RISE Bookselling Conference 2023
Thank you to those of you who joined us at the RISE Conference Bookselling Conference 2023 and helped make it a huge success. We look forward to welcoming you next year in Lisbon!
Watch highlights from our inaugural conference
Insights from
RISE Bookselling Conference 2023
19-20 March 2023 marked the first edition of the RISE Bookselling Conference, which took place in Prague, Czech Republic. The inaugural two-day conference welcomed more than 230 enthusiastic booksellers and book trade professionals who arrived in Prague from all over Europe and beyond, eager to join their foreign colleagues at this milestone event. Delegates from over 20 countries enjoyed a packed programme of workshops, keynotes and networking opportunities.
The first day of the conference was initiated by welcome words given by EIBF Director Julie Belgrado and EIBF co-Presidents Jean Luc Treutenaere and Fabian Paagman: “We are happy and proud to see so many people at the first international bookselling conference here in Prague. You will leave Prague stronger, with new ideas - and a few new friends, too!” Their words would soon be proven true.
The opening keynote was given by the wonderful lawyer turned author Malin Persson Giolito. In her inspiring, insightful and witty speech, the author of ‘Quicksand’ shared with the audience her European book-related dream about the future. The first conference day saw a total of 12 breakout sessions: from discussion panels dedicated to the topics of diversity and inclusion in bookselling, the use of BookTok to promote book sales, or selling children’s books, to a presentation of the Italian book market through data or “Meet your bookmate” sessions, dedicated to networking. Amid the highlights of the day were the keynotes given by Lawrence Schimel, translator and author of children’s books which got banned in Hungary or Russia for depicting a day in the life of a rainbow family, and by Robin Ince, a fierce propagator of books and bookshops who captivated the audience by his passionate speech.
The final day of the conference was initiated by a keynote given by Hannah Gold, author of the award-winning children’s book ‘The Last Bear’, whose enthusiasm made the audience – literally – roar. She wasn’t the only author who commanded the stage with their charm that day: Lana Bastašić, Bosnian and Serbian writer, spoke about her literary work with journalist Maarten Dessing; Shaun Bythell, Scottish bookseller and author of ‘The Diary of a Bookseller’, shared many of his bookselling stories in conversation with German bookseller Iris Hunscheidt. No less interesting were the 8 breakout sessions of the day: the delegates were introduced to the Czech book market and took part in numerous discussion panels, covering various topics, such as bookshop events or manga and graphic novels.
And then – seemingly all of a sudden – our two days filled with inspiration and great ideas, universal love for books, new partnerships and friendships, and, let’s not forget, great food – were over! Luckily, this is only the beginning. On 17-18 March 2024, we warmly invite you to take part in the second edition of RISE Bookselling Conference, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal!
What can you do to pass the time until next year? We’ve collated some of the presentations from RISE Bookselling Conference 2023. Scroll down and see them below.
Catch up on speaker bios and programme details from the conference
Resources
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Were you not able to attend a session you were interested in? Would you like to simply refresh your memory on the panels that took place? See our list of materials from the first RISE Bookselling Conference below.
• Manga and graphic novels: Users' guide (Nina Stavisky)
• Online sales platforms (Jesús Trueba, Danny Caine, Jan Peter Prenger)
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