Bookselling Research Network

From Margin to Market: The Growth of Queer Literature in the UK
2025-10-31 14:00 - 15:00 (Europe/London)
Join the webinar now

Over the past five years, the UK has seen a striking surge in LGBTQIA+ literature, both in visibility and in commercial weight. The “Queer Top 50” alone accounted for around 2.2 million books sold and £20.6 million in value last year 2024, showing that queer writing is no longer a niche but a significant cultural and economic force.

Breakout titles such as Heartstopper have set records—60,000 copies sold in just three days—proving that readers are hungry for authentic queer stories across genres. This growth is also supported by change inside the industry itself: in 2024, 16% of the UK publishing workforce identified as LGBT+, up from just 5% in 2017, helping shift commissioning and marketing decisions towards greater inclusivity.

For independent and specialist booksellers, this represents both opportunity and responsibility. We are uniquely positioned to curate, champion, and hand-sell the diverse range of LGBTQIA+ titles that mainstream outlets may overlook. At a time when some schools and libraries are under pressure to remove queer books, shops like Gay on Wyebecome not just retailers but safe cultural spaces, sustaining visibility, access, and community for readers who need these stories most.

Join Tom Owen as he discusses the research that led to the opening of Gay on Wye and shares his vision for the future of queer literature on the UK high street. Stocking LGBTQIA+ books isn’t about cashing in on the pink pound — it’s about offering stories that resonate deeply with readers and help build lasting community.

About Tom Owen

Tom Owen is the founder of Gay on Wye, an independent LGBTQIA+ bookshop in Hay[1]on-Wye, the world-famous “town of books.” Opened in 2023 after nearly a decade of planning, the shop is Tom’s vision for a space where queer literature is not just included but celebrated. He curates a diverse selection of books that reflect the struggles, triumphs, and experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community.

With a background in creative arts, Tom has worked with institutions across South Wales and the UK, shaping his understanding of storytelling, culture, and representation. A passionate reader—especially of science fiction—he believes in literature’s power to transport, challenge, and affirm identities.

As an advocate for independent bookshops, Tom champions their role in amplifying underrepresented voices, offering alternatives to mainstream retail’s sales-driven approach. Through Gay on Wye, he isn’t just selling books—he’s fostering community, conversations, and visibility for queer stories.

Whether promoting LGBTQIA+ authors, creating a welcoming space for discovery, or simply sharing his love of books, Tom remains committed to the belief that every reader deserves to see themselves reflected in literature.

David Piovesan & The European Bookshop Business Model
2025-11-21 14:00 - 15:00
Join researcher and author David Piovesan as he shares insights from his four-year journey across 23 countries, where he met over 250 booksellers and publishing professionals. Drawing from his newly published book The European Bookshop Business Model (Routledge, October 2025), Piovesan offers a compelling overview of how bookshops are navigating the challenges of the digital age. Discover the strategies, struggles, and innovations shaping the future of bookselling in Europe.

David Piovesan is an Associate Professor in Management Sciences at Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, France, and a former CEO of a French independent bookshop. He is leading a research program on book markets from a European-based perspective. He has been a visiting researcher in several universities (Prague, Padua, Münster). He is regularly invited to speak at book fairs and professional meetings all over Europe. He is currently researching the role of books in facing ecological issues.

The European Bookshop Business Model

BYOB25: Books and spaces
2025-12-12 14:00 - 15:00
Our final session of the year will be on Friday, 12th December, again at 2 pm on Teams — this will be our now traditional festive session, where you are invited to bring along a book you’ve enjoyed this year to talk about. This year’s twist, to fit in with the theme of next year’s conference: be prepared to also talk about the space you obtained your book from, and the space(s) where you read it! Any book genre, any book format welcome!

Link to Join: BRN session | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Sheila Markham & Conversations with the Rare Book Trade
2026-01-27 14:00 - 15:00
Sheila Markham is an Honorary Member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association for her oral history project celebrating rare booksellers and collectors from around the world.

