News on Bookselling March 2014 by Robyn Huppert

VOLUME 14 • ISSUE 1 • MARCH 2014

ISSN 1445-0437

The official journal of the australian booksellers association

It all begins with a conversation

An oft repeated phrase this year is that I also had the opportunity to chat with the same time, there has been a everything begins with a conversation. and listen to John Rubin, the founder of profound consolidation in the And that is certainly reflected in the key Above the Tree and Edelweiss. Edelweiss publishing world causing a handful of presenters at this year’s ABA Conference. has become an essential tool for vendors to dominate the landscape. booksellers and publishers in the US to With the incredible access to books that At the recent American BA Winter assist in making marketing and buying the superstore expansion and the Institute in Seattle, former ABA decision. Internet have provided, an outside President, Mitchell Kaplan talked about As a result of those conversations, John observer might assume that our some of the innovative practices that and Jenn from Shelf Awareness will be industry is booming. We, on the inside, have made his bookstore, Books and joined by Jen Slajus, Senior Operations know, however, that this is not the case. Books such a success. Coordinator of Above the Treeline and Increased access does not necessarily We also heard from John Mutter and Edelweiss, to share their thoughts and translate into more sales, and as our Jenn Risko who have created what has ideas– to booksellers, to publishers and cultural dynamic shifts people to screens become an essential industry organ, to the broader industry at the ABA's of all kinds, some of the larger retailers Shelf Awareness. It has recently been 90th Annual Conference. Things might are having identity crises, having to rely expanded to include a digital begin with a conversation, and we hope more on their online positions to satisfy publication aimed at readers, Shelf they lead to actions that will support their shareholders and starting a process Awareness for Readers, which is being your businesses. of closing down stores. used to supplement the information The good news is that there are still and marketing that booksellers send to Joel Becker many, many strong and important their customers. Here is the beginning of our conversation independent booksellers operating and with Mitchell Kaplan ... making large contributions to their communities, being the tastemakers You, like me, I'm sure, have been and cultural focal points that have made confronted for many years with the many of them as iconic as the most question of the viability of stores like storied ones of the past: Shakespeare & mine. First, there was the assault by the 02 CEO’s report Company in Paris, The Gotham Book discounters and price clubs, then it was Mart in NYC, and, of course, the still 03 President’s report online retailing, and now we’re going strong City Lights in San Francisco. challenged with nothing less than the 04 Conference program These stores have garnered their destruction of the physical book with the communities’ loyalty, and, in essence, 06 Global perspectives advent of e-books. Through all of these their communities have responded by 07 ILF report developments, there have been many making them "too important to fail." casualties: booksellers and publishers 08 Winter Institute report How do they do it? And, what is Books & alike have shuttered. When Books & Books' strategy for the future? 12 Marketing plans Books was founded over 30 years ago, Selection, service and ambiance. This is there were many more bookstores like 13 ABA 2014 Bookseller Awards the mantra of independent booksellers mine selling a majority of all books. At

Inside this issue

Member services

Bookshop profile

concontinued on page 06

News on Bookselling March 2014

CEO report They say a day is a long time in politics. Well, it hasn’t been a day, but the last couple of months have been particularly interesting times in the book world. Anecdotally it seems that many of you either did well, or at least held your own during the Christmas period, after another challenging year. Thanks to our wonderful Australian writers and publishers for providing such a fabulous range of Australian books to sell. As you will read elsewhere in this issue, I attended the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute in Seattle. One of the very encouraging things to come out of being in the same room as hundreds of booksellers – and making a fair fist of talking to as many of them as possible – is that they generally had a very good year, and an excellent Christmas. If we take the view that retail trends often lag a bit in the Antipodes (not sure if that always holds true, but there are some patterns…), then there may be cause for cautious optimism in 2014. Cautious, because the Americans don’t have the wage and leasing costs that are endemic to the Australian market. One interesting trend is that there has been a plateauing of eBook and eBook device sales in the last quarter of 2013 in the U.S. So, the suggestion of the tech mob of 50% market share appears to be sitting closer to 30% in the U.S. Of course we haven’t reached that stage yet (closer to 12%-15%), but we can start building top-end figures like this into our business plans.

Membership You should have just received your ABA membership renewal notice for 2014-15. We’re really excited about the year ahead. As well as the Conference, we are continuing with the provision of a raft of membership benefits, including a couple of new offerings that will be made before or at the Conference. Elsewhere, Steve and Tamara talk about some of the marketing opportunities and member benefits, including our soon-to-be-launched website. If you wish to know more about what the ABA can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact any of us. Also, on Page 15, you’ll see the Notice for our Annual General Meeting. If you want to know more about the ABA Management Committee, and possible engagement in the Committee, contact either myself or our President, Patricia Genat. Winter Institute ‘Takeaways’ and ABA Conference and Trade Exhibition Like the other participants in Winter Institute, I came back with some major ‘takeaways’, but rather than make you listen to my interpretation of those ideas, I thought it made more sense to bring them here to tell you themselves. Mitch Kaplan is a former President of the American Booksellers Association, and the owner of a group of independent bookshops in Florida – Books and Books. Mitch has actively engaged in working with the community and will be talking about some of the ideas – including one of the largest book fairs in the US, an extraordinarily active events program, and engagement with a culturally diverse community.

John Mutter, (who visited the ABA Conference a number of years ago) and Jenn Risko run Shelf Awareness, which has launched an enewsletter for readers, which they are now distributing globally. Jen Slajus has an amazing story of success to tell with Above the Treeline and Edelweiss. They will be discussing what they’re doing, and having a broader discussion of the state of the market. There were also some really interesting discussions about the importance of children’s books – from illustrated to YA – and their growth as a share of the market. This is coupled with the challenge of apparently dropping readership figures, particularly for young adults, as books compete with computers, smart phones and other forms of entertainment. How do we keep these younger readers engaged? A panel chaired by the Melbourne Writers Festival’s Mike Shuttleworth will include two bestselling and critically acclaimed YA writers, Scott Westerfield and Justine Larbalestier, with some cogent facts and figures provided by Nielsen Bookscan’s Shaun Symonds. I hope to see you all at the 90th (!) ABA Conference and Trade Exhibition on 18th - 19th May in Melbourne. And let’s begin that conversation!

