LONDON, 11 March 2025: The London Book Fair, the largest Spring gathering of the international books industry, saw publishing professionals from all over the globe descend on Olympia today for the first day of programming. Thousands of exhibitors and visitors gathered to make deals, share knowledge and experiences, make new connections, and learn about new and pressing matters within the book industry today.
Adam Ridgway, Director of The London Book Fair, said: “We had a fantastic first day at LBF this year! It’s been wonderful to see such a vibrant and enthusiastic international community of book and publishing professionals gather here at Olympia today. With amazing talks from Keynote Speakers James Daunt and David Shelley, along with insightful and engaging sessions from authors such as Claudio Piñeiro, Elif Shafak, Adele Parks, Bobby Palmer, and so many others, it’s been a highly exciting day! With such a buzzy first day, we can’t wait to welcome everyone back for the next two days of the Fair.”
Highlights from Day One of The London Book Fair (Tues 11 March):
A Welcome Address from Journalist, Editor, and Critic, Alex Peake-Tomkinson, was given, followed by a discussion with first keynote speakers, CEO of Hachette Book Group USA and Hachette UK, David Shelley, and Founder of Daunt Book & Managing Director of Waterstones, James Daunt CBE, about the growing environment of publishing, with a focus on book publishing and sales across the Atlantic.
Lou Gilmond, Author and Founder & Publisher of Fairlight Books, Amber Ivatt, the Head Publicist at Bonnier Books, Director and Publisher of Authentic Worth, Esther Solomon-Turay, and Co-founder of The bks Agency, James Spackman, gave guidance on how to best prepare from the publication your next book.
Throughout his Faster, Higher, Stronger? The UK & International Book Markets in 2024 talk, Steve Bohme, the Research Director at NielsenIQ BookData, gave an informative overview of the buying trends of consumers in 2024. With data from 17 different countries, the talk gave a global-scale view of these trends, the data was collected using BookScan sales tracking service and UK Books & Consumer survey.
Claudia Piñeiro was the International Author of the Day. An Argentine Author best known for her crime and mystery novels, with a majority becoming bestseller in Argentina & worldwide, her work can be found on Prime Video in the film Dark Buildings based on her novel Las Grietas de Jara, while her book Elena Knows was adapted by Netflix. She discussed with BBC journalist Andrea Kidd her work & career, in a captivation session.
Mark Searle, MD Licensing of DK, and José Manuel Anta, Managing Director of the Federación de Gremios de Editores de España, sat on a panel with Porter Anderson, the Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives, to discuss to evolution of licensing strategy in a digital age, and how to best navigate these changes.
On Author HQ, popular authors Elif Shafak (There Are Rivers in the Sky, The Island of Missing Trees), Adele Parks (First Wife’s Shadow, Just Between Us) and Bobby Palmer (Isaac and the Egg) talk to Georgina Moore (The Garnett Girls) talked about their writing life and processes, offering insight into how they wrote their well-known books.
The AI and Copyright: Policy Developments in the UK and US panel, with Maria Pallante, the President and Chief Executive at the Association of American Authors, and Dan Conway, the CEO of the Publishers Association, discussed the issue of AI and how the policies surrounding the topic may have global consequences.
Mariella Frostrup, Broadcaster, Journalist, and Campaigner, Rachel Ghiazza, Chief Content Officer at Audible, and Amanda D’Acierno, President of Penguin Random House Audio, Global, and Chantal Restivo-Alessi, the Chief Digital Officer and CEO International Foreign Language for HarperCollins Publishers.
The Carnegie Medal for Writing Shortlist was announced on Day 1 in the Focus Theatre. This year’s shortlist is: Kelly McCaughrain – Little Bang (Walker), Clare Furniss – The Things We Leave Behind (Simon & Schuster), Matt Goodfellow – The Final Year (Otter Barry Books), Blessing Musariri – All That It Ever Meant (Head of Zeus), Luke Palmer – Play (Firefly Press), Margaret McDonald – Glasgow Boys (Faber & Faber), Nathanael Lessore – King of Nothing (Bonnier Books), Brian Conaghan – Treacle Town (Andersen Press).