Sessions examine how bookstores can also reach ‘non-readers’, strengthen communities and create more engaging experiences for existing and future audiences
Roundtable discussions at the fifth Sharjah Booksellers Conference explored practical approaches to strengthening reader engagement, with booksellers and industry professionals examining how bookstores can reach new audiences, build stronger communities and create experiences that encourage people to spend more time around books.
The sessions were held as part of the conference organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) at Expo Centre Sharjah, from 19 – 20 September.
Reaching beyond existing readers
Andrew Yap, CEO of BookXcess in Malaysia and Co-Founder of Big Bad Wolf Books, led the roundtable “Beyond the Bookworm: How Bookstores Can Win Over Non-Readers”, highlighting how store design, atmosphere and simple low-cost initiatives can encourage visitors to spend more time in a bookstore, become curious about books and ultimately engage with reading.
Yap encouraged booksellers to experiment with practical ideas suited to their own spaces rather than assuming that attracting new readers requires major investment or expansion.
He cited simple measures such as creating a small seating area and offering complimentary coffee as examples of how even compact bookstores can draw people in without significant investment.
“Instead of competing for the same group of existing readers, we need to think about how we can grow that audience. The question is how we design the bookstore and the experience so that a non-reader comes in, becomes curious and begins to see books as something for them,” Yap said.
Growing impact without growing in size
Isabel Cristina Giraldo, Owner of El Retiro de Las Letras in Spain, led the roundtable “Growing Beyond Your Bookshop: How Independent Bookstores Can Increase Their Impact Without Increasing Their Size,” exploring how smaller bookstores can remain competitive without expanding their physical footprint.
To achieve this, she highlighted the centrality of collaboration within the bookselling community, and using those collaborations to build stronger connections with readers.
On how to leverage these collaborations and connections to attain tangible business results, Giraldo opined: “For me, growth is not necessarily about increasing the size of the bookstore. It is about expanding our connections with the community and making smarter use of the space we already have, so readers can find what they need easily, feel comfortable in the store and want to come back.”
Creating destinations and reading communities
Other roundtables examined different ways bookstores can strengthen their relationship with readers and communities.
Steve Jones, Dubai Mall Store Manager at Kinokuniya UAE, led “From Fandoms to Foot Traffic: Building Destinations for Passionate Readers,” focusing on the potential for bookstores to build stronger connections with readers around shared interests and fandoms.
Ajay Jain, CEO of Kunzum Bookstores in India, led “The Bookshop as a Reading Movement,” examining the wider role bookstores can play in encouraging reading and building communities around books.
James Killen, Director of Retail Operations at Manga Spot in the United States, led “Engagement, Discovery and Experience: Creating Community around Comics,” highlighting comics as a route to reader discovery, engagement and community-building.
Elena Martinez, owner of Librería Serendipias in Spain, led “The Bookseller as Festival Maker: Creating Children’s Literature Festivals That Grow Readers,” focusing on how children’s literature festivals can help engage younger audiences and cultivate future readers.
Together, the roundtables reflected the conference’s emphasis on practical approaches that booksellers can adapt to their own markets, whether by attracting new audiences, strengthening relationships with existing readers or creating more engaging spaces and experiences around books.