Joel Becker

News on Bookselling March 2014

President’s report

A new year and a new you? Welcome to 2014, although I am sure you have all already put in some long days and the odd evening as you roll up your sleeves and plan to attack The Year of the Horse. My Chinese friends tell me that the animal sign Horse signifies galloping ahead, power and fame and that this would be a year to move ahead but they also caution me about risk and fierce competition. The SBS website tells me that according to Chinese philosophy, the Year of the Horse deals with fire, wood and energy elements, promising a year of success for fire element industries, such as oil and gas, airlines and restaurants, but also predicts a year of conflict, market fluctuations and natural disasters. Does that sound like your year ahead? It certainly sounds like mine. As I reflect on an opening year message for the ABA, I am hoping that Joel and I will lead an organisation that is brave and gallops when required. I’m not too fussed about the fame, and the power is only useful if there is a reason to be powerful. Dan Heath1, opening speaker for the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute 9 last month, spoke well about the power of discipline. His particular discipline teaching was around decision making, and the part that resonated most with me was his exhortation to attain some distance when making big decisions. Ask “what would I tell my best friend to do, or what would my successor/ predecessor do? “. I found that to be a useful and easily incorporated discipline and will aim to use it every time I need to this year. I know that one of my management faults is my tendency to make quick decisions

without enough external consultation or reflection. I am a ‘doer’ and need on occasion, to be more of a ‘thinker’. Dan’s four part process to better decision making and avoiding the major traps of narrow framing, confirmation bias and short term emotion I was happy to hear that he was not against emotion within the decision making process, but only the short term aspect – in other words, he asked us to think of the long game. Widen your options – make sure you have more than one – if it doesn’t seem so, change your perspective. Reality test your assumptions – he reminds us that no one ever tells you that your baby is ugly. Essentially most people are nice – which is very unhelpful in risky decision making Attain some distance – better decisions don’t always need more time, but do always need more distance Prepare to be wrong – I like this option. If you can’t cope with the decision being the wrong one – better not to make it at all. One decision many members will have to make this year will be around whether or how to sell eBook content and CDF (customer direct fulfilment). Let me encourage you strongly to say yes to one of the options available to you for these additional components of being a bookseller. If your decision not to buy into either of these is based on any of the following assumptions – they need to be challenged.

I only email/communicate with customers who live in my community. I only stock books suited to my (insert dwindling or growing) customers whom I see each week/month. I only stock books when I can make a standard margin of 25% or higher. So as we start the year, we wish you stability amongst the chaos and strength of purpose amongst the competition, and for friends or staff who can provide guidance and distance as required. Use every opportunity to find that support and guidance – of course we hope to see you at the ABA 90th Conference at the lovely Langham Hotel in Melbourne on May 18th to 19th. where the conversations, some experts and many colleagues can be excellent elements for a successful new you. It all starts with a conversation...

Patricia Genat 1. Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip & Dan Heath Random House 978 0 307 95639 2

I only sell effectively to customers who come into my shop.

News on Bookselling March 2014

Sunday 18 May 8.00 – 9.30am Registrations open 9.30 – 9.45am CEO’s Announcements and President’s Welcome 9.45 – 10.00am Indigenous Literacy Project Update 10.00 – 11.00am Keynote Address

Mitchell Kaplan, bookshop owner, former President of the American BA and founder of the Miami Book Fair. Everything does begin with a conversation, and in the opening keynote for the conference, the highly successful and entrepreneurial bookseller Mitchell Kaplan gives his perspective on the role of the bookshop in not only being part of the community, but its key role in developing the cultural capital of the community. Mitchell will also focus on innovative practices within his business as well as approaches to redefining the relationship between bookseller and publisher.

11.00am – 11.45pm Community Engagement Presenter: TBA

From a singleHigh Street bookshop to a national chain of bookshops – community engagement is one of the most important assets. The local community can be your champion directing new customers to your shop, or shops. There are many ways of gaining the respect of your community – from author events, charity fundraisers, to offering personalised service. Learn from one of the world’s leading experts on how to engage and build a stronger business.

11.45 – 3.30pm Trade Exhibition and Lunch 3.30 – 4.30pm Bookselling: Think Globally/Act Locally!

Participants: John Mutter and Jenn Risko, Shelf Awareness, Jen Slajus Edelweiss and Above the Treeline, Mitchell Kaplan, Books and Books Three leading innovators in the US book market are expanding their services to a global market. John Mutter and Jenn Risko run Shelf Awareness, a digital information newsletter on the book industry. They have recently developed Shelf Awareness for Readers. Jen Slajus is a Senior Operating Coordinator of Above the Treeline, a software company assistsing bookstores to better understand their businesses, and to support their publisher-partners with analytical tools for sales and inventory analysis. It was recently expanded to 04

include Edelweiss, a web-based interactive publisher catalogue system that enhances or replaces the use of hard copy catalogue. They will be joined by Mitchell Kaplan to discuss challenges and opportunities in the global book industry, and ways these and other tools can assist Australian booksellers and publishers.

4.30 – 5.00pm: Member Forum 5.00pm: ABA Annual General Meeting ABA Gala Dinner: Celebrating Bookselling 6.30 – 7.30pm: Networking drinks and entree 7.30 - 10.00pm: Dinner and Awards Menu designed by Melbourne chef and restaurateur, Daniel Wilson, Huxtable. Richard Fidler is emcee for the evening and our guest speaker is the fabulous and talented author, Dr Anita Heiss. The evening also includes presentations of the annual ABA Bookselling Awards

Monday 19 May 9.30 – 10.30am Unplug Your Kids...With Books! Chair: Mike Shuttleworth

Panellists: Shaun Symonds, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier and Susannah Chambers (Allen & Unwin) Children’s and YA reading is a major growth area in bookselling however it is an area facing significant challenges as it fights for space with other forms of entertainment and social media. In a panel chaired by Melbourne Writers Festival Program Manager, Mike Shuttleworth, Shaun Symonds (Nielsen Bookdata) provides global data to provide a framework for the discussion. Award-winning YA writers, Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier; and senior editor for Allen and Unwin, Susannah Chambers, will add their expertise to this discussion

10:45 – 11:15am ABA Membership Services: It pays to join Don't just take our word for it.

using the ABA member schemes to save time and money.

11.15 – 12.15pm Ensuring a healthy and safe workplace and bookshop

Presenter: Zorica Babic, Guild Insurance Occupational health and safety expert Zorica Babic gives useful tips on ensuring a safe working environment that both satisfies legal requirements and ensures the health and safety of your staff and your customers.

12.15 – 1.15pm A Working Lunch with Small and Micro Publishers Leading small and ‘micro-‘ publishers to tell us about some of the best books they have coming out during 2014. The presentations – short, sharp and to-the-point – accompanied by lunch.

