Bookcamp! A series of genre-oriented forward-thinking workshops for booksellers and publishers alike. If we make them interactive webinars, attendance wouldn’t be limited to Toronto (or wherever it’s held). We need to find out what the book community wants to learn about and provide it. While I am sad that BEC is gone, it’s refusal to adapt to the current industry needs/trends simply meant it’s end was near.

NYC’s Tools of Change (http://www.toccon.com/toc2009) and London’s Book Camp (http://thepenguinblog.typepad.com/the_penguin_blog/2008/12/a-day-of-bookish-experimentation.html) are awesome forward-thinking examples. Why not something similar in TO?

I’d love to see something along the lines of BookCamp, the one-day “unconference” that Penguin helped to organize in the UK. Less about excess on a trade show floor and more about genuine conversations in the book trade.

A bookcamp sounds like a great idea.

Couldn’t the ACP and the CBA organize their own show, tailored to the needs of their members?

It’s unfortunate. Hopefully the Children’s Gala will live on attached to some other event. It’s definitely one of the best publishing events of the year.

I second (or is it third?) the bookcamp idea. Let’s generate some excitement.

I’m all for the a ‘Summer Institute’ similar to the ABA’s Winter Institute. that just ran in Salt Lake City.Booksellers from across the country could run their own educational sessions over two days, have a keynote breakfast, and hold an author reception—two authors from each publisher, no matter how large or small, sitting at signing tables around a huge ballroom with food in the middle (and even a bar, in Salt Lake City!). Huge lineups for two hours, all around the ballroom—a wonderful sight. Reps also got to ‘speed date’ and pitch their spring lists for two hours earlier in the day to booksellers from across the country (and some from Canada). 500 booksellers attended—it was a beautiful sight.

Kim’s right. This would make for an effective event. Keep everyone engaged.

Book Camp Toronto has just been announced with a data and venue – June 6th, 2009 at MaRS Centre in Toronto.
Self-organize here: http://bookcampto.pbwiki.com

Booknet’s Technology Forum is a lot like Tools of Change – great discussions on where the industry is going, new business models, future of the book. They manage to rope in some really good presenters too. Maybe they should get together with the CBA and add a “future of the bookstore” session too?

Best suggestion ever from Richard from Different Drummer… Take over the Ballroom at the Royal York, put the money into an open bar, and have a one day book talk.