Indie chiefs outline successes of past year

The successes of independent publishers over the past year — as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the trade in 2024 — were central to this year’s IPG Spring Conference, which was chaired by David Graham, the managing director of B T Batsford and the IPG’s chair.

The event kicked off with a keynote speech by Sophy Thompson, c.e.o. and publisher of Thames & Hudson (T&H), who described T&H as a “museum without walls”. She talked about the company’s history as it marks its 75th year, and reflected on her aim to come up with a new strategic plan for T&H after the pandemic. Thompson said that the challenge she faced was to preserve “the company DNA and origins” while also seeking to “remain relevant”.

Profile Books managing director Rebecca Gray followed Thompson with an overview of the success of G T Karber’s Murdle (Souvenir Press), which topped the charts over the 2023 Christmas period. Gray said that the publisher had to remain adaptable and flexible during the publication process, and highlighted the importance of caution, flexibility and good relationships for smaller presses.

Artificial Intelligence and copyright were key concerns at the conference, with Mary Elliot, Scott Steinberg and Chien-Wei Lui of Fox Williams providing a legal overview of the key risks for publishers. They covered issues such as content acquisition and creation, as well as the role of AI in promotion, and the challenges organisations may face in the future. The issues explored in the session will be discussed in more depth at the IPG’s Publishing AI Legal Workshop with the organisation, while the topic of AI was further explored on the second day of the event by speakers such as Richard Charkin of Mensch Publishing and Searsha Sadek of Shimmr AI, discussing the technology’s opportunities for publishers in areas such as marketing and discoverability.

Hazel Broadfoot, the Booksellers Association president and Village Books owner, spoke to Atlantic’s Will Atkinson about the bookselling landscape in the UK today. She highlighted that a key concern for booksellers is the reduced number of publishing representatives, and highlighted the need for increased support around events. She also said unsolicited proofs are an issue for independent booksellers from a sustainability standpoint, with Village Books receiving 4,000 books among its team of eight booksellers. “There really are too many proofs,” Broadfoot said.

Recruitment and retention were also high on the agenda, with Chris Bryant MP encouraging publishers to introduce school students across the country about routes into publishing from an early age. Moreover, Katie White of Usborne Publishing and Jenny Pearce of Boydell & Brewer spoke about what the industry can do to attract talented people into the industry, while Rose Sandy — the founder of HarperCollins’ Author and Design Academy —explored how publishing can promote diversity in its people and imprints.