By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story, a digest of the London Book Fair, notes that while organizers have managed to fill in the gaps of author readings, many trade panels and events have simply been canceled. And no one is trying to find a way to teleconference people in or to schedule online chats, which would seem logical and quite …
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 …
LBF Message to South Africans Marooned at Home
By Edward Nawotka Here is a quick hello to everyone who could not make it to the London Book Fair this year from Alistair Burtenshaw (Director of the London Book Fair), Susie Nicklin (Director of Literature at the British Council) and Amy Webster (International Key Accounts Manager at the London Book Fair). httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDva82PRlz0
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 …
Did You Hear Anything New at LBF’s Digital Conference?
By Edward Nawotka We know that many of you didn’t make it to the London Book Fair for their digital conference, but we hope our digest of the day will help you feel a little like you were there. For those who did make it to the event, we’re curious if you heard anything new at the conference? What struck …
London Book Fair Digital Conference Digest: “Take Risks, Fail, Learn and Try Again”
By Liz Bury The pre-show digital day at London Book Fair kicked off in good spirits on Sunday but regrettably, with numbers depleted due to the volcano eruption in Iceland. Slated speakers Susan Danziger from America’s DailyLit and Michael Tamblyn from Canada’s e-book store Kobo were absent, and about 20% of the seats at the sell-out conference were empty. The …
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 …
So Many Book Conferences, So Little Time
By Edward Nawotka This week, while my colleagues were at O’Reilly’s Tools of Change for Publishing conference in New York, I was doing something more prosaic: serving jury duty in Houston. As it turns out, you’re not allowed to drive a drag racer on US federal highways. Who knew? The one thing about jury duty is that even though you …
Global Trade Talk: The Fight for Bologna’s Fourth Day, LBF Highlights Russia in 2011
By Edward Nawotka The Bologna Children’s Book Fair may be forced to reinstate its fourth day following protests from international publishers, reports The Bookseller. Fair organizers decided to shorten the event from four days to three without consulting exhibitors, or without a reduction of fees. Numerous publishers have refused to pay deposits for next year exhibits until the fourth day …