Independent Bookshop Week 2017
Bookselling Ireland is keen to build up the IBW campaign in Ireland for this year, and we would love to talk to Irish publishers who are keen to support the campaign. IBW is designed to encourage book lovers to visit bookshops throughout the week (24th June to 1st July), and to encourage booksellers to celebrate bookshops on the main street in this key pre-holiday summer period. This year is IBW’s 11th year, and we are working with Kate Bowe PR in Dublin to build the PR reach of the project in the trade, and in the media. Based on our UK experience, support from publishers comes in many forms:
- Authors into bookshops – for events, signings etc
- Signed copies exclusive (or early) for indies
- Offers, deals, promos on backlist titles
- Children’s resources – party packs, badges, stickers, character costumes for bookshops – e.g. Find Wally treasure hunt, or Gruffalo costumes
- Window illustrations – many publishers have sent out illustrators to work on bookshop windows ‘live’ – great for local PR
- Limited edition publication for indies – early or exclusive product for indies
- Testimonials from authors who are happy to speak up on behalf of indie bookshops – we can use these in social media and in our print materials
If you’d like to see last year’s offers – they might give you ideas or inspiration – check out the IBW site http://www.indiebookshopweek.com/TradeLogin/Bookshop-Bulletins and if you have any ideas for this year, please contactMeryl.halls@booskellers.org.uk
Bulletins go out to all 400 IBW shops (including the 45 participating indies in Ireland) from April onwards – each publisher offer gets its own dedicated IBW Bulletin.
We really look forward to hearing from you, and to working with you to get IBW really working in Ireland this year.
Shopfloor Publishers Project – Bringing Publishers and Booksellers Closer Together
At the recent Irish Book Trade Conference, Bookselling Ireland launched our Shopfloor Publishers Project to the Irish trade. The project is designed to encourage publishers to travel to some of our best and liveliest bookshops, and in the UK has already attracted leading publishers and booksellers to take part. The project is part of the BA President’s, Roz de lay Hey’s, push to engage publishers in the practical and commercial realities of bookselling, and to build substantial collaborations across the industry as a result of improved awareness and engagement.
The project recommends a day in the bookshop and is not just about visiting the shop; it’s about seeing how the shop works, and how books sell to customers: working there. We are hoping that some tangible collaborations could flow from the project – including reciprocal visits by booksellers to publishers. So far, Shopfloor Publisher visits have been made by over 20 senior publishers and we are hoping to build up a list of willing bookshops and publishers in Ireland. Once we have a few collaborations set up, we would hope to share the outcomes of those with the wider trade, so please do get involved!
If you’d like to be part of the Shopfloor Publishers Project, please email Meryl.halls@booksellers.org.uk
