RX, parent company of the London Book Fair, has announced Emma Lowe as the new director of the fair. She will succeed Adam Ridgway, who is retiring after a 36-year career in conferences and exhibitions. Lowe will be the fourth new director of the fair in the past five years.
Ridgway ran the fair for one year, having taken over from Gareth Rapley in April 2024. Rapley, who joined London Book Fair in September 2022 and ran two editions of the fair in 2023 and 2024, had succeeded Andy Ventris, who left in May 2022 after being appointed in November 2020. Ventris had replaced Jacks Thomas, who departed in 2020 following the cancellation of the fair due to Covid-19. Thomas now serves as director of BolognaBookPlus.
Lowe will assume her new position in July. In the interim, Rapley will return temporarily to oversee the fair as interim portfolio director for LBF at RX.
Lowe brings more than two decades of book industry experience to the role. She began her career at RX working on LBF, ultimately serving as head of sales. From 2014 to 2023, she worked as commercial director at the Bookseller magazine. Her recent positions include publishing account director at GlassBoxx and head of events at HarperCollins UK, where she managed internal and external corporate events, including the publisher's presence at both the London and Frankfurt book fairs.
"The London Book Fair was my runway into this wonderful world of books, and I'm delighted to be returning at such an important moment for in-person businesses," Lowe said in a statement. "We are an industry that thrives on face-to-face interaction and the moments when we come together are absolutely vital to our publishing ecosystem."
During her time at the Bookseller, Lowe managed events including the British Book Awards, FutureBook, and the magazine's annual Marketing and Publicity Conference. At GlassBoxx, she assisted the e-commerce solutions provider with its publishing industry collaborations.
Rapley expressed confidence in the appointment. "We're thrilled to have found someone who has the unique combination of experience of RX, knowledge of LBF and a well-rounded understanding of the book industry," he said. "The last few years have been a time of great change for the Fair, following the disruption caused by the pandemic and the ongoing reconstruction works at Olympia."
Lowe acknowledged her experience at HarperCollins while explaining her decision to accept the new role. "I've loved my year at HarperCollins. Being part of the dynamic team that organized the unveiling and celebration of the new warehouse at Robroyston was a particular highlight and honor," she said. "But opportunities like this don't come up very often and having gone from The Bookseller to a tech disruptor, to a big four publisher, I am hugely excited to be getting back to my roots at the centre of the trade, and reinforcing London as the natural home of the international rights business."
The 2026 London Book Fair is scheduled for March 10-12 at Olympia London.
