Thank you to all the attendees who made the second edition of the RISE Bookselling Conference memorable!
Watch the official aftermovie from the 2nd RISE Bookselling Conference. Video produced by Jaleo Estudio.
Insights from
2024
RISE Bookselling Conference
17-18 March 2024 witnessed the second edition of the RISE Bookselling Conference, held in the Centro Cultural de Belém in the vibrant city of Lisbon, Portugal. The two-day event gathered more than 330 passionate booksellers and industry professionals from 28 different countries across the globe, eager to immerse themselves in numerous panels, workshops, presentations and networking opportunities, all aimed at celebrating and enhancing the world of bookselling.
After a truly international welcome word given by EIBF co-Presidents Fabian Paagman and Jean-Luc Treutenaere, the first day of the conference kicked off with a captivating keynote speech by Portuguese author, musician and multi-disciplinary artist Afonso Cruz, who walked the audience through his artistic journey.
Throughout the day, attendees had the opportunity to participate in a diverse array of panels, covering topics ranging from innovative ideas in bookshops or curating inclusive children’s book selections, to discussions on culture vouchers and bibliodiversity. Other notable panel discussions and presentations focused on the topic of organising events without authors, creating eye-catching window displays, or the Portuguese book market.
This second edition of the RISE Bookselling Conference also introduced a new session format – workshops aimed to foster greater participation of the audience through group discussions. This year’s workshops tackled the topics of the life stages of a bookseller and the significance of bookshops as safe spaces.
The afternoon keynote interview saw bookseller Raluca Selejan (La Două Bufniţe, Romania) interviewing French author Manu Causse, who spoke about his lifelong love of bookshops, his career as a writer; and his experience of having his novel Bien Trop Petit (Way Too Small) banned in France.
The enlightening end-of-day keynote was delivered by Natasha Brown, author of widely successful debut novel Assembly, who offered a brilliant overview of the ‘problem of second novels’.
The evening concluded with a drink reception followed by dinner, providing attendees with the perfect opportunity to unwind and connect with fellow book lovers from around the world.
Day 2 of the conference started with a keynote interview with popular Belgian author Bart Moeyaert. In conversation with Jan Peter Prenger, chief buyer of Libris Blz, Bart Moeyaert spoke about how his upbringing and his experience growing up as the youngest of seven brothers has shaped his life and his career as an author.
Throughout the second day of the event, attendees had the chance to take part in a variety of sessions, from panels covering topics such as handling difficult customers, curating foreign language books selection in a bookshop, sustainability in bookselling, or the art of exceptional customer service. Additionally, presentations on accessibility and the future of AI in bookselling provided attendees with valuable knowledge and tools to enhance their craft.
Before it was time to say goodbye over a glass of port wine and Portuguese famous pastéis de nata, Spanish author Manuel Vilas delivered a passionate closing keynote highlighting the value of books as friends that age along with us.
The RISE Bookselling Conference 2024 attendees left Lisbon with minds buzzing with ideas, a wealth of knowledge, new contacts, a renewed sense of purpose – and a date for the next RISE Conference marked in their diaries: 23-24 March 2025 in Riga, Latvia!
Save your best moments from the 2024 RISE Bookselling Conference!
All the official photos from the RISE Bookselling Conference in Lisbon are freely available for download!
For public use, please remember to credit the images to
© RISE Bookselling.
Shout out to our professionals from Jaleo Estudio for their fantastic audiovisual work at the conference! If you are interested in their services, you can get in touch with them here.
Celebrating the magic of books
with a special illustration
Once again, we celebrated the success of our conference with an exclusive illustration, which we printed on the totebags and notepads that were given to each of the attendees. This year in Lisbon, we partnered with Barcelona-based artist Marta Cartu, whose work beautifully captures the invaluable role that booksellers play in nurturing the magic of books.
Find out more about her work:
Website: martacartu.com
Instagram: @martacartu
Thank you to the sponsors
of the RISE Bookselling Conference:
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