In 1921 Hugh Walpole founded the Society of Bookmen, a club for publishers, booksellers and literary agents designed to meet regularly to eat together and share industry knowledge. Now, a hundred years and a name change later, the Society continues to attract new members and be a place to find new connections and ideas. Would Walpole recognise the Society in the twenty-first century? This short history will take you on an evening out with the book men and women whose decisions, guests and speakers throughout the decades have made the Book Society what it is today.
Maria Vassilopoulos has worked in bookselling and publishing for twenty years and is currently Global Sales Manager at University of Wales Press. She recently completed her PhD on the British book trade at University College London. She has also worked with the Bookseller, the Society of Young Publishers, and the Bookselling Research Network on various projects designed to preserve and tell the story behind the book trade's history. She is building her own archive of book trade documents.