1.15 – 2.15pm 10 steps to Mastering Social Media Tools in less than 10 Minutes a Day Presenter: Yvonne Adele Where does social media fit into your marketing strategy?Yvonne will show you where by utilising three free technology tools to engage with your existing and potential clients in less than 10 minutes a day.

2:15 – 2.30pm: Afternoon Tea 2.30 – 3.30pm The Future of eBooks

Presenter: Malcolm Neil Malcolm will discuss trends in eReading, eReaders and eBooks in global publishing and retailing, and how those trends are reflected in the Australian market. How are consumers buying – are decisions to buy print books and eBooks made separately, or do readers want a ‘one-stop shop’ solution? Malcolm is former CEO of the ABA and is Director Content Acquisition and Publisher Relations APAC Kobo

3.30 – 4pm Closing Keynote

Presenter: Richard Flanagan

Find out how other booksellers are

News on Bookselling March 2014

JOINT ABA & LEB TRADE EXHIBITION WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY 18TH MAY

“Everything begins with a conversation”

MITCHELL KAPLAN

FORMER AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

JOHN MUTTER & JENN RISKO

SHELF AWARENESS

JEN SLAJUS

ABOVE THE TREELINE

RICHARD FLANAGAN AWARD-WINNING AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR

DR ANITA HEISS

BESTSELLING AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR & INDIGENOUS LITERACY FOUNDATION AMBASSADOR

RICHARD FIDLER

ABC HOST OF THE CONVERSATION HOUR, & FORMER DOUG ANTHONY ALLSTAR

YVONNE ADELE

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT

THE LANGHAM HOTEL, MELBOURNE

18TH & 19TH MAY THE 90TH ANNUAL ABA CONFERENCE & TRADE EXHIBITION LEADING EDGE CONFERENCE 16TH & 17TH MAY FOR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION, EXHIBITOR & SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT OUR ABA CONFERENCE & MARKETING MANAGER, STEVE JONES

W: WWW.ABACONFERENCE.ORG.AU E: CONFERENCE@ABA.ORG.AU P: 03 9859 7322

the conversation continues ... and that's what we've all been focusing on as we've met increased competition all these years. We continually have to demonstrate our value to our customers and make our stores the most inviting they can be, our staff and store policies as customer friendly as possible, and provide an offering of books and related items that is interesting and different enough to help drive business past much larger competitors. Demonstrating value and finding ways to monetize our value has been what has driven our strategy for many years now. We provide our customers with a distinct experience that can't be found in the chains or online; our partnerships in the community run deep and wide. We provide books and programming for public and private schools alike, for synagogues and for churches; we allow our stores to be used for in-store book fairs and as a place for community groups to meet. We now live stream a great majority of our 400 author events each year. Gift certificates are given and we donate money back to groups who ask us to sell books for them. Each of our stores look different from one another and we have unique restaurants/cafes in two of them, as well. The Cafes at Books & Books have become as beloved as the bookstores. We have also established affiliate relationships with three other groups, expanding the Books & Books family of bookstores to Miami International Airport, The Cayman Islands, and Westhampton Beach, Long Island. Our partners understand the value we bring to the table and this has provided an additional revenue stream for us. All of these arrangements help monetize the value we've created over the last 32 years and our plans call for us to keep an open eye and open mind to other ways we can grow. In short, I believe the near future will be a bullish period for independent retailers of books; we'll have to be more creative and look for opportunities that suit who we are, but the opportunities will be there. The local first movement, the slow food movement, and, in many ways, the drive for sustainability in everything are evidence that there is also a cultural bias developing for stores that inhabit our sales channel. It's also clear that market forces are 06

aligning to create the kind of space where the interests of independent booksellers and publishers have never been more in synch. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the perfect time to maximize the potential for all of us, reimagining the publisher/bookseller relationship. If bookstores and publishers could be viewed as partners, policies might be implemented which would go a long way to making our business more sustainable for the long term. The relationship should be collaborative and bookstores should be asked to help give advice as to how a book should be positioned within their markets. Consignment, extended dating and other means should be employed to cut down on returns and provide more accurate print runs. Sales, not credit, should drive ordering, and sales reps should be used more and with greater impact. I consider this a golden time. Writers are writing wonderful books and there is a vibrant group of readers wanting to read them, and as baby boomers age, they will have even more free time for books. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know of a more dynamic period in my life as a bookseller and I remain committed to the power of the great good a physical bookstore can still achieve. Like so many other booksellers, I consider myself one of the luckiest guys around, still able to toil in this wondrous business of ours, making whatever contribution I can to the sustainability of the literary culture I so love. And the start of our conversation with John Mutter ... Founded in 2005 by John Mutter and Jenn Risko, Shelf Awareness began as a free e-mail newsletter published every business day geared to helping booksellers and librarians do their jobs better. Now called Shelf Awareness Pro, the newsletter includes a range of information about new books coming out, backlist titles, author media appearances, news about bookstores, industry trends, author interviews, book reviews and more. Shelf Awareness Pro has more than 32,000 subscribers, most of whom are people in the business-booksellers and librarians, of course, but also publishers, agents, scouts and authors. We also have a few civilians who are rabid book lovers. Three years ago we launched our other major product, Shelf Awareness for Readers, a

twice-weekly e-mail newsletter that consists of reviews of the 25 best books being published that week as well as author interviews, book trivia and an essay on a topic of the day. We now have 275,000 subscribers--the bulk of whom come through our editions that are co-branded with independent bookstores and go out to their customer e-mail lists. These co-branded editions consist mostly of our content but have both our logo and the bookstore's logo on it--as well as a section where bookstores can add more editorial of their own if they want. In addition, the co-branded editions feature buy buttons next to each book review that link to the title on the store's home page, where consumers can buy print or electronic copies of the books. The Readers newsletter is free both to bookstores and their customers and is supported by advertising. Our bookseller partners receive an e-mail a week in advance to tell them which titles we will highlight in the newsletter. Many booksellers then highlight in displays in-store the books that are reviewed and advertised in the newsletter. Often customers come in the store and ask for titles featured in the Readers edition; other people buy the books online. Our statistics show that the buy buttons in Shelf Awareness for Readers garnered more than 10,000 clicks, and we conservatively estimate the Readers edition has helped booksellers sell more than 50,000 books last year. Currently we have 75 such co-branded partnerships, a number that continues to grow. We are just beginning to launch a few co-branded editions with bookstores abroad. Shelf Awareness now has a dozen full time employees and more than 50 freelancers, mainly book reviewers. The company continues to seek to support independent booksellers by giving them information to do their jobs better as well as help them increase sales and their connections with customers--all the more important in an era when readers have a multitude of choices for entertainment and paradoxically have fewer ways of learning about new books than in the past. Come and join us at Conference to continue these conversations and start many more!

