Gail Rebuck

M&C Saatchi has launched a collaborative campaign between publishers, bookshops, authors, and agents aimed at booklovers across the UK and Ireland. The national movement - 'Books Are My Bag' - has aimed to celebrate the cultural importance of books and bookshops with a wave of promotional activity around the release of a branded canvas bag.

A debate over how much publishers care about independent booksellers broke out during yesterday's Bookseller Association's annual general meeting (13th June)

Random House chief executive Gail Rebuck attended the conference to present the forthcoming trade promotion for independent bookshops, Books Are My Bag, designed by Maurice Saatchi, receiving a warm reception from an audience of around 100 BA members.

Random House Group UK CEO Gail Rebuck has emphasised the importance of "building direct relationships with readers", as parent company Bertelsmann vowed to "reshape" the group over the next five to 10 years. In audited results covering 2011, Bertelsmann confirmed, saying that for Random House worldwide, revenue was down 4.3% year on year to 1.7bn, with operating Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) rising to 185m from 173m the previous year. The return on sales was 10.6%, up on 9.5% in 2010. It also reported the company had recorded "record triple-digital-percentage" digital revenue growth.