BA postpones annual conference for Queen's funeral

The Booksellers Association (BA) and Gardners have confirmed the annual BA Conference and wholesaler’s trade show will be postponed, in light of the Queen’s funeral taking place next Monday (19th September).

Originally scheduled for 18th to 19th September, the event has been moved to Sunday 30th and Monday 31st October.

Taking place at original location of Jurys Inn Hinckley Island, in Leicester, the full programme for the conference will be announced in the coming weeks. Delegates who have already booked will have their tickets automatically rolled over to October.

Meryl Halls, m.d. at the BA, said: “Though deeply saddened not to be able to gather with our bookseller friends this weekend, we are nonetheless pleased that we have been able to reschedule the BA Conference and Gardners Trade Show. We are hopeful that the majority of our delegates will be able to make the new dates and join us for a valuable and much-needed gathering of booksellers before the Christmas period begins in earnest, and we will be working with all our partners to create as close an approximation of the original programme as we can.

“We would like to thank all our partners for their patience through the past few challenging days; it’s not been an easy decision, and we have talked to a lot of people to ensure that we make the right decision for as many of our members as possible. Never have we more needed to get together than this autumn.”

Nigel Wyman, sales and marketing director at Gardners, commented: “While we are disappointed not to be going ahead with the Trade Show this weekend, we felt it only right under the circumstances to postpone our Trade Show to an alternate date.

"The very good news is that our venue has been able to accommodate the move, so we are only delayed by a few weeks. We are working with our partners and exhibitors on a smooth transition and look forward to seeing delegates and attendees in October!”