London Book Fair is one of the biggest book fairs and also said to be the “largest spring book trade and publishing event in the world” (LBF, 2022).  Publishers, authors, writers and anyone belonging to the literary world are excited and somehow, this year feels very special.  

After a two year hiatus - no thanks to Covid - London Book Fair is finally back.  The fair will open at Olympia London from 5th -7th April 2022.  It has also been announced that it will feature a truly international community again, with country pavilions from countries all over the world setting up.   The following countries have confirmed attendance:

• USA

• Canada

• Germany

• Italy

• France

• Spain

• Turkey

• China

What is more, the UK’s four biggest publishers will be there to welcome visitors in person.  There will also be some exhibitors that have not been part of the London Book Fair before.  According to the press release from London Book Fair (2022), new exhibitors include as follows:

• Legible - USA

• SiteFusion - USA

• Beat Technology - Norway

• Inner Truth Books - Panama

• L’Erma di Bretschneider - Italy

• Arab Publishers Association - UAE

• Trends - UAE

• Greyhound Literary Agents - UK

• Glass Boxx - UK

• Hardie Grant - UK

• Priddy Books - UK

Highly represented this year are publishers from the Children’s Publishing Sector and the STM sector (“STM is the standard bearer for the academic publishing industry, working with its members to advance trusted research worldwide. [They] are committed to ensuring that the great discoveries of our time are communicated with pinpoint accuracy, clarity and integrity. [They] champion innovation across academic research, stimulating the development of new technologies and guidance on universal standards.” (STM, 2022).  

The market focus of London Book Fair 2022 will be Sharjah (the third-populous city in the UAE) with the aim to highlight and celebrate authors from UAE.  In addition to this, the London Book Fair has also worked on a professional programme, “designed to enable and enhance business opportunities in the region” (LBF, 2022).  

There has been a lot of excitement about London Book Fair 2022 with many of the big publishers showing their delight:

“The London Book Fair has always marked an important point in the publishing calendar – not just because it is one of the biggest moments in the year for rights negotiations and export sales, but because it is one of the few times when our whole industry physically comes together, even before the pandemic. We are really looking forward to returning to an in-person fair this year and being able to connect again after two years of uncertainty and disruption.” (Tom Weldon, PRH)

“It’s been a long two years and we are ecstatic to be back in London for LBF, as are the 70+ people attending with the USA Pavilion organisedorganized by the American Collective Stand and the Combined Book Exhibit.  Everyone we speak with is itching to get back to in-person events and those one-on-one meetings to find the next big deal, reconnect with colleagues and cultivate new contacts.” (Janet Fritsch, American Collective Stand)

“I think I speak on behalf of all agents and their teams at Curtis Brown when I say that we are all really looking forward to this year’s London Book Fair. Whilst publishing and agenting has remained robust and successful despite all that COVID, Brexit and beyond has thrown at it, everyone has missed the buzz of a fair, the thrill of a deal made on the ground and the jovial early morning meeting chats about who has the hot book, who was last to bed and who drank the most negronis. We are a sociable business, passionate about our books, authors and colleagues and it’s time to get that warm and fuzzy feeling of all being united in the same place for the same goals for good.” (Cathryn Summerhayes, Curtis Brown)

“The fact that we have so many big hitters heading to Olympia in April is a huge vote of confidence in the fair, and a testament to the power of meeting face to face to network and do business. While Covid restrictions have affected the travel plans of representatives from some territories, we are delighted to have such a strong international presence, and as always are thrilled to welcome first time exhibitors from the UK and beyond to the fair. There is excitement building with less than a month to go until The London Book Fair, and we can’t wait to open our doors to so many international exhibitors, agents and visitors in April.” (Andy Ventris, Director of The London Book Fair)

Headlining Authors of the Day

London Book Fair is known to have Authors of the Day and Illustrators of the Fair in their programme.  This means that a selection of authors from all backgrounds and genres, as well as illustrators, will appear in talks during the event.  The following authors have been announced so far and will be featured in talks:

• Maggie O’Farrell (5th April)

• Afra Atiq and Diane Ewen (6th April)

• Greg James and Chris Smith (7th April) 

Maggie O’Farrell is an award-winning writer and novelist whose books After you’d gone and The hand that first held mine both won awards. Her most recent book Hamnet won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Waterstones Book of the Year and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 2020. She has also penned a children’s book Where snow angels go. 

Afra Atiq is a spoken word artist and poet from UAE, well-known for performing her poems in a blend of languages, such as English, French and Arabic).  According to LBF (2022), Afra “showcased her work at the Dubai Opera, Louvre Abu Dhabi, PublisHer summit, and Abu Dhabi Art, and has performed internationally. She is also a founding member of Untitled Chapters, a community of Emirati women writers.”
Afra commented: “I’m looking forward to being at The London Book Fair as part of the Sharjah Market Focus Author of the Day. I am so thrilled to be amongst friends, colleagues and storytellers once again as we celebrate the return of LBF and the undeniable power of literature.” (LBF, 2022)

Diane Ewen Diane Ewen is British illustrator, born in Walsall, in the West Midlands.  Diane was always infatuated with art and got her degree from the University of Wolverhampton.  According to The Bright Agency (2022) “Diane likes to create illustrations that are hand-drawn in pencil before painting in watercolorwater colour and acrylics prior to embellishing them using Photoshop but she also enjoys working directly on the computer screen creating her designs; constantly developing her style as she progresses. She likes the fact that illustrations are the first things that entice the reader to engage with a book and is inspired by the use of vibrant colour.  Her debut into publishing was the illustration of the “Pretty Poodle Parlour”, published by Orion and written by Angela MCallister.”
Diane Ewen said: “I am super amazed and excited to have been asked to be Illustrator of the Fair and look forward to all that’s in store!”

Greg James and Chris Smith are BBC Radio 1 hosts who are also well known to have penned the very popular “Kid Normal” book series.  The series has been featured on best-seller lists and was also translated into 20 languages.  Their latest book releases are “The Great Robbery” (2021) and a new book called “Super Ghost” is due to be released this September.
They said: “‘We’re hugely excited to be Children’s Authors of the Day at The London Book Fair and we can’t wait to get there. First, we’ll go on the dodgems then try and win a goldfish. What? It’s not that kind of fair? Oh. Well, this is awkward. There’s candy floss though, right?”

The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards

The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards have been held for 8 years and this will be the 9th time they are being celebrated.  The awards highlight and celebrate publishing achievements in 8 categories, “championing those organisations and individuals from around the world demonstrating passion, creativity, and ingenuity.”
The shortlist for 2022 includes 17 different countries.  This is the first time Greece appears and Spain has been nominated most often, showing in 3 categories. 

The full shortlist of The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards is (LBT, 2022):

• The Audiobook Publisher of the Year

• Macmillan Audio (USA)

• Penguin Random House Audio (USA)

• Saga Egmont (Denmark)

• The Bookstore of the Year Award

• La Mistral (Spain)

• Norli Universitetsgata (Norway)

• Rahva Ramat Viru Store (Estonia)

• The Educational Learning Resources Award

• Caramel Tree (Canada)

• Editions Animées (France)

• Hamilton House Publishers (Greece)

• The Library of