The 2025 Scottish Book Trade Conference: Collaboration at the Heart of Scottish Publishing

Last week I had the opportunity to assist Jean at the 2025 Scottish Book Trade Conference. Held at Edinburgh’s St Paul's & St George's Church on the 13^th-14^th of May, the conference gathered booksellers, publishers, agents and designers for a day of forward-thinking discussion on the landscape of the Scottish publishing industry. With its grounding in Scotland’s literary culture and collective strength of independent and regional publishers, the conference articulated shared challenges, strengths and emerging creative solutions across the trade.

On the first day of the Trade Conference, I helped set up the bookstall for Scotland Street Press. Bookstalls, whether at Trade Fair and Festivals, are key representations of the publisher’s frontlist, backlist and identity, offering the opportunity for discovery and  conversation with potential booksellers. My favourite part of this role was meeting the publishers at the stalls- there was a great feeling of shared enthusiasm for the process of pitching and showcasing upcoming frontlists and new titles for the year ahead.

A talk by Steve Bohme of NielsenIQ BookData sharing key insights from the 2024 Books and Consumers survey opened my eyes to the current habits and trends of the UK publishing sector. The survey showed that Scotland continues to over-index in reader engagement, with the sector growing in value and volume. In-person print purchases led the market for print sales over online retailers, reaffirming booksellers as cultural touchstones and critical drivers of print-title success. Bohme’s talk highlighted a key trend in Scottish readers strong preference toward in-persons hopping, underlining significance of community-based book retail.

I found my insights into the collaboration between bookseller and publisher really expanded during the conference. I had a great chance to talk withAngela MacRae, a Buyer for Waterstones. When I asked her favourite part of her role was, she shared that it has always been the process of recommending books to people. In-person interaction between booksellers and their customers actively reshapes what appears on the bookshelves and enriches the reading experience, particularly when it appeals to regional histories and identities. As Rosie Hilton, Editorial Director for Saraband, put it, is the conduit to the reader.

Fleur Sinclair, President of the Booksellers Association and owner of Sevenoaks Bookshop, emphasised the need for publishers to invest in their relationships with booksellers through shared enterprise, creative marketing and aligned values. Later in the day, Sinclair was joined by Julie Lin to discuss on her 2025 cookbook, Sama Sama. Lin shared how author events can bridge the gap between story, bookseller and reader, illustrating the tangible impact of local, reader-first engagement.

The backlist is always making a comeback. During the panel Regenerating our Backlist, Angela MacRae noted: “The earlier the reader is involved, the more they want to read the book.” Discussion centred on revitalising backlist titles through innovative redesign and introductions by contemporary writers, strategies that empower to inspire and engage from their customers.

In one of the later talks at the conference, it was encouraging to see industry leaders engaging addressing the wider responsibilities in the publishing sector. Amelia Fairney, Head ofStrategy and Communications at Shout Out UK, emphasised the publisher’s role in safeguarding access to credible, reliable information, particularly in non-fiction, highlighting media literacy as an increasingly vital skill. Regarding the emerging workforce, Josie Dobrin, Executive Chair and Co-Founder for CreativeAccess, encouraged skills-based hiring for greater accessibility to build more inclusive talent pipelines. Mhairi Cochrane, Senior Projects Officer for ClimateSpringboard, called attention to the sector’s responsibility in cross-industry efforts toward net-zero, identifying sustainable supply chains as a key priority.

These conversations, to me, reflected deep, genuine care for the long-term health of the industry, especially in light of technological change and the realities faced by young people entering the workforce.

Supporting Scotland Street Press at the conference this year affirmed to me that today’s publishing ecosystem is collaborative, people-centred and resilient. With conversations spanning design, sustainability and social change, regional publishing prospers in its human-driven efforts to connect through story.

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