value, and 43% in volume, year on year. Sales of this year’s titles have topped 1.13 million units, with all major super- markets and book retailers on board, as well as 1,400 indie and high-street bookshops. Highlights included a deal with the Premier League, and “Reading Champions” such as the Duchess of Cornwall and Tim Peake sharing the message. In July, Cassie Chadderton joined WBD as its first chief executive.
Helgard Krause Books Council of Wales Chief executive officer
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BCW has had a spring in its step since former University of Wales Press director Krause took over two years ago. She
has a crucial place in Wales’ books world owing to BCW’s wide-ranging funding, promotional and distribution remit, and given the country’s ecosystem of small indie lists and dual-language outputs. BCW awarded £2.3m in grants last year to Welsh publishers, £1.6m of which was for Welsh-language products. Its distri- bution centre also sold more than £4m worth of books from Welsh indies.
Meryl Halls Booksellers Association Managing director
It was a momentous year for the BA as executive chair Tim Godfray retired after 47 years with the organisation. But the future looks bright with Halls at the helm. The independent bookselling sector is in its second year of growth, and the seventh annual Bookshop Day saw around 1,200 bookshops participate across the UK. However, the BA remains alert to the challenges ahead, with Halls campaigning for business-rates reform. The BA further backed booksellers with the launch of its indie Children’s Book of the Month promotion.
Bridget Shine Independent Publishers Guild Chief executive officer
Shine spent much of this year helping indie publishers prepare for Brexit. As well as gathering advice from publish- ing, supply chain and legal experts to share with its members, the IPG entered talks with DCMS civil servants, asking for support to reduce “the financial and administrative burdens of Brexit” for indies. The annual IPG Awards saw 10 new publishers shortlisted for the first time, and there was an activist theme at the organisation’s Autumn Conference, with speakers such as Be More Pirate author Sam Conniff Allende.
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Stephen Lotinga Publishers Association Chief executive officer
This year saw the PA chief campaign- ing for the removal of VAT on digital publications and sending political parties a manifesto ahead of the general election, setting out key priorities for the trade. The PA has also released a report on issues around Open Access, convened a free event on the legal and logistical challenges of a no-deal Brexit, and welcomed the first cohort of candidates to the Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship Standard, designed to help young people from diverse back- grounds get into the industry.
Marion Sinclair Publishing Scotland Chief executive officer
As it celebrates its 45th anniversary, Publishing Scotland has more than 100 members, a distribution company in Glasgow and an International Publishing Fellowship. It also launched Scottish Books International—its service promoting Scottish literature overseas, run in partnership with the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Creative Scotland—at FBF in October. Sinclair has been optimistic about the health of Scotland’s publishing industry, reiterating the importance of the trade’s cultural impact in our current political climate.
Nicola Solomon Society of Authors Chief executive
Solomon has continued her role as a tireless champion of authors—speaking out on the impact that a no-deal Brexit would have on them and the industry; joining calls for political parties to commit to removing VAT on digital publi- cations; and pushing for volunteer-run community libraries to be included in the PLR system. The year also saw a move to new digs in Bloomsbury, and the intro- duction of the first steering committee for the SoA in Wales. The collective value of the SoA Awards to authors exceeded £100,000 for the first time, too.
Josie Dobrin Creative Access Chief executive officer
Dobrin continues to head the not- for-profit social enterprise which has placed more than 1,500 candidates from underrepresented backgrounds in the creative industries, and supported almost 30,000 with employability skills, since 2012. Creative Access’ list of 321 employer partners include several from the book trade, from big publishers such as Hachette UK, to indies like Oneworld, and trade bodies including World Book Day. The organisation placed its 1,000th intern in February (at the Royal Society of Literature).
Karen Napier Te Reading Agency Chief executive officer
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Napier took over as head of The Reading Agency in July, succeeding Sue Wilkinson, who retired after five years at the
helm. Napier has hit the ground running at a charity which has greatly extended its reach and activities. A new initiative for 2020 is the expansion of audio titles in the World Book Night offer, with Napier pointing out that audio is an excellent tool to encourage reluctant and first-time readers. A boost this autumn was seeing TRA chosen as one of three charities in the Times’ Christmas appeal.
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