Tag Archives: London Book Fair

London Book Fair 2024 – Day 1 Round Up

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The largest Spring gathering of the international publishing industry assembled at Olympia today, as The London Book Fair kicked off its first day. Thousands of exhibitors and visitors from the UK and around the world gathered to do business, share expertise, network, and attend sessions covering topics including platforming marginalised voices, sustainability, tips for writers, social media, and new global trends.

Gareth Rapley, Director of The London Book Fair,said: “What an amazing opening day of LBF! It’s been brilliant seeing global publishing all under one roof and the excitement in the room has been so great to see. the buzz has been incredible. From our International Author of the Day, Taylor Jenkins Reid, to the Selfie Awards and incredible talks from authors including Gavin Esler, Lemn Sissay, Kit de Waal, and Joe Haddow, it’s been an incredible first day. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back across the next two days.”

Clockwise from Top Left to Bottom Right: Gavin Esler, Lemn Sissay, Kit de Waal and Joe Haddow on Author HQ, A busy Olympia for The London Book Fair 2024, Taylor Jenkins Reid, International Author of the Day, Jonathan Karp of Simon and Schuster in conversation with Porter Anderson

Highlights from Day One of the Fair:

There was a Welcome Address from BBC and Sky Arts journalist Geeta Pendse which was followed by Esther Fung, Social Media and Marketing Coordinator at Pangobook, and Lea Crumpton, Content Creator and Bookseller, discussing the growing influence of BookTok and Bookstagram, and how these spaces are revolutionising reading habits.

Jonathan Karp, President and Chief Executive Officer at Simon & Schuster, and Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief at Publishing Perspectives, held the opening keynote address, which explores S&S’s outlook on the evolving world of content and the innovative directions they envision for the future.

Jasmine Richards, Founder of Storymix, Vicky Palmer, Creative and Marketing Director, Hodder & Stoughton, Ken Wilson-Max, Publisher at Kumusha Books and HarperCollins Children’s Books, and Hannah McMillian, Director at Midas, delved into their expert advice on how to prepare for the publication of your next book, with

Lisa Sharkey, Senior Vice President Executive Director of Creative Development at HarperCollins Publishers, Ain Chiara Bensenouci, Publishing Consultant, Jojo Schlattner, Senior Social Media Manager and Ashley Baugh, Associate Director at Midas, shared how authors can use social media to boost their brand and promote their books.

International Author of the Day, Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times and Sunday Times Bestselling author of Mailbu Rising and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, joined Leonel Teti, Editorial Director at Urano World on the Main Stage to discuss her career and inspiration behind the strong women featured in her popular quartet. Guests at The Fair were excited to hear that Reid’s new project will involve “a good love story.”

Jaclyn Swope, Senior Account Manager at Nielsen BookData, provided an insightful talk of the local and global factors driving varied book markets in 2023, through the combined data of Nielsen BookScan and GfK. The talk revealed that there were over 1bn book purchases in 2023, the top three countries for book sales were France (325m), UK (199m), and Italy (105m)t, and Colleen Hoover remains on all top five bestseller lists across EU and outside.

During the How I Write panel, authors Gavin Esler, Lemn Sissay, Kit de Waal, and Joe Haddow, shared a glimpse into their writing life, and offered insight into how they wrote their best-known books and poetry, find creative inspiration in the everyday, value feedback from the people around them, and how important it is to uphold the human voice in all writing.

Alexander Buchler, Director at Literature Across Frontiers, Dr Richard Davies, Publishing Director at Parthian, Bianca Bellova, Author, and Shelia O’Reilly, Board Member at European & International Booksellers Federation celebrated the European Union Prize for Literature and its evolution and impact on translation across European literacy scenes over the year.

Sir Chris Bryant, Shadow Creative Industries and Digital Minister visited The Fair, adding: “It was a pleasure to visit The London Book Fair and to see the UK’s publishing industry in action. The sector is a huge driver of economic growth in the UK and we are proudly the largest exporter of books in the world. We need to address publishers’ concerns so the industry can thrive and continue to contribute to the wider success of the UK’s Creative Industries.”

The 2024 BookBrunch Selfie Awards winners were also announced with Julia Boggio, taking home Best Adult Fiction for Shooters, Jill Michelle Smith and Jennifer Watson taking Best Children’s Book for Extraordinary Extinct Prehistoric Minibeasts: A First Guide to Fossils, and J F Penn winning Best Memoir/Autobiography for Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking.

A PUBLISHER’S YEAR: APRIL – AWARDS, AGENTS, SERIES

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We have been very busy at Sapere Books in March and April. At the beginning of March, Catherine Isaacs was announced as the winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Popular Fiction Award, which we sponsored, for her absolutely brilliant novel, YOU ME EVERYTHING. We were thrilled to be involved with the award and we have agreed to sponsor it for at least two more years.

A week later we were at London Book Fair, catching up with all of the literary agents we currently work with and meeting with plenty of new ones to discuss what we are looking for. I can’t reveal the outcomes just yet, but we mentioned that we were looking for nautical fiction to one agent and she told us she has an author who has planned a 20-book series of naval thrillers! She is currently discussing the offer with the author, so fingers crossed we will be announcing our first nautical fiction writer very soon!

