etings, analysing reports and communicating via chat or email. As Booktopia has grown and diversified into specific areas of expertise, fewer people have become generalists. My role is usually to be the book and product expert in the room – whether to analyse market trends, talk about publisher/supplier relationships or discuss the specifics of a particular bestselling book or author.  My trick to maintaining a work-life balance is…finding other things that you’re genuinely passionate about. In my case, it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of small kids who cannot be ignored as well. My favourite thing about working at Booktopia is…the diversity of thinking. People from very different backgrounds and skillsets have come together to try to sell books and it can be enormously refreshing. When I first started, someone told me that some people at Booktopia think of us as a logistics company, some think of us as a technology company and some as a bookshop. Those are very different takes, but for me the tension in navigating that difference makes us stronger. My reading habits include…anything from super-worthy non-fiction to the most fun (and sometimes trashy) romantasy. No such thing as a guilty pleasure. My favourite reads of the past few months in no particular order are Wifedom (by Anna Funder), Yellowface (by Rebecca Kuang), Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (by Gabrielle Zevin) and Fourth Wing (by Rebecca Yarros). I’ve recently (and quite belatedly) fallen into a hole of catching up on Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series and I cannot recommend it highly enough. One way I think the book industry will evolve is...I think we’ll continue to see growth in alternative formats (like digital audio), which I think are likely to continue to grow the pie for reading and books. I think we’re also likely to see further growth in special editions, especially in romantasy and YA titles where there is high demand for the most specced out fancy hardcovers imaginable. I think looking to the horizon we are long overdue for another crazy trend (think colouring-in books, sudoku or even 50 Shades of Grey), but your guess is as good as mine as to what that will be. Anyone who tells you they know what the next big trend in books is going to be is usually trying to sell you something. My advice for those wanting to get into the book industry is…keep at it. Try to land opportunities to build your skillset with books and to meet people in the industry. It is still a very relationship-focused business (for better or worse), so the best thing you can do is participate and keep your hand in with every opportunity. This story first appeared in the November 2023 issue of Inside Retail Australia magazine.