The London Book Fair (LBF), which is now just nine weeks away, will take place from March 12 to 14 at Olympia London, and continues to release new details about its Seminar Program, including introduction of the new "Audio Alley," a dedicated space for audio exhibitors. This will be complemented by a series of expanded events on the Tech Theatre stage.
The Tech Theatre will cover various topics, including the impact of BookTok and reading trends, AI-powered strategies for authors and publishers, TikTok marketing, and augmented reality picture books for neurodivergent individuals. The main stage will host a panel discussion on the future of audio in publishing, featuring speakers from the Audio Publishers Association, Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, Spotify, and Storytel.
In addition, the Literary Translation Centre will return this year with a diverse program featuring discussions on literary translation, new Nielsen data on literature in translation, self-translation by bilingual poets, and more.
Among the many organizations announced as taking part this year at various events across the fair are BookMachine, the European Union Prize for Literature, Institut Ramon Llull, Literature Across Frontiers, the Pitch Agency, Poetry London, SAGE Publishing, Simon & Schuster, and Taylor & Francis.
“Our Seminar Programme is shaping up nicely, with the Tech Theatre and Literary Translation Centre promising to host fascinating conversations on the cutting-edge topics in the book industry—from BookTok and AI to self-translation,” Gareth Rapley, director of the fair, said in a statement. “And we’re delighted to give prominence to the audio industry, which has shown such strong growth and continues to show huge potential for expansion and innovation.”
Furthermore, the fair has announced that the U.K.–based National Literacy Trust and Book Aid International will benefit from the fair as its joint Charities of the Year.
National Literacy Trust, a charity dedicated to changing lives through literacy, has impacted over 1.3 million children and young people in 2022, providing them access to books and literacy support. In 2024, it celebrates its 30th anniversary, a milestone that will be commemorated at the fair. Book Aid International, on the other hand, marks its 70th year in 2024. The charity is the leading international book donation organization in the U.K., delivering over one million books annually to communities worldwide, where access to books is limited. Their ambitious "Generation Reader" campaign aims to reach 10 million young people in sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring that they have access to books.
“I hope that even more publishers will partner with Book Aid International this year and invite anyone interested in doing so to come and meet them at this year’s London Book Fair,” Nigel Newton, chief executive and founder of Bloomsbury Publishing and president of Book Aid International, said. “LBF represents a great opportunity for connections, and it was at last year’s fair that I introduced Daniel Gorman of English PEN to Alison Tweed of Book Aid International, which led to the supply of thousands of books from PEN Ukraine for their 'Unbreakable Libraries’ project.’ ”