News on Bookselling March 2014

ILF report It was an auspicious start to the year

Last week, it was good to have feedback from one community, Wanarn, located in the tali (sandhill) country, 100 kilometres north of Warburton. All residents are Ngaanyatjarra speaking. They said:

Suzy’s passion and commitment has inspired so many people in the Australian book industry to be part of the Foundation and we would like to thank the Australian Booksellers Association and each of you who have worked so hard to raise funds and to advocate on our behalf

‘Wanarn is a small and very remote community where people have little or no access to books or magazines. Literacy levels are low across all age groups and it has been my goal to at least provide people with a variety of materials to stimulate their literacy skills and interest…Our sincerest gratitude for the wonderful donation. It is great work that you are doing and so very important.’ (read more on our website - www. indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au).

to have the owner of Riverbend Books and ILF Founder Suzy Wilson acknowledged at the Local Hero Australian of the Year Awards at Parliament House in Canberra.

This year the Foundation aims to publish five really fabulous projects. These books have come from communities and from existing partners. Highlights include:

(Photo image: Suzy Wilson and GG Quentin Bryce)

With such an inspiring start to the year and with the guidance of our outstanding Board, we have worked hard to plan the year ahead and to make sure that the funds you have helped raise are used effectively. In 2014 we aim to deliver over 25,000 books into the hands of children, families and service organisations across Australia. Over the next eight months, books from over 30 publishers will go out through our centralised warehouse (UBD) to playgroups, crèches, schools, families, health organisations and other community organisations. Along the way, we will work with communities to get important feedback on how the book supply program is impacting on literacy within their communities.

• Language translations of the Honey Ant Readers Books 1-3 into Ngaanyatgarra (last year the Foundation funded the translation of 18 books into six languages) • 12 Board Books from the Honey Ant Readers for babies, toddlers and mothers, published in six languages • a practical new book, Readiness for School, for the Paakantji families in Wilcannia and Menindee

Lastly, we are enormously excited to announce the appointment of a new Board member. Sharon Galleguillos is currently Lecturer and Course Convenor of Indigenous Australian Education at the University of Sydney and brings extensive educational experience to our Foundation. Sharon has served on numerous Boards including The Fred Hollows Foundation and PETA and evaluated the Books in Home Australia Program. Sharon replaces Professor Martin Nakata, Head of Nura Gili, UNSW, who we would like to acknowledge and thank for his huge contribution. There are many more exciting projects in the pipeline and we look forward to updating and telling you about them throughout the year. Please register your bookshop, your bookclubs, tell your customers and schools about what we do and how we do it. If practical, put an ILF Donation Box on your counter. It’s surprising how effective they are. Thank you for your invaluable support. We hope you have a fabulous year and look forward to seeing you in person in May at the ABA Conference.

Karen Williams

Executive Director, ILF

In less than two weeks time, weather permitting, we will head out on the first of five field trips, this one to Warburton in WA for the launch of a new set of Buzz books. Recently Anne Shinkfield sent us footage of children, their mothers, elders and aunties, reading and engaging with books like Dear Zoo, Where’s Spot and Who Sank the Boat. You can see the results that these books and translations have made on our website. Whilst in WA, we will also have the opportunity to travel out to a number of new playgroups that have started up in surrounding towns and we will be keen to share their news with you in the next newsletter. News on Bookselling March 2014

American BA's Winter Institute 9

number 12 to signify the loudest crowd in the world, regarded as the team’s 12th man. The streets and bars were appropriately busy and the success of the local team brought a heightened atmosphere downtown that amplified as the week went on. The rain held off too as fog-shrouded mornings burned off into bright clear sunshine in defiance of the region’s notorious reputation for cold and miserable winters.

The Winter Institute (WI) is a three-day conference organised by the American Booksellers Association This year, a number of positions were offered to international booksellers. Patricia Genat, Tim White, Leesa Lambert and myself accompanied ABA CEO Joel Becker in attending the ninth annual event as guests. Winter Institute is a seasonal counterpoint to Book Expo America (BEA) and I initially believed it to be a West Coast solution to the perceived East Coast dominance (read: New York) of the industry.

For international guests the conference kicked off with a dinner at local culinary luminary Tom Douglas’ Dahlia Lounge, hosted by American BA CEO Oren Teicher. The next morning several busloads of booksellers took tours of Seattle’s independent bookstores. This was eye opening in that there is still a place for Borders-sized stores in the US market. Big stores may seem to be a highly efficient method of setting fire to piles of money, but a number of bookstores in Seattle are enormous – and successful!

I was mistaken, as Winter Institute moves around the country. WI 10 will be held in the beautiful town of Asheville, North Carolina. The choice of Asheville segues nicely into WIs purpose - for booksellers to come together to inform themselves about their industry. This occurs through large scale presentations from publishers, authors and others in the industry, but booksellers also engage with each other in more intimate sessions that brainstorm and debate specific topics. At a certain level, it is nothing you haven’t seen before, but is far less a trade show than BEA, and is rewarding in the manner in which it is geared towards the those of us that stand at the register, receive stock, pull returns, and generate the kind of interest in books that no algorithm will ever replace.

My favourite was The Elliott Bay Book Company; host of the opening reception and home to about 150,000 titles housed in a vast wood and exposed brick building. The shelves are rough-cut; the strong amber ales, the smell of cut cedar and the imposing scale of the building quickly beguiled. The children’s section even had a castle, where rumour has it Leesa Lambert of Melbourne’s The Little Bookroom still resides. Elliot Bay makes extensive use of its staff, with reviews and recommendations clearly attached to titles on most shelves making it a genuine reader’s paradise.

Wi9 was held in Seattle, the beautiful north-west portal to the Pacific, days after the Seattle Seahawks won the right to play in Super Bowl XLVIII. I arrived early to watch the game, and the town was festooned with the 08

All the stores impressed in their own way. Mockingbird Books is a tiny children’s specialist that covers their walls with sculpture by local community artists. Housed in an old brick church, the intimate ground floor bookshop belies an astonishing upstairs events space with soaring ceilings and a stage that hosts bookstore events, community music, theatre and workshops. Community was the theme at Mockingbird, as it was everywhere.

