Building a Wider Audience for Readers

You just might be a bibliophile, too

How do publishers build a bigger, bolder, and more inclusive audience of lifelong readers across the US? In an age where books are regularly declared “dead,” publishers need more than just a diverse catalog of authors and social media accounts to reach and engage new readers.

At the recent PubWest 2018 Conference, Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, outlined the importance of engaging and building a community of book-lovers through institutional and public programming, youth engagement, and marketing. In her keynote remarks, Lucas offered reassurance that even the most apprehensive people can be persuaded that they just might be a bibliophile, too.

The National Book Foundation’s mission is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America. The National Book Award is one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes and has a stellar record of identifying and rewarding quality writing.

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2016, Lisa Lucas served as the Publisher of Guernica, a non-profit online magazine focusing on writing that explores the intersection of art and politics with an international and diverse focus. Before that, she served as Director of Education at the Tribeca Film Institute.  Lucas also serves on the literary council of the Brooklyn Book Festival.