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4.29.2009 London Book Fair Report

Gilroy met with clients and industry friends at the London Book Fair on April 20-22, 2009.

“LBF has always been one of the best meeting settings for me,” reported Gilroy. “Even with attendance slightly down, it was once again a brisk meeting venue. I kept busy in the licensing pavilion and had two offsite meetings. This has always been a show that is big enough that you know you are going to run into someone you hadn’t planned to see—but it’s not so packed that you can’t stop for a few minutes to catch up. That said, anyone who attends LBF seems prepared to do business.”

The big topic of the show was digital rights.

“Sony rented a pretty big piece of the floor and set up its Digital Zone and Theatre. With its continuous presentations and seminars on its e-book reader, it was probably the star of LBF, even more so than featured authors. With no new Harry Potter book that wasn’t quite as difficult a task as previous years. With Amazon’s announced plans to bring the Kindle to the U.K. and Europe in the next year there was a lot of formal and informal discussion on both monetizing and protecting digital content. And the Google Search settlement in the U.S. is always a hot topic at LBF, particularly since the U.S. and European Union still have significant differences on intellectual property rights even in traditional publishing forms. Digital rights and usage supplies a whole field of debate!”

Held at the Earl’s Court Exhibition Hall in Kensington each April, LBF is one of several important annual European gatherings for the publishing industry, along with International Book Fair, the largest book industry event in the world, which meets in Frankfurt, Germany, each October, and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which meets in March.

01.10.2009 Gilroy Back to Doing What He Loves to Do

In a tough economy that has been particularly hard on the publishing industry, is it better to be with a big company or serve the industry in an independent role?

“My three years with Thomas Nelson were fabulous,” said Mark Gilroy. “We had the biggest year in the history of the gift division and I got to work with some of the sharpest and nicest people in the industry. Nelson is a unique company; very business like and aggressive on one hand and yet all done with an incredible spirit of mission. But having run my own book packaging and literary management company for five years, I’m thrilled to be back in that role.”

In three short weeks, Gilroy has already begun pitching two fiction series, has received assignments from a major publishing house, and is developing several standalone gift packages. He also has rights back on several intellectual properties that he hopes to retrofit and reintroduce to the marketplace.

“The good news is that I am still working closely with my friends at Thomas Nelson as a consultant and preferred packager. Most small business gurus will tell you that your chances for success increase dramatically when you can make your previous employer your first customer. I am very grateful for that opportunity. I will absolutely have a few pangs of regret and jealousy when I see some projects roll out that are near and dear to my heart, but again, I spend just enough time there to feel like I’m still part of the success.”

When asked what projects he has most enjoyed developing at Nelson he was quick to answer: “By mentioning any specific titles by name I know that I might seem to be slighting some others and that’s not the case. But I have to admit, watching Jesus Calling by Sarah Young top 200 thousand units and become a word-of-mouth phenomenon was special. I loved working on the Ken Duncan photography books. Where Jesus Walked is now over 300 thousand units in the market and In the Footsteps of Paul, which comes out in the spring, is just stunning. I was very involved in creating a big lavish gift book called His Name Is Jesus by Max Lucado. This Christmas Night by Billy Graham was voted gift book of the year in the Retailers Choices Awards and I was really proud of that. But it’s not just about numbers or awards. It’s about knowing that these resources brought and will bring hope and encouragement to a lot of people. I feel great about a lot of the books we brought to market.”

How many projects will Mark develop each year?

“I’m very blessed to be connected with a great network of writers, editors, and designers. My gift is being able to bring all the moving parts together into a very marketable finished product. So the sky is the limit.”

Publishers looking for a one-stop product solution can reach Mark at mark@markgilroy.com.