This community focus was best articulated by Robert Sindelar of Third Place Books, another independent bookseller that has made its mission to embody Ray Oldenburg’s ideas about places where communities thrive outside of work and home. They have two stores, one housed in an old mall that carries over 200,000 new and used titles, and takes full advantage of the extensive US author circuit with their events programme. In response to a failing cafe at their second store, Robert consulted with local chefs of note, and decided to hire the chef with the vision most aligned with his. The cafe rapidly developed an identity that had previously eluded Robert, and gave him more time to focus on the core business. There were several more bookshops on the tour, including two on Bainbridge Island, which took us on a ferry ride that provided breathtaking views of the city skyline, and snow-capped Mount Rainier in the distance.

News on Bookselling March 2014

The opening plenary breakfast on Tuesday featured a talk from Dan Heath about how to make better decisions. Dan and his brother Chip write business/self help books, and armed with a disarmingly light North Carolina accent, Dan is a natural and engaging public speaker. He discussed common failures made by all of us - teenagers, men, women, CEO’s, and of course small business people such as booksellers. The content of the presentation was business school 101, focusing on specific ways in which we make bad decisions - confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacy and providing strategies to mitigate these tendencies. It was a very funny, slick talk that rounded off by using the experience of Third Place Books in deciding what to do with a failing cafe as an example of how to think through the decision making process. Following Heath were a number of sessions led by an American BA Board member on the plenary talk. Booksellers spoke about what challenges they had faced, where they had succeeded or failed with difficult decisions, and generally what they thought of Dan Heath. Unfortunately my session devolved into people talking about their cleaning roster, and one bookseller talking at length about the fact that ‘I clean toilets too.’ These things can be hit and miss - another person was there to find out whether or not she should open a bookstore, which brought out some lively conversation and seemed to genuinely provide some useful information. Young adults were the focus of an excellent presentation on ‘Teen advisory boards’. The presenters had sought to bring young adults into their book loving communities through basic

pizza-and-book-club-nights to a highly sophisticated programme run by Meghan Goel from BookPeople in Austin Texas. Her ‘Teen Press Corps’ creates substantial content for their website, including opinion pieces, videos, reviews and more. They work at the Austin Teen Book Festival (which Meghan started) where they have the opportunity to meet and interview authors. The kids merchandise the Press Corps section in the store, host YA events, have access to advance proofs and receive full staff discount. Most importantly they got access to the world of writing, publishing and bookselling. Though the workload is significant, Meghan said that the content generated had engendered a community of ‘reading families’ who came looking specifically for Press Corps recommendations. It was also about kids learning: all applicants for the Press Corps submit three pieces of writing, and if accepted they attend meetings where their features are conceptualised and workshopped. Content benefits aside, Meghan said you could not overestimate the validity of a 16 year-old recommending to his or her peers that ‘this is the best book I have ever read.’ It is not a program all booksellers could undertake, but we all know how important it is to engage with teens and this session provided examples of how we might do so. On the topic of ebooks, John Mutter from Shelf Awareness, an industry newsletter provider, said that predictions of the death of paper books were wildly off. Ebooks had experienced a drop of 3.4% in sales for FY2014 to date, Mutter said, due to a levelling out of the mix. Certain books such as romance and crime novels were natural

ebooks, but children’s books and most literary fiction and non-fiction tended to be bought in paper format. There is also the rise of tablet devices which has influenced the way people read. The constant temptation of distraction from email, web surfing, movies etc has led to less e-reading than was expected. More broadly there is still the Amazon issue, where the US Department of Justice ruled in favour of unsustainable discounting when it crushed the agency pricing model. Too many emails between too many players made this inevitable. Amazon is privileged in other ways too, as it is subsidised by States and taxpayers and is not required by its shareholders to make money. For independent bookstores, competing with a company that exists only to undercut on prices is still very scary indeed. One thing Amazon does not appear to have got right is publishing, as US independents refused to stock their books. This demonstrates what bricks-and-mortar booksellers all know - discoverability is one of our greatest assets. Another interesting presentation was from John Rubin, founder of Ann Arbor software company Above the Treeline, whose interactive e-catalogue called Edelweiss replaces hard copy by allowing reps to digitally mark-up product lists and booksellers to apply comments either for their own purposes, or to share across all users. Once a catalogue has been perused, the data is downloaded into the booksellers’ inventory system, with an order being placed either through Edelweiss or the clients own system.

News on Bookselling March 2014

American BA's Winter Institute 9 Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Books called Edelweiss a ‘godsend’. The time she now saved on data entry was so substantial that she could not imagine how they operated without it. John Rubin originally started Above the Treeline in response to the lack of analytical tools his mother’s bookshop had access to. Alongside Edelweiss is Treeline Analytics, which provides for independent data analysis and sharing across all independent booksellers. Rubin said the company developed with a mission of providing a complete business solution, and is now a B2B solution servicing about 37,000 book industry professionals. It is a very impressive tool that requires suspending some conventional practices, but would be well worth keeping an eye on with regards to the Australian market. There is so much to report, but space is at a premium. As with all conferences interesting titbits popped up along the way, such as Mitchell Kaplan (Books&Books) telling international booksellers he had achieved doubledigit growth with a number of publishers by moving to consignment terms, something he is continuing to push with the majors. He firmly believed that booksellers had to strategise to bring a solution to publishers; otherwise it would be business as usual. American BA President Steve Bercu told us that sales at independent bookstores in the US were almost universally at record numbers for Christmas 2013. There were myriad conversations to be had, almost every one of which made the point that the Winter Institute was the bookseller’s favourite event every year. The content was rich, the authors varied and voluble (Barry Lopez spoke to me at length, holding up a very long and patient line, then signed his book for my friend Tony Birch), and the event was organised with exceptional good

cheer and efficiency while maintaining a welcoming informality. Seattle was a beautiful setting, and Tim White did a marvellous job of scouting the eateries for the Australian contingent’s gastronomic edification. It may be early in the year, but the Wi stands as a highlight already.

Robbie Egan Readings

On 'Gifty Guidelines' "tell staff about the sidelines and give them talking points. Frontline booksellers feel better about selling magnets knowing it is a familyowned business."

"I try to keep the bookstore looking like a bookstore, gift and book items are largely kept separate but converge in the centre of the store for displays that are often seasonal."

