Cancelling the event was not unexpected – but will it take long for the industry to recover?
Photo credit: Luminita Roman
Reed Exhibitions has cancelled the 50th edition of the London Book Fair due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In their statement, Reed Exhibitions said: “The London Book Fair 2020, scheduled to take place at Olympia, London, from 10 to 12 March will be cancelled following the escalation of COVID-19 coronavirus in Europe.
“We recognize that business has to continue. With this in mind, we will, of course, support and collaborate with exhibitors and visitors to keep our world moving during this difficult period.
“The London Book Fair will return, better than ever, in 2021.”
The annual international literary event – a global marketplace considered as “a mecca” for European industry and the second only to the Frankfurt Book Fair - anticipated more than 25,000 people involved in the publishing industry to come together, promote their books, sell upcoming releases and negotiate deals.
After publishers and rights agencies began withdrawing - including some of the world’s best-known lights in the global book industry, such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Curtis Brown and Amazon - Reed’s announcement was expected.
“Unsurprising, as walking through the main hall to see none of the big five publishers’ stands would be like being inside some dystopian future where most things have been wiped out by a killer bug,” tweets novelist Stuart Evers.
It is well known that the London Book Fair raises profiles and promotes writers.
“I was due to record a live episode of my writing podcast at the London Book Fair, interviewing former Vogue editor and author Alexandra Shulman in front of an audience”, said Hattie Crisell, 36, a freelance writer and journalist based in London.
“It was disappointing that the event was cancelled, but it was clearly absolutely the right decision.”
Tianna Jones, 34, a writer from Texas, came at the London Book Fair to promote her autobiography: Cali Girl, how did you make it in the treacherous streets of Detroit?
“Unfortunately, the event was cancelled, and it is going to be a financial blow for many in the publishing industry, as lots of business meetings and book deals take place at the fair every year,” said Jones.
“It’s a place which basically sets motion for the 12 months ahead, where royalties, contract negotiations and rights for TV/film are discussed and signed. So for us, it would’ve helped massively,” says Stuart Debar, 31, the CEO of SRL Publishing, a new publishing company based in London.
“You might imagine that as more and more people are staying home, there'd be more sales opportunities - but it's in fact the opposite as people are saving where they can.”
Credit: Luminita Roman
He believes, however, that the industry will recover. “People will always love to read, nothing will ever change that. It's just a matter of when,” Debar said.
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