At first I was ready to bitch and moan that the Bookseller only made its LBF daily content available in a flash/PDF-style booklet but over the course of the day they are making select pieces available as standalone links, which is good. The top story, penned by Joel Rickett, focuses on a new buying group for independent booksellers headed by former Ottakar’s marketing director Paul Henderson called Leading Edge, originally founded in Australia where it has 175 member bookshops. They are given access to a centralized website with a range of promoted titles, as well as marketing support such as customer catalogs. They can opt to buy the stock via wholesalers or direct from publishers.
“We can give independents an industry voice and a sense of community,” Henderson explained to the Bookseller. “The [Booksellers Association] can’t be solely representative of indies—its role is to be a general trade body. We can champion independents.” he service will begin to gather members in May, offering a free six-month subscription. The full fee is expected to be £130 per month, for access to an initial range of 150 to 200 titles a month at special terms. It pitches itself as a “completely transparent and accountable support group whose success is predicated on being able to provide value to all parties”.