Earlier this month, publishers from around the world gathered in London for London Book Fair. Among the 30,000 attendees were a handful of Edinburgh Napier University MSc Publishing students. We travelled down for the three-day event, full of nerves and excitement, with the aim of gaining insight into the industry and making new connections. The experience definitely lived up to my hopes, but perhaps not in the ways I expected it to. Here are my main takeaways from attending as a student:

Embrace the nerves.

Upon arriving at The Olympia on the first day, my immediate reaction was to feel extremely overwhelmed. We had been warned that we would likely feel this way, but nothing prepares you for the moment you see the biggest names in publishing all set up in one place. It was easy to feel like a very unimportant person in a room filled with very important people. 

My first loop around the venue felt was daunting; it was extremely busy and the people operating the stands all seemed to be too occupied with meetings and other duties to be approached. I had already been nervous about the networking aspect of the fair, and the realisation that it was not going to be easy to grab people’s attention only made my worry increase. However, I knew how rewarding networking could be, as “investing time in meeting other people in the industry and learning about different roles and companies will hopefully make the job hunting and career progression process a bit easier” (Society of Young Publishers, 2022), so I tried my best to embrace the nerves and strike up some conversations. Once we had settled into the environment, it became a slightly less intimidating, and while there were many who were just too busy to talk to us students, the few who did find the time to make us feel welcome and offer their much-appreciated advice were enough to ensure that I left each day feeling a sense of achievement.

Make the most of seminars.

There were countless seminars taking place on each day of the fair. I had created a list of seminars I wanted to attend, but there were many on the list that I didn’t manage to see, often small capacity of the theatres. However, I did still get the opportunity to sit in on some insightful talks focusing on topics such as diversity and inclusion, translation, and cultural resilience. 

The seminars often focused on issues that are currently relevant in the industry, with AI and BookTok being among the popular topics, so attending some to gain an awareness of what is happening in the publishing world is vital. I would suggest attending seminars with a variety of themes, to gain a wide understanding of the industry and feel better equipped to work within it. 

The connections you make will surprise you.

Speaking about the “invaluable” connections made at LBF, Co-Head of the UK Book Division at WME, Hellie Ogden, stated that she loves “the connections, the laughs, the friendships and even the inevitable small talk” (Cited by Tivnan, 2024). Not only did I leave London Book Fair with some new professional connections, but the event also acted as a great opportunity to meet fellow students hoping to start a career in the publishing industry, both from elsewhere in the UK and further afield. We had already been in contact with some students from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, but the number of other students we bumped into was a welcome surprise. These may not have been the connections that I was initially aiming for, but they may be some of the most rewarding. I now feel as though I am part of a supportive community of publishing hopefuls about to start our journeys into the industry. 

Bibliography: 

Anderson, P., 2024, London Book Fair Closes, Citing 30,000 Attendees [Online] Available at: https://publishingperspectives.com/2024/03/london-book-fair-closes-citing-30000-attendees/ [Accessed: 25 March 2024].

Creamer, E., 2024, Romantasy, AI and Palestinian voices: publishing trends emerge at London book fair[Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/15/romantasy-ai-and-palestinian-voices-publishing-trends-emerge-at-london-book-fair [Accessed: 25 March 2024]

Society of Young Publishers, 2022, Networking in Publishing [Online] Available at: https://thesyp.org.uk/2022/05/networking-in-publishing/ [Accessed: 25 March 2024]

Tivan, T., 2024, My LBF: Hellie Ogden, Co-head, UK book division, WME [Online] Available at: https://www.thebookseller.com/features/my-lbf-hellie-ogden-co-head-uk-book-division-wme [Accessed: 25 March 2024]