Debbie becomes President of the Booksellers Association
After four years as Vice President, Debbie became President of the Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland at their AGM at the London Book Fair (LBF) on Tuesday of this week. Her main focus over her two-year term will be on inclusion, sustainability and wellbeing in the book industry, in an ongoing campaign summarised as ‘People, Planet, Prosperity’.
Her first appearance as President was at a round table discussion with a delegation from China on the importance of bookshops as
‘urban cultural living rooms’.
“I think this phrase perfectly describes our bookshop and many others I know up and down the country, with our picture walls, vases of flowers, comfy sofa and desk for card-writing, in addition to our hand-picked stock which we like to think offers something for everyone. As spaces of empathy, calm and where people can be themselves, I think a phrase like this could become a global slogan for bookshops: if you’re away from home, on holiday, for business or for any reason, it would be fantastic for everyone to see a high street bookshop, walk into it and think – oh, I’m home after all.”
Next up at LBF was a presentation to fellow booksellers describing Kibworth Books’ plans for the National Year of Reading 2026 (NYR), which include a formal re-launch of our reimagined Children’s Room in April and a year-long series of events showcasing hobbies and past times such as sketching, sewing, gardening, sport, cooking, wine-tasting, creative writing and letter-writing.
“We want to open our doors even wider to our community, to include anyone who wouldn’t traditionally consider a bookshop a space for them. So as well as hosting our traditional author talks, this series of events is a chance for folks to lean into an existing or new interest and the ticket price includes a copy of a book related to that interest, underpinning the NYR’s messaging of ‘If you’re into, read into it’.”
Over the next few months, Debbie will be involved with
conferences and industry gatherings across the UK and Europe, but her heart is still anchored to Kibworth Books after she founded it over 16 years ago.
“I couldn’t have achieved any of this without the support of our customers over the years. They saw a little shop with a few books in it appear on their High Street in 2009, just as the global economy was crashing around us all and were worried that it wouldn’t work. But everyone got stuck in and look at us now! Being a bookseller is the best career in the world and even though I’ll be working away a bit more for the next two years, being in the bookshop and welcoming customers, book lovers and browsers is still my happiest place to be. And thanks to the inimitable Kirsty and Aidan, my stellar team, I know that the ship will be expertly and safely steered whenever I’m ‘on duty’ elsewhere.”