What I learned at WI 9... Tim White, Books for Cooks WI9 was a rich source of ideas and benchmarking for us and we will certainly be looking to go again. At a macro level, we were surprised by the level of used and second-hand book sales. Many US independent stores now have used books on the shelves, in the same way that we do at Books for Cooks. This gives a store richness and the buying policy, if carefully crafted, creates a deep ongoing relationship with customers as well as delivering a higher margin and a deeper stock. Most of the Point of Sale Systems on display had specific used book modules built in. Most store owners were extremely positive about the benefits of their used book departments. Whilst the validation of our approach was itself valuable, the opportunity to investigate sophisticated POS systems and have a detailed discussion about pricing, presentation and buying models was extremely useful. As an opportunity to benchmark where the Australian bookselling industry is, and in particular our store, WI9 was invaluable. Having visited over 30 stores and talking to a number of store owners we formed the view that in the US: Shop local campaigns, localism and Indiebound programs were delivering significant returns to independent bookstores. These campaigns ranged from extremely sophisticated to the most basic – but all delivered a ROI to the bottom line Publishers and Booksellers have a more mature and flexible relationship. Trials of innovative product campaigns, author tours, and experimental stocking programs were extremely interesting.

News on Bookselling March 2014

Fixed costs are distinctly lower, allowing independent stores to have larger footprints and to host more events. We met a number of stores, some small, that have 300+ event programs every year. How we address this challenge in Australia is unclear – but larger footprints, larger stock and higher event programs were a recurring theme of successful medium sized independent stores. There is a strong collegiate approach to bookseller issues. Regional chapters of the ABA are extremely active in providing collegiate support and training. There is much to be learned and ‘plagiarised’ here for our industry At a micro level, lots of little things were reinforced. For example: • the importance of stock turn, ROI and credit management • the opportunities for local business partnerships • innovative design for newsletters, instore communications, shelf talkers even labels • B2B and B2C opportunities The fact that we are ultimately retailers and so innovative shop display, branding, customer marketing, etc all need to be constantly reviewed and reinvigorated.

On social media "at the very least social media reminds people who like you that you are still around" "don't get into the trap of trying to measure the results of social media. This comes back to you in all sorts of ways." "social media is nothing like advertising. It's a way to extend the counter, so I pretend I'm at the counter on a rainy day." "its okay to fail, because it's free" "have a personality without being personal."

your reasons for holding an event: is it strictly about selling books? Or is it longtail branding exercise? Or are you supporting a cause? Keep a spreadsheet and write these aims down.

On visual merchandising "sit down once a month and plan a window." "go vertical by using the ceiling and higher wall space to create displays. Try using blackboard paint - which comes in bright colors and not just black anymore - in such spots"

Leesa Lambert, The Little Bookroom Unsurprisingly, the best thing about a booksellers conference is getting to spend time with booksellers. Yes, meeting authors and publishing folk is valuable too, but it’s always the conversations with peers that fire me up! I’ve taken away a rejuvenated sense of confidence in our part of the book industry. Seems to me that Amazon is no longer the problem it once was for booksellers, rather it’s a ball still bouncing around disruptively in the publisher’s court. I was overwhelmed by the generosity and willingness of our American colleagues to share their experiences, it was like having access to a 500-strong troubleshooting panel! I was particularly inspired by Mitch Kaplan from Books and Books, it will be a thrill to have him at our conference in May. On a practical level one of my missions at WI9 was to collect as many ideas as possible that could be implemented at The Little Bookroom, especially when it came to events. And American indies have embraced events, whether they are large or small. These are the key points that shone through: Rigorously focus on the story you want to tell after the event. Want to trend on Instagram? Include a hashtag on you branded banner, and make sure it’s placed behind the author. And be clear about

There was no consensus on whether to charge for events, too many variables, but it is essential to keep track of every dollar spent so that you can effectively analyse the financial viability of your event. As for promotion, multichannel is here to stay, but the most effective way of promoting events remains the old handsell in store (it all begins with a conversation). By that same token, we’re better off developing a friendly relationship with one journalist than sending off a press release to twenty.

On publicising events

"keep event calendars completely up to date, so that staff can use that information"

None of this is rocket science (reassuring, eh?) but it would have taken me a lot of hours to get to this point on my own. And a whole lot of trial and error! This is exactly why it is so worthwhile getting out of the shop and into a conference, what we learn from each other is the best Return on Investment a conference can offer.

*quotes from booksellers participating in the Wi9 panel sessions. News on Bookselling March 2014

Marketing

Shop Local

Marketing Calendar

2014 might have started a few months ago but it is not too late to set up your own marketing calendar. No need to head out to your nearest stationery shop and buy an expensive wall chart. An easy option is to download a Microsoft Word Calendar template and print it off. Try - http://www.wincalendar.com/wordcalendar-templates.htm Start of by looking at what is happening nearby and fill things in like Perth Writers Festival, National Bookshop Day, ABA Conference, ILD, school holidays, Mother’s Day, Christmas, Father’s Day, or any other important events, especially ones local to your area.

While the Shop Local campaign is now a year old there are still campaigns you can use or reuse. Log into our website to download artwork to print off at your local printer or even in-house. • Fathers Day • The Great American Novel • How to Wrap Awkwardly Shaped Presents • The Zombies Are Coming • Mother’s Day • Read Local • Unplug Your Kids with Books

Now think about each month – what do you want to promote? What promotions and events have worked in the past. Do you have annual promotions that need to be included. Is there something that you have wanted to try in your bookshop but weren't sure about. Look at where there is a gap in your calendar and why not make this the year that you give it a go.

unplug your kids... with books!

Don't forget to include any deadlines such as for your local newspaper or material that needs to get to a printer. Having this calendar will help you to focus your attention on what needs to be done and help you keep on track, especially if you have limited resources. Fill the calendar with simple things you can do and before you know it, you will have created a marketing calendar.

New campaigns for 2014 SHOP LOCAL We have a further four new campaigns this year. The feedback you gave us was that you would like more generic marketing material so that is what we have produced for this year to use alongside the existing material. • March: Bookshops - the heart of every community

Social Media Whether you use social media or not, you should investigate a key benefit of it. Apart from your time – it doesn’t have to cost you anything. But just having a facebook fan page is not enough. You need to be updating it on a regular basis to engage with your current customers - this is purely marketing in a branding context and you should not be under the illusion that it will generate new customers. (remembering a new customer can cost about $140 each but maintaining your current customers cost about $25) Once you have a successful page you can market directly to your customers, almost like sending them an email. Having a sale, an author event, quirky local book that needs to be promoted, update your page. Are you stuck for ideas for things to post on your facebook page? Each morning at about 7am the ABA posts an image or story that you can copy or use. Memes typically get the most attention and you can simply add something personal before you're post. To do all this you simply become a fan of the National Bookshop Day facebook page, or Twitter feed to receive some content. At this year’s conference in Melbourne we have a Social Media Workshop, hosted by Yvonne Adele, that will give you the skills to use social media in just 10 minutes per day – and using free software. Free marketing using 10 minutes a day? That sounds like a wise investment.

