Name: How Readers Are Discovering Books Today
Start: 2027-01-16T15:00:00-0500
End: 2027-01-16T16:00:00-0500

Saturday January 16, 2027 3:00pm - 4:00pm EST

BookTok, newsletters, indie bookstore staff picks, algorithm-driven recommendations — the ways readers find their next book have completely transformed, and independent publishers and bookstores are navigating this new landscape in real time. This session digs into how discovery actually happens now: what's driving foot traffic and sales at indie stores, how small and independent presses are building visibility without Big Five marketing budgets, and where social media, community, and old-fashioned hand-selling still win out over algorithms. Whether you're a publisher, a bookseller, or an author trying to understand where your readers are actually coming from, you'll leave with a sharper sense of how discovery works today — and how independents are shaping it.

Moderators

Keith Arsenault

Chesapeake & Hudson, Inc., New England Sales Rep

30+ year book industry professional, with experience in retail, publicity, marketing, management, and sales.

Speakers

Josh Cook

AN EXAGGERATED MURDER, Co-Owner, Marketing Director, Bookseller

Josh Cook is a bookseller and co-owner at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he has worked since 2004. He is also author of the critically acclaimed postmodern detective novel An Exaggerated Murder and his fiction, criticism, and poetry have appeared in numerous leading literary publications. He grew up in Lewiston, Maine and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts... Read More →

Sanj Kharbanda

Beacon Press, Associate Publisher

Sanj Kharbanda is Associate Publisher and Director of Sales & Marketing at Beacon Press, where he brings a strategic and creative lens to publishing bold, thought-provoking books. With deep experience in sales, marketing, and digital strategy, Sanj is known for championing titles... Read More →

Saturday January 16, 2027 3:00pm - 4:00pm EST
TBA

Track 4: Post-Pub

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TBR 2027

Keith Arsenault

Josh Cook

Sanj Kharbanda

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Success you have shared X tickets.

TBR 2027

Keith Arsenault

Josh Cook

Sanj Kharbanda

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