The London Book Fair (LBF) closed the 2017 edition on a high note, with a raft of six-figure deals across the week, a buoyant atmosphere, and attendees describing the fair as “upbeat” and “positive”. Over 130 countries were represented at the 46th fair, with this year’s international VIP line-up including David Nicholls, Gurinder Chadha, Amit Chaudhuri, Ayobami Adebayo, Anita Anand, Rosanna Ley, CL Taylor and LBF founder Lionel Leventhal, who celebrated his 80th birthday at the fair.
Landmark launches
There were a number of major author and publisher announcements at this year’s fair. HarperCollins Children’s Books announced a new collaboration from LBF Author of the Day Michael Morpurgo and critically acclaimed illustrator Emma Chichester Clark to create TOTO: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. Stanley Johnson gave a sneak peek into his upcoming Brexit thriller, Kompromat, published by Oneworld Publications.
Hot topic – Brexit
Brexit and its potential impact on the publishing and wider creative industries was one of the most talked about topics at the fair. A weaker pound also saw more American and European publishers scouting for UK content.
Top deals at LBF 2017
Big deals, six-figure sums and cross-media rights sales were the order of the day at LBF 2017. Ex-Pulp frontman, Jarvis’s book on creativity was signed up by Jonathan Cape at a six-figure deal. Faber bought ‘90s drum and base legend and cultural icon, Goldie’s memoir. Little, Brown signed Suede Frontman, Brett Anderson’s memoir. HarperCollins signed a six-figure deal with Lionel Shriver for her short story collection, Property. UK rights for the book behind Oscar-nominated French film, Elle, were bought by Oneworld. Orion Fiction snapped up Libby Page’s The Lido for a six-figure sum. Harper NonFiction also snapped up NHS GP, Dr Rupy Aujla’s debut cookbook, The Doctor’s Kitchen.
Spotlight on India
In celebration of the UK-India Year of Culture, and to mark the 70th anniversary of India’s Independence, LBF hosted a Spotlight on India at the fair. Renowned authors like Amit Chaudhuri, Gurinder Chadha, Anita Anand, Shrabani Basu, and others participated in the event.
Focus on Poland market
Polish writing was at the heart of the LBF this year. With Poland featured as the Market Focus country, 12 of Poland’s most prominent and talented contemporary writers discussed themes such as crime writing in Poland, poetry in translation, equal opportunities in writing and reportage. The Professional Programme provided an insight into the Polish publishing industry, highlighting business opportunities there.
LBF market focus 2018 Baltic countries launched
The LBF, and its UK partners the British Council and the Publishers Association marked the official launch of Market Focus Baltic Countries 2018 with a special event and handover ceremony at LBF.
Nielsen reports ‘book boom’ at Quantum Conference
At Quantum Conference during the fair, Nielsen’s Books & Consumers annual survey reported that 2016 was a strong year for printed books in particular, with spending up by 7% and young generations of consumers fuelling the growth.
International excellence awards and Wellcome book prize shortlist
Paris’ Shakespeare and Company was crowned Bookstore of the Year while the Arab world led the field with the highest number of award wins. The shortlist for the 2017 prize was unveiled on the first day of the fair by this year’s judging panel, recognizing exceptional works of fiction and non-fiction that engage with the topics of health and medicine.
Author HQ
As ever, it was standing room only at Author HQ throughout the fair. The packed line-up concluded with the now firmly established Write Stuff competition, where six authors pitch to a panel of agents.
