Alistair Burtenshaw is stepping down from his position as director of books and publishing at Reed Exhibitions, a job which includes the post of director of the London Book Fair. A representative at the British public relations firm Midas Public Relations said he is leaving to "pursue opportunities in the wider creative industries." The Midas rep said that they intend to announce a successor to Burtenshaw "soon."

Burtenshaw released this statement: "It has been a great honour to have been able to lead The London Book Fair through more than a decade of significant growth and development and to have had the opportunity during the last two years to lead the strategic co-ordination and business development activity for Reed Exhibitions' portfolio of book fairs around the globe. During this time I have developed a keen professional interest in the challenges of developing new markets, leveraging new technologies and supporting new readers and look forward to exploring these and other opportunities in the future."