Introduction


One step beyond


The co-programmers of this year’s Children’s Conference, Katherine Woodfine and Claire Shanahan, introduce some of the themes that will be explored on 26th September at Milton Court, London, as well as some of the day’s speakers


T


HIS IS A boom time for chil- dren’s books. Revenue for 2017 is up 19% from where it was


five years ago, as The Bookseller’s charts and data editor Kiera O’Brien will discuss on 26th September. It’s wonderful to see our market thrive, with flourishing big brands, major anniversaries to celebrate and excit- ing new talent making an impact on the bestseller lists. But far from rest- ing on our laurels, there are chal- lenges ahead. How can we connect with a rapidly changing customer base? How do we ensure our books


best reflect young readers and the world they live in? And how can we keep publishing creatively and responsibly in a climate of political change? This year’s Children’s Conference


aims to tackle some of these ques- tions head on. Our theme, One Step Beyond: Taking Children’s Publish- ing to New Heights, will enable us to explore fresh approaches to tried-and-tested routes to consum- ers (bricks-and-mortar bookshops, libraries, events) as well as new opportunities. We’ll be highlighting


concrete examples of good practice, sharing inspiration and insight and, most of all, offering practical ideas for you to take back to your desk. We’ll be asking nity-grity ques- tions: how should we publish non-fiction for kids in a world of #fakenews? Does investing in Twit- ter or YouTube really lead to more sales? How can we ensure our herit- age brands stay relevant to new generations of readers? And what really grabs children and young people’s atention, and inspires them to pick up a book? With this in mind, we’ll be hearing from young readers themselves, ranging from teen booktuber Lucy Powrie to the children who have shared their thoughts with Authorfy’s Mel Taylor-Bessent.


Our conference speakers include the likes of Hachete Children’s Group m.d. Hilary Murray Hill, DK’s worldwide c.e.o. Ian Hudson, and James McKnight, chief crea- tive officer at The Blair Partnership. We’ll hear from authors and illus- trators including newly crowned Waterstones children’s laureate Lauren Child, Catherine Johnson and Kiran Milwood Hargrave; and from fantastic speakers from across publishing, retail and beyond. Our surgery sessions will also give dele- gates the chance to speak one on one with industry experts—see p13 for details.


Take a look through these pages for a more in-depth look at what to expect from this year’s conference— and if you haven’t bought a ticket yet, visit thebookseller.com to book yours. We look forward to seeing you on 26th September!


Management PUBLISHER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE Nigel Roby 0361 · FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION CO-ORDINATOR Anna Marzec 0374 Editorial EDITOR Philip Jones 0364 · DEPUTY EDITOR Benedicte Page 0367 · NEWS EDITOR Lisa Campbell 0369 · REPORTER Heloise Wood 0392 · REPORTER Katherine Cowdrey 0365 · REPORTER Natasha Onwuemezi 0366 Online ASSOCIATE EDITOR Molly Flat molly.flat@gmail.com · ONLINE EDITOR & PRODUCER Sarah Shaffi 0370 · WEB EDITOR Caroline Carpenter 0376 · EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Francesca Pymm 0390 Charts FEATURES & INSIGHT EDITOR Tom Tivnan 0373 · CHARTS & DATA ANALYST Kiera O’Brien 0375 Books BOOKS EDITOR Alice O’Keeffe 0372 · NON-FICTION PREVIEW Caroline Sanderson carosande@aol.com


· CHILDREN’S PREVIEWS Fiona Noble fionanoble@btinternet.com · PAPERBACK PREVIEW Alison Flood paperbackpreview@gmail.com Production HEAD OF CENTRAL PRODUCTION Mark Guest 0377 · CREATIVE EDITOR Danny Arter 0379 Advertising HEAD OF PUBLISHER RELATIONS Emma Lowe 0362 · BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Lara Pace 0393 · HEAD OF CLIENT DEVELOPMENT Gerard O’hare 0384 · ACCOUNT MANAGER Emma Hare 0387 Marketing/Events AUDIENCE MARKETING MANAGER Kirstine Bowen 0371 · HEAD OF EVENTS Grace Harrison 0386 · EVENTS & ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Hilary Bell 0385


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