• June: Massive Book Sale • September: The Benefits of Reading Books

Steve Jones

• November: Christmas

News on Bookselling March 2014

ABA 2014 Bookseller Awards ABA Guild Insurance 2014 Elizabeth Riley Fellowship for Children's Bookselling This award honours a much loved bookseller, publisher and ABA staff member who passed away in 2011. It recognises Elizabeth’s great passion for children’s books, most notably the craft of engaging with and selling children’s books, and is a tangible way of remembering her. The applicant must be a children’s bookseller employed by an ABA member bookshop. They must indicate a children’s project, course, conference or workshop either domestically or internationally that they would like to attend in an effort to further their knowledge or develop their skills in the area of children’s books and bookselling. The $1500 stipend will go toward registration, fees or any other relevant cost in attending and participating and must be used within 12 months, or by negotiation.

ABA Text Publishing 2014 Bookseller of the Year The ABA Text Publishing Bookseller of the Year award recognises an individual bookseller for their outstanding achievement in the past twelve months. Nominees must have worked as a bookseller for at least five years. The award will recognise a bookseller not only for their exceptional performance within the bookshop that they work but also for their achievements within the book industry as well as the local and wider community. This award gives booksellers the chance to exhibit their retailing skills, and be recognised by their peers, the book industry, and the general community for their career achievements, innovation and outstanding performance in their stores, and are open to employees or proprietors of ABA member bookshops.

Nomination forms can be found on the ABA Conference website -

www.abaconference.org.au

Previous winners

2012: Amelia Lush

2012: Meera Govil

2013: Lynndy Bennett

2013: Martin Shaw

ABA Penguin Random House 2014 Young Bookseller of the Year The ABA Random House Australia Young Bookseller of the Year award recognises and rewards the excellence of a bookseller 35 or under, and promotes bookselling as a career choice for young people. Nominees must have worked as booksellers for at least two years. This award gives booksellers the chance to exhibit their retailing skills, and be recognised by their peers, the book industry, and the general community for their career achievements, innovation and outstanding performance in their stores, and are open to employees or proprietors of ABA member bookshops. Nomination forms can be found on the ABA Conference website www.abaconference.org.au

Previous winners 2012: Amelia Vahtrick 2013: Louise Fay

News on Bookselling March 2014

Membership We have had a wonderful response to our member survey and would like to thank everyone who participated. Rather than publish the entire 65 page document we thought we’d take some of the main points raised and talk about how we are addressing them. Overwhelmingly, the three most important reasons for being a member of the ABA are information, advocacy and member benefits. Therefore this article will outline the new ABA initiatives in each of these areas. Information This year we will be launching a brand new (not just updated) website that will include a large public facing site so that customers know how to find your bookshop and will act as a way to keep books, reading and bookshops in the limelight. Following survey feedback the website will also feature a much improved 'Find a Bookshop' facility. The feedback on our enewsletter was overwhelmingly positive. Many of the comments expressed how much you appreciated receiving the enewsonbookselling with it's mix of industry and general retailing information. If you haven't yet made a habit of reading this weekly online newsletter this is the time to start. Not only could we be saving you time and money but there's always something to have a chuckle about. Advocacy The ABA continues to operate as your key industry advocacy body, liaising and negotiating with publishers; working with national retail organisations, including the Australian Retail Association and the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia; booksellers and government on key challenges facing the industry, including eCommerce, improving the supply chain and cross-border taxation. We are delighted to have former proprietor of Smith’s Alternative Bookshop (and a former Management Committee member) re-joining the Committee. At the last AGM provision was made for the Committee having 14 014

the capacity to appoint a member from outside the industry when there is a skills need assessed. Peter is an active advocate for small business, heading the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia (COSBOA) and has been and continues to be of great assistance to the ABA is providing advocacy strategy and making connections – particularly to government. The ABA also advocates on behalf of its members through regular meetings with its counterparts in other parts of the industry. Every two-three months there is a meeting between ABA CEO Joel Becker, APA chief executive Michael Gordon-Smith, ABA President Patricia Genat and representing APA Trade Publishers, Matt Richell. Recent discussions have included the Australian Book Industry Awards and works to ensure that communication channels are open between the industry’s key representative bodies. Member schemes Last year we launched new member schemes to complement our existing suite of benefits for ABA members. More member schemes will be announced at Conference, and we are also investigating some of the ideas that have been put forward in the survey. Here is what some of our members are saying about the ABA schemes. Make sure that you too are getting the most out of your membership fees! “We’ve been using an ABA Australia Post Account since 2000 and eParcel for the past 3 years. We would recommend an Australia Post account to any member for a number of reasons: the discounts allow us to offer discounted postage and still make a profit on postage; a Post Office account can be used for Messenger Post courier services for urgent delivery, and the purchase of stationery as well as a range of other services; our customers trust Australia Post; and the range of services mean that we don’t have to have multiple delivery service providers. We offer our

online and instore customers a bespoke postage service – whatever they want. This has allowed our mail order business to grow every year. We’ve also been able to increase sales by offering postage home for interstate or overseas travellers when weight might be an issue or postage for family gifts sometimes to multiple destinations. Upgrading to eParcel was easy and has enabled us to offer full tracking and signature services on all domestic parcels with automated notification to our customers. Since upgrading regular customer complaints about parcel delivery for untracked mail have disappeared and parcels that have been delayed have been found and delivered usually within 24 hours. The online process has also allowed us to streamline and speed up our parcel processes saving significant time and money. The free labels also provide us with a professional cost effective addressing solution. “The savings we made through Dell were well in excess of the cost of our ABA membership fees ” – Chris Redfern, Avenue Bookstore National Bookshop Day - save the date! This year NBD will be held on Saturday 9th August with an updated marketing program to assist you to build in-store campaigns including DIY material. Australian Book Vouchers Responses to our survey overwhelmingly reflect that if you stock or accept ABA vouchers you have the opportunity to gain new customers and generate add-on sales. The top three reasons that surveyed members stock and accept ABA vouchers are: 1. ABA vouchers are widely used for school prizes. Last year we sent out approximately $750,000 worth of ABA vouchers to schools around Australia. These vouchers could potentially be spent in your store and are a great way for you to foster a positive relationship with your local school. News on Bookselling March 2014

ABA news 2. National voucher scheme Australian Book Vouchers are able to be redeemed by any bookstore in Australia 3. Brings in new customers

New ABA members

We welcome the following new members:

Australian Book Vouchers are a wonderful gift option for family and friends to send to loved ones in Australia who may not usually visit your bookstore.

