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| Lincoln Gould | |
Booksellers New Zealand CEO Lincoln Gould will retire at the end of October. The association's board has done some preliminary work on finding a replacement and will soon engage the services of a recruitment specialist. The position will also be also advertised through The Read in the coming weeks. The board's goal is to select a new head for the association by the end of August.
Noting that Booksellers NZ "has been immensely fortunate to have had Lincoln as our CEO these last 10 years," chair Juliet Blyth said Gould "has been a true champion for our members and for the wider book industry. Notably Lincoln was a key driver, in lobbying successive governments to implement the charging of GST on international online purchases, and this will be in place from October 1 this year.
"Due to the strong relationships he forged with his international counterparts, particularly the American, Australian and British booksellers associations as a founding member of the English Language Booksellers Association, Lincoln has been extremely successful in bringing the world to NZ booksellers with many new initiatives." Included among these are NZ Bookshop Day and the establishment of the Winter Institute Scholarship, allowing kiwi booksellers to attend ABA's Winter Institute and gain work experience in U.S. bookshops."
Gould observed that bookselling in New Zealand "has seen great change in the past 10 years, and I have been fortunate to have been able to contribute to such an important part of the cultural fabric of the country. The financial crisis of 2009, the year I started, also saw the beginning of the e-book phenomenon, which some predicted would be the end of printed books. It was also the time when Amazon was attacking bricks and mortar bookshops around the world with cut-priced online selling.
"However, New Zealand booksellers rose to the challenge, with our agreement with Kobo offering the opportunity for member bookshops to sell e-readers and also consolidating their positions as important social and cultural hubs within their communities. Booksellers NZ and our members also quickly utilized the new tools of social media to promote and sell books online. The e-market has now plateaued, new bookshops are opening in communities across the country and real-book sales are increasing."
Blyth added that Gould's "achievements are many, and tough as it will be to see Lincoln go, with membership numbers on the rise and Booksellers NZ safely ensconced in their new premises across from Book House in Boulcott St., the association is well positioned to engage in a new future. Lincoln came into Booksellers NZ from a background in change management and leaves with a demonstrable passion for the industry in the form of Messines Bookshop, his own bookshop in Featherston. Once again, the magic of bookselling does its thing."
Gould's decision to retire marks yet another change at the top of the major English-language booksellers associations recently. In March, Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, announced he will retire at the end of the year. A year ago, Tim Godfray, CEO of the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland, became executive chair of the BA Group, while Meryl Halls became managing director of the association. And at the end of last year, Joel Becker retired as CEO of the Australian Booksellers Association and was replaced by Robbie Egan.