Under gray, rainy skies visible through the vaulted glass ceilings of the Olympia Exhibition Centre, the aisles were teeming last week during what organizers say was one of the most successful London Book Fairs to date. Overall trade visitor attendance hit 14,572, a 7% increase over last year, with overseas trade visitor attendance an increasingly large presence at the show; it rose by 33.8%, compared to last year.

Several European countries were also exhibiting at LBF for the first time, including Romania, Switzerland and Italy. There was also a strong focus on the Eastern European countries about to join the European Union, with publishing events and readings featuring books from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.

U.S. publishing was represented by a wide array of publishing chiefs; among those spotted were Sally Richardson of St. Martin's, David Shanks of Penguin Putnam and and Larry Kirshbaum of Time Warner, who pronounced the fair "fantastic." Kirshbaum added, "Most of our American buyers are here, including Sam's, Costco and Barnes & Noble," making the fair a great opportunity for doing business. Jane Friedman of HarperCollins revealed that while in London, she would be chairing a meeting of HarperCollins heads to "think about the future of HarperCollins."

Rights continued to be a huge factor at the show. According to fair director Alistair Burtenshaw, 461 tables were booked in the International Rights Centre, an increase of 18% over last year. Perhaps one of the biggest sales of the fair was HarperCollins's world-rights purchase of a book by U2, for a reported $3 million, from agent Ed Victor.

Among the many other deals either concluded or announced were Headline winning an auction for a new book by Monty Roberts (the model for Nicholas Evans's The Horse Whisperer) and Harper signing two new novels by Cecelia Ahern, whose debut novel, PS I Love You, has just been published in the U.S. by Hyperion. Also notable were international sales for The Traveler, a new series recently bought by Doubleday's Jason Kaufman, who also acquired The Da Vinci Code.

On the children's front, Faber & Faber signed Paul McCartney to do a picture book, scheduled for 2005. High in the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tale will be illustrated by Geoff Dunbar and written by McCartney with Philip Ardagh, author of the bestselling Eddie Dickens books, published by Faber (Holt in the U.S).

Robert Gottlieb of Trident Media observed that, while business was brisk, he was generally initiating conversations at the convention but planned to close deals when back in the States. He added that the timing of LBF made it an ideal venue to conduct business, because its scheduling near the end of the first quarter of most firms' financial years finds them flush with money to spend while, by comparison, Frankfurt, in the fourth quarter, sometimes finds purse-strings tightening.

The show displayed some glitz, as Ewan McGregor visited the Time Warner booth to promote his forthcoming Long Way Round, co-written with Charley Boorman (son of film director John Boorman). The two plan to ride round the world on BMW motorbikes, from Calais to New York City, then write up their experiences for fall 2004 publication. The most sought-out invitations were glittery parties thrown by Penguin at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens and by HarperCollins at Home House.

One of the highlights of the show was the finale of the Lit Idol competition to find the brightest new fiction writer. Inspired by television's Pop Idol, the first prize was representation by Curtis Brown. The audience voted for literary favorite Paul Cavanagh, whose Northwest Passage deals with the aftermath of grief and changing family dynamics, but the contest could face a Florida 2000—like controversy, with at least one person admitting to voting multiple times.