After reading Theology at Oxford, Sheila joined Marlborough Rare Books in 1979, where she spent seven years doing a traditional apprenticeship. She worked for various leading figures in the rare book business, and ran her own business specialising in books on the Ancient Near East for a few years. In 1994 she became Librarian of the Travellers Club in London, a position which she continues to hold.

In 1991 Sheila was invited by the editor of The Bookdealer to conduct a series of interviews with her colleagues in the world of rare books. The project continues to this day, although they now appear in The Book Collector, and the total number of interviews published so far is 172. Two collections of interviews were published in book-form in 2004 and 2014, and A Third Book of Booksellers: Conversations with the Antiquarian Book Trade will be published on 1 December 2025.

In her talk, Sheila will share some of her findings from these conversations, covering a period from the early 1990s, when bookselling had hardly changed since the invention of printing, to the turbulent times of online commerce.

The majority of those interviewed come from the English-speaking world, but booksellers in Argentina, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain and Turkey are also represented. One of the recurring themes in these global conversations is the unanimous belief in the survival and enduring appeal of the book as a physical object.

Insights from the Booksellers Association research into the Cultural and Community Value of Bookshops across the UK and Ireland
2026-03-03 14:30 - 15:30
It has long been the contention of the Booksellers Association (UK and Ireland) that its members – chains and indies – play an outsize role in enriching the cultural lives of their communities. Starting in 2024, research has been undertaken to determine the extent to which and in what ways bookshops enrich their communities, whilst identifying enablers and barriers so that this contribution can be sustained and strengthened. Consequently, a series of research reports has been produced covering England (September 2024), Ireland (excl. Northern Ireland: November 2024), Scotland (November 2025), and Wales (scheduled for January 2026). Howard will outline the insights arising from this body of research, similarities and contrasts between the four nations, and the key policy recommendations that have emerged.

Howard Davies has a background in Public Affairs and Public Policy. Howard is a self-confessed bookshop enthusiast. He has previously worked for the Booksellers Association of UK and Ireland as (maternity cover) Head of Policy and Public Affairs. Howard authored the 2024 research reports on the Cultural Role and Value of England’s Independent Bookshops (funded by Arts Council England and supported by the BA), and on the Cultural Role and Value of Bookshops in Ireland (funded by the BA), and the November 2025 BA research report into the Cultural and Community role of Scotland’s Bookshops, and the January 2026 research report into the Cultural and Community role of Wales’s Bookshops.

Literature for the People: How the Pioneering Macmillan Brothers built a Publishing Powerhouse
2026-03-13 14:00 - 15:00
Join us with this link: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/91934261983?pwd=[REDACTED]

From poverty on the Isle of Arran, via a little shop in Cambridge, two men with little education founded one of the world’s most famous publishing companies, bringing to their Victorian readers, authors as varied as Lewis Carroll, Christina Rossetti, Matthew Arnold, Thomas Hughes and Alfred Lord Tennyson. They combined fabulous networking skills with a keen business sense and a love of fine writing. Above all, the brothers, Christian Socialists, believed that publishing should have moral and political purpose.Within two generations the family would produce a British Prime Minister – quite the ‘rags to riches’ tale.

Sarah Harkness studied PPE at Mansfield College, Oxford, then joined an investment bank in the City, one of the first women working in corporate finance, where she enjoyed a highly successful career for twenty years. For the last twenty years she has served on a number of boards, including both public and private companies. Her interests have been primarily in the education, culture and health sectors, including three years as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield. She is now chair of Orthopaedic Research UK. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield University and an Honorary Fellowship at Mansfield College. In 2018, a ten-year personal interest in a pioneering Victorian artist and writer, Nelly Erichsen, led to her writing and self-publishing a well-received biography, which was longlisted for the 2019 William MB Berger Prize for British Art History. In October 2021 she was awarded an MA with Distinction in Biography at the University of Buckingham, studying under Professor Jane Ridley. In 2021 she won the Tony Lothian Prize, awarded by The Biographers’ Club, for the best proposal for an uncommissioned biography. Literature for the People: How the Pioneering Macmillan Brothers Built a Publishing Powerhouse was published by Pan Macmillan in May 2024.

