Attending London Book Fair (LBF) is an exciting opportunity to get a glimpse into the world of publishing. It is a chance for people across the industry to network, learn about the latest trends and discover new books. As a long-time book enthusiast and previous London resident, I had always heard about LBF but was never able to attend. Now as a publishing student, I grasped at the opportunity to go when it was presented to me. I had built in my mind this exciting experience where I could meet professionals, plump up my meagre list of contacts and maybe, just maybe, get a job out of it. However, sadly the reality of attending LBF (at least as a student) was overwhelming, stressful, and even disappointing.

The annual three-day-long event hosted at the London Olympia exhibition centre is reported to have hosted 30,000 people this year. It was no surprise then that when I arrived on that first morning there was already a huge queue with at least a hundred people. After bag checks and badge scans, I stepped into the venue and was immediately struck by the size and scale of the venue. High arched ceilings, colourful and eye-catching displays, loud chatter at every corner, the energy was electric, and it was only the beginning. 

It was overwhelming, standing among the crowds not knowing where to go first, but I walked around taking photos and exploring the endless number of exhibition stands. The fair was organised into different sections, each dedicated to a particular aspect of the publishing industry. Of course, you could tell who was the most important by the sheer size of their exhibitions (*cough* the big five *cough*), but this was a great opportunity for me to take note of companies I had not heard of, and that I could keep in mind for future job searching. 

After much exploring – I don’t think I even covered the whole venue – I gathered up my confidence and began my attempts at networking. I can be quite a shy person, and networking has only recently been something I have begun practising so I came prepared with questions and a plan and yet, mostly all my attempts at networking were rebuffed, met with disinterest and in a few cases I was ignored. To tell you this disappointed me would be an understatement. At first, I thought perhaps I was getting people at the wrong time, but then I began noticing that when I approached people with a friendly ‘hello’, the first thing they did was look at my badge. It was then I understood that my badge, or more specifically, my label as “student” was what was causing these responses.

It wasn’t even halfway into my first day and I was already feeling unwelcome and stressed. I was determined not to let this ruin my experience and set out to learn by listening to the extensive list of seminars featured throughout the day. Here is where I found a comfortable spot to listen and learn about the current trends and discussions in the industry, and I even met a few lovely people. The highlight of my time there was when I shook hands with two of my idols, author Leïla Slimani and translator Anton Hur. 

On the second day of the fair, I tried networking again but was met with the same responses. Reflecting on the fair I understand that the exhibitors pay a lot of money to be at this event and they are focused on selling their books or promoting their services, rather than engaging with students. Ultimately this is a trade show. However, offering students an opportunity to attend the fair every year and yet have it be so unwelcoming makes you think about the industry as a whole and their notoriety in gatekeeping. 

The hustle and bustle of the crowds and general excitement did not die down during my time there, and yet I was left feeling uncomfortable and disappointed in people I would hopefully be working with in the future. I no longer had any interest in trying to make contacts, and at that point, I was only staying out of a sense of obligation as I had planned my trip to London solely for the purpose of attending the fair.

While it was an unforgettable experience, I wouldn’t say it was for the right reasons. Overall, my first time at the London Book Fair was not what I had imagined. I had hoped to learn more about the industry directly from professionals and make meaningful connections, however, the fair was overwhelming, stressful, and not very welcoming to students. While I did learn things from the seminars, it was easily information I could have read up on later. LBF is a great event and obviously holds a lot of importance for industry professionals, I just hope they are more open and inclusive in the future and if I get the chance to attend again (hopefully as an exhibitor) I will be keeping my eye out for students as they are the future of the industry.  

All photo credits go to Souhaila Jouhar