Bookshop Members

“[ABA vouchers] are a huge benefit to our business” – Graeme Bowden, The Bookshop Caloundra

Book Power, Melbourne VIC

“We redeem [ABA vouchers] because we think it important to be part of the community of booksellers” – Tim White, Books for Cooks Surveyed members also mentioned that they would like to see more marketing for the Australian Book Voucher scheme so we will be launching some new point of sale material later in the year.

Antique & Collector's Books, Southport QLD Great Southern Books, Albany WA

Supplier Members Affirm Press, South Melbourne VIC CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood VIC Delta Books, Wheelers Hill VIC

We will be circulating more survey results soon, stay tuned!!

Tamara Seldon Truss Member Services

memberservices@aba.org.au

Have a great night out and help raise funds for vitally needed resources for our remote Indigenous communities at

ABA Membership Renewals To continue receiving your newsletter, enews and access to all member schemes payment is due 1 April 2014. If you have any queries regarding your membership please email Tamara memberservices@aba.org.au or phone us on (03) 9859 7322.

Australian Booksellers Association (Registration #56365379358) Notice of Annual General Meeting hosted by

RocKwiz’s Brian Nankervis featuring great prizes and auction items

Thursday 3 April, 7.00 for 7.30 pm Preston City Town Hall, 284 Gower St, Preston

Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of the Australian Booksellers Association Inc will be held on Sunday 18 May, at 5:00pm at The Langham Melbourne, 1 Southgate Avenue, Southbank VIC 3006

Tickets $30 each now available at trybooking.com/EIJC For more information please contact rhuppert@aba.org.au or telephone 03 9859 7322 / 0419 385 791

indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au

News on Bookselling March 2014

Bookshop profile The Bookshop Darlinghurst Australia's Favourite Specialist Bookshop 2013 The Bookshop Darlinghurst is Australia’s oldest and most comprehensive specialist GLBTI (that’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex for the uninitiated!) bookshop – yet it is also one of only a handful of such shops that remain in business worldwide. The expansion of US chain stores in the 1990s/early 2000s and the rise of Amazon pretty much wiped out the hundreds of GLBTI stores that used to exist in America. The shop was founded back in 1982 by Les McDonald and his then partner Wayne Harrison, the well-known theatre director. Initially, it operated in conjunction with another gay business in Crown Street, before striking out solo and moving to the current location on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst in 1984. Back in those days, sourcing gay books took a great deal of ingenuity and perseverance, but it was also an opportunity and the pair also founded Bulldog Books, Australia’s first specialist distributor of GLBTI books. From the very beginning, the shop was very community focused, and was actively involved in the early days of Mardi Gras and various AIDS charity initiatives. Back in the pre-internet days of the 1980s and early 1990s, The Bookshop was a primary source of information for many GLBTI people. People coming out back then didn’t see their lives reflected on TV, in films and in public life, they way we do today. Often they would turn to a book for advice or guidance or for a fictional journey. But when the HIV/AIDS crisis began to hit in Australia, people were also desperate for up-to-date information and sourcing topical books quickly from the USA became imperative.

In 1990, I became the shop’s manager and have occupied that role ever since. He also wrote two novels that were published during the mid-1990s, a golden age in gay and lesbian writing when mainstream publishers in the USA, UK and Australia suddenly embraced the potential in the market. For the first time in its history, The Bookshop was selling over 1000 copies of new Australian books such as ‘Vanity Fierce’, Christos Tsiolkas’ ‘Loaded’, Tim Conigrave’s ‘Holding the Man’ and the biography of Ian Roberts. But this surge of interest in the GLBTI market lasted less than a decade – sales of some titles languished and publishers moved onto other trends and markets. The Bookshop has always been more than Sydney’s GLBTI bookshop. It is also often a first point of call for international visitors seeking information and advice on gay life in Sydney. It’s also an important resource for interstate and rural customers. Since our early days we have produced a mail order catalogue, GR, which is extremely popular with those customers who live outside of Sydney. We were also very quick to establish a website presence for The Bookshop Darlinghurst and have gone through several incarnations over the past decade. Late last year we launched a greatly enhanced new website with the features necessary for an online store in 2014.

shops, restaurants and bars, studded by numerous vacant shops. Initiatives by City of Sydney Council have seen some improvements over the past year with creative tenants on token rents and pop-up shops. Yet, we have some reasons for optimism. Our long term landlord is sympathetic to our plight and granted a significant rent reduction last year. Branching out into stocking GLBTI feature films on DVDS has been enormously successful and is now the bestselling category in the shop. Although some customers shop elsewhere to save money, we also have large numbers of very loyal and often older customers who appreciate the service we offer and the range of titles we stock. We were also extremely proud to be voted as Australia’s Favourite Specialist Bookshop in the 2013 National Bookshop Day Poll - this was a most gratifying endorsement of the work we do. But we were also especially thrilled as it was the first time in 32 years that The Bookshop Darlinghurst had ever won an Australian bookshop industry award.

By Graeme Aitken

Despite being specialised, The Bookshop Darlinghurst still faces similar challenges to other Australian booksellers. We are also losing customers to overseas internet retailers and e-book retailers. We are also hampered by the state of Oxford Street in 2014 – ‘the golden mile’ has deteriorated into a strip of struggling

Australian Booksellers Association Incorporated in Victoria, ABN 56 365 379 358, Unit 9, 828 High Street Kew East Victoria 3102 Telephone 03 9859 7322 Facsimile 03 9859 7344 Email mail@aba.org.au www.aba.org.au

News on Bookselling Editor Robyn Huppert Advertising enquiries Robyn Huppert Email mail@aba.org.au Entire content copyright © Australian Booksellers Association Disclaimer Advertising and inserts in News on Bookselling are paid for by the advertisers. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement of these products or services by the Australian Booksellers Association