From Market to Margin: The Growth of Queer Literature in the UK
2026-04-14 14:00 - 15:00
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://ucl.zoom.us/j/98153761033?pwd=[REDACTED]

Meeting ID: 981 5376 1033Passcode: [REDACTED]

Over the past five years, the UK has seen a striking surge in LGBTQIA+ literature, both in visibility and in commercial weight. The “Queer Top 50” alone accounted for around 2.2 million books sold and £20.6 million in value in 2024, showing that queer writing is no longer a niche but a significant cultural and economic force.

Breakout titles such as Heartstopper have set records — 60,000 copies sold in just three days — proving that readers are hungry for authentic queer stories across genres. This growth is also supported by change inside the industry itself: in 2024, 16% of the UK publishing workforce identified as LGBT+, up from just 5% in 2017, helping shift commissioning and marketing decisions towards greater inclusivity.

For independent and specialist booksellers, this represents both opportunity and responsibility. We are uniquely positioned to curate, champion, and hand-sell the diverse range of LGBTQIA+ titles that mainstream outlets may overlook. At a time when some schools and libraries are under pressure to remove queer books, shops like Gay on Wye become not just retailers but safe cultural spaces, sustaining visibility, access, and community for readers who need these stories most.

Join Tom Owen, founder of Gay on Wye, an independent LGBTQIA+ bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, as he discusses the research which led to the opening of his shop and his vision for the future of queer literature on the UK high street, Stocking LGBTQIA+ books isn’t about cashing in on the pink pound — it’s about offering stories that resonate deeply with readers and help build lasting community.

About Tom Owen:

Tom opened Gay on Wye in 2023 after nearly a decade of planning. With a background in the creative arts, he has worked with institutions across South Wales and the UK, shaping his understanding of storytelling, culture, and representation. A passionate reader — especially of science fiction — he believes in literature’s power to transport, challenge, and affirm identities.

Whether promoting LGBTQIA+ authors, creating a welcoming space for discovery, or simply sharing his love of books, Tom remains committed to the belief that every reader deserves to see themselves reflected in literature.

BA Bookshop Mentoring Scheme with Creative Access
2026-05-22 14:00 - 15:00
Throughout 2025, the Booksellers Association (BA) collaborated with Creative Access to deliver a mentoring programme designed to support young people seeking to enter—or advance within—the bookselling profession. Fifteen mentees, selected by Creative Access from communities historically under‑represented in the book trade, were paired with experienced bookseller mentors identified by the BA. In her presentation, Kate Gunning, Head of Membership Development at the BA, will discuss the origins of the initiative and provide an overview of its implementation and outcomes.

Kate Gunning, Head of Membership Development at the Booksellers Association, is a seasoned bookselling and publishing professional with extensive experience across retail management, buying, and member services. Joining the Booksellers Association in 2022 as Acting Membership Manager, she now supervises all membership processes and services and runs BA Learning, the Association’s learning and development programme. She also runs the Children’s and Christian Bookselling Groups and the Independent Booksellers Forum. Kate previously spent 13 years at Waterstones, managed stores in Paris and London, served as Book Buyer at Selfridges and Head of Buying at Foyles, and later spent 12 years as Independent Bookshops Manager at Penguin Random House.

The British Book Trade and the Book War of 1906
2026-06-19 14:00 - 15:00
Details coming soon.

BRN Bookselling Conference 2026: Spaces of Bookselling
2026-09-09 17:00 - 2026-09-11 13:00
Bangor University | 9–11 September 2026In association with the Stephen Colclough Centre for the History and Culture of the Book

“For such a space entails the unexpected. The specifically spatial within time-space is produced by that—sometimes happenstance, sometimes not—arrangement-in-relation-to-each-other that results from the multiplicity of trajectories. In spatial configurations, otherwise unconnected narratives may be brought into contact, or previously connected ones may be wrenched apart. There is always an element of ‘chaos.’ This is the chance of space.”— Doreen Massey, For Space (2005)