March saw the release of Alexandra Walsh’s debut thriller, THE CATHERINE HOWARD CONSPIRACY, which has been racing up the charts, as well as the fourth book in Graham Brack’s Josef Slonsky series – FIELD OF DEATH – which readers have completely fallen in love with. April also saw the release of new titles in two more of our most popular series: The Lady Fan Mysteries by Elizabeth Bailey and The Charles Dickens Investigations Series by J C Briggs.

We are preparing lots of fantastic titles for release over the summer, and we have realised that we do not have as many contemporary romantic fiction titles as we do crime and thriller, so we are about to start scouting for romance authors who are writing heart-warming British-set romances, which have the potential to become three or more book series – in the style of Debbie Johnson’s ‘Comfort Food Café’ series and Hannah Ellis’s ‘Hope Cove’ series.

Our most exciting news for April is that we have just officially offered someone our Editorial Assistant job and she accepted! I can’t give any more details just yet, but in next month’s blog post I will be able to introduce her properly!

Amy Durant

KOBO and Curtis Brown Announce Scholarship

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KOBO AND CURTIS BROWN CREATIVE INTRODUCE. KOBO WRITING LIFE 2013 SCHOLARSHIP

 

Any readers of Frost magazine who are interested in a writing career may be interested in this new scholarship from Kobo and Curtis Brown. Companies make tuition at London’s premier writing school accessible for three up-and-coming authors

 

Kobo, a global leader in eReading, and Curtis Brown, one of the UK’s premier literary and talent agencies, have announced that together the companies are introducing the Kobo Writing Life™ Scholarship to advance opportunities for three aspiring writers this year. The Kobo Writing Life Scholarship provides tuition fees for a writer in each of the following course: the three-month novel writing course, three-month writing-for-children course, and six-month novel-writing course. Each course is offered by Curtis Brown Creative and held at their London location.

 

“Kobo Writing Life is dedicated to supporting authors and is committed to allowing them barrier-free access to readers anywhere in the world,” said Mark Lefebvre, Kobo’s Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations. “Excellence in writing is critical and at the heart of an author’s success and we are thrilled to be able to work with Curtis Brown Creative to help writers hone their craft.”

 

“We are very excited to be partnering with Kobo on this initiative to open up our courses to writers who would not otherwise be able to study with us,” said Anna Davis, Director, Curtis Brown Creative.  “Kobo is an energetic supporter of new writing and a generous sponsor of this program.”

 

Applications are now being accepted for the three-month Writing for Children course held April-July. Applicants must complete the online application form and provide the first 3,000 words of their novel in addition to a synopsis. Details of the scholarship for the three-month writing-for-children course starting in September and the six-month novel writing course starting in February will be made available at www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk.

 

Curtis Brown launched its creative writing school in May 2011 as a way to reach new writers and foster their development as authors. In-depth courses are taught by industry experts including bestselling authors, agents and editors from Curtis Brown.  Kobo, through its self-publishing platform Kobo Writing Life, and Curtis Brown Creative are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in writing and have partnered to develop strategic initiatives that foster the development of authors around the world.

 

This is the second project Kobo and Curtis Brown Creative have developed together. The companies also created the Jeffrey Archer Short Story Contest which resulted in a thousand, 100-word submissions to be judged by the author. The finalists will be announced on April 15 at London Book Fair.

Enter the Jeffrey Archer Short Story Challenge!

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Are you in the process of writing a novel? If so, the Jeffrey Archer Short Story Challenge sponsored by Kobo and Curtis Brown Creative is the contest for you! One lucky winner will be awarded the grand prize of free enrolment in an upcoming Curtis Brown online novel writing course.

How to Submit

Authors should submit a 100-word short. The short can consist of any genre of fiction, as long as it stays within the 100-word limit.

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Submission deadline: 15th February 2013.

What Happens Next

The Kobo Writing Life Team will select 20 semi-finalists whose submissions will be collected in a free anthology available on the Kobo site! (Author names and photos will be included here as well, so get ready for your close-up!)

Contest judge and bestselling author Jeffrey Archer will evaluate the 20 semi-finalist submissions and choose three finalists. The finalists will be announced by Jeffrey Archer himself at the Kobo booth at London Book Fair on 15th April 2013.

The three finalists will be requested to submit a 3,000-word excerpt of their novel-in-progress to be judged by Curtis Brown Creative and will receive written feedback.

The lucky grand prize winner will be awarded free enrolment in an upcoming Curtis Brown online novel writing course! The winner will be announced on April 29th, 2013.

Tutors and guest speakers of past Curtis Brown creative writing courses include Jojo Moyes, Tracy Chevalier, Tony Parsons, Harriet Evans and Anna Davis. Find out more about Curtis Brown Creative here.

Full Terms and Conditions

The Contest is open only to legal residents of the forty eight (48) contiguous United States, District of Columbia, the United Kingdom and Canada (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their respective jurisdiction at the time of entry (each entrant, an “Entrant”). Void in Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and where prohibited by law. The Prize consists of free enrolment in one (1) Curtis Brown writing course. The voucher is valid until December 31, 2013.