The Booksellers Association and Gardners have today announced that the 2020 annual conference, and the Gardners Trade Show, will now take place on the 1st - 2nd November, at The Jury's Inn Hotel, Hinckley.

The Conference had previously been due to take place on the 13th – 14th September but has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

Meryl Halls, Managing Director of the Bookseller’s Association said: “This has been an incredibly challenging time for all retailers, and booksellers have shown great resilience and creativity in the face of adversity. In these fast-moving times, we hope that moving the BA Conference in November will allow booksellers from across the country to come together to network, share their experiences and celebrate their collective hard work.”

Nigel Wyman, Head of Business Development at Gardners said “We have been working closely with the Booksellers Association during this unsettling time to create a realistic time scale for the Gardners Trade Show and the BA conference.  We all felt moving it to November was a sensible option bearing in the mind the current climate.  We are really looking forward to putting on a great Trade Show for all the book sellers who attend and giving the publishers the audience they so need right now.”  

The Conference will open with the Gardners Trade Show on Sunday 1st November, followed by a Conference Dinner for all delegates, sponsored by The Independent Alliance. On Monday 2nd November, the Conference will take place with workshops and sessions exploring topics relevant for booksellers. The BA Conference is free to all BA members thanks to ongoing support from Gardners.

The Booksellers Association and Gardners will continue to monitor government guidelines on public gatherings and social distancing over the coming weeks and months. 

Further details of the programme for the 2020 BA Conference will be shared in the summer. Keep up to date via the BA Events website.