Alistair Burtenshaw, Group Exhibition Director of the London Book Fair, talks about the Fair’s 40th Year By Edward Nawotka The London Book Fair, which kicks off today, certainly has a knack for timing. Last year, volcanic ash prevented a significant part of the international publishing community from making the Fair — fully 30% of registered attendees. This year, political upheaval …
LBF Digest: Tales of the “Hero Fair Goers”
By Ramy Habeeb, founder and CEO, Kotobarabia.com I think one of the most depressing things that a truly committed publisher can see are empty bookshelves. And that certainly was the case at the London Book Fair, where many publishers were unable to shelve their booths with that most precious of commodities, their books. When I first entered the fair, I …
LBF Digest: Erupting Eyjafjallajökull is Unexpected Boon to Some Authors
By Liz Bury The London Book Fair 2010 will no doubt go down in publishing folklore as, like the title of an episode of Friends, “the one with the volcano.” Monday was to be the busiest day in Earls Court in London, but the aisles were noticeably quiet. Simon Master, former Random House deputy chairman and now adviser to the …
Many Germans Absent from LBF
By Siobhan O’Leary Like much of the rest of the world, many German publishers headed to the London Book Fair were stopped in their tracks by the wrath of Eyjafjallajökull. According to the Boersenblatt, representatives of S. Fischer, Tessloff, KiWi and Rowohlt were among those who did not make it to the Fair. Suhrkamp staff were also grounded and at …
If Canceled, Will You Rebook for London?
By Edward Nawotka Canceled flights, hotel receptionists that won’t refund your room deposit, thwarted plans…Iceland’s volcanic eruption is throwing travel to the UK into disarray and the skies over London may not clear till Monday. Liz Bury discusses the situation in more detail in today’s lead story. Still, the London Book Fair is an important fixture on many the publishing …
Volcano Threatens London Book Fair’s Digital Day
By Liz Bury By now it’s well known that plumes of volcanic ash from an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland have drifted across the Atlantic to cover Europe at high altitude. The ash is damaging to aircraft engines and the UK National Air Traffic Service announced that all the country’s airports have been shut down until at …