UK Tv’s Richard & Judy’s Book Club has become a significant force in delivering a surge of sales to any book appearing on their recommended reading list. Although not experiencing the sales boost of Oprah’s influence, the numbers from UK sales are impressive.

With Richard & Judy’s recent announcement of their retirement, can the book list still function as a sales tool, or will it leave a large hole in the promotion opportunities available for authors and publishers?

It seems, in fact, that their retirement from daytime TV might be motivated by an increased interest in the publishing industry. Amanda Ross, Richard & Judy’s producer, has announced a continuation of the Book Club through new a new television presence running on Channel 4 in the UK. There is some question as to whether the lack of visible presence of Richard and Judy themselves on television screens, will reduce the selling and promotion power of their Book Club. Such clubs provide new scope for a handful of authors to reach a broader audience, but most importantly, they encourage readers to try something new and discover writing they would perhaps not have previously taken the risk of reading.

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan themselves are wanting to spend more time on their personal writing projects, and so there is some motivation to retain the viability of their Book Club as a brand and platform for selling books, it will certainly increase their personal sales.

Ross feels the brand can be retained despite some difficult television scheduling of the ongoing programmes. Perhaps timing will be the key. Next year looks to be the UK’s National Year of Reading, which Ross has committed to support, and so there is opportunity to maintain the momentum already established by the Book Club.