The Galley Club – the not for profit London-based social organisation for those who work in publishing – holds its last event of the year this coming Wednesday, 4 December, in its usual venue of The George in Strand, with proceedings kicking off at 6.30pm. Its speaker this time round will be Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, giving a talk entitled “That Was The Year That Was – 2013 in retrospect and 2014 contemplated”. Entry is £5 for non-members, and a buffet and wine are included in the price.

Says the Galley Club: ‘Philip will assess the implications of the most significant developments in publishing in 2013, including the Penguin/Random House merger, Macmillan’s volte face on ‘agency model’ ebook pricing, the seemingly inexorable growth in digital publishing, and more.’

That ‘and more’ will apparently include discussing The Bookseller’s own adjustment to the digital age and the changes the industry has undergone since Jones first started working for the magazine in 1996, as well as predictions of what the coming year might hold.

Starting out as The Bookseller’s financial news reporter in the mid 90s, Jones led the development of its online arm in the early 00s, working his way up to managing editor and deputy editor before taking the reins of the publication as a whole in 2012. As the Galley Club says, in his position as editor of the trade ‘bible’, Jones is ‘in a unique position to take an impartial overview of all areas of our industry, from publishing conglomerate boardrooms to shop floor.’

2013 has been the Galley Club’s 80th anniversary year. It runs an annual programme of events from October through to June that allows its members to socialise with each other and with leading industry figures. So far this session the Club has seen talks from Patrick Neale, manager of Jaffe & Neale Bookshop in Chipping Norton and president of the Booksellers Association and typeface designer Jeremy Tankard. Membership is £25 a year.