Next year, Canongate won’t be exhibiting at the LBF at Olympia. For anyone who knows the publishing house, this might seem surprising. After all, book fairs have been enormously important for Canongate over the decades, and for many different reasons.

Book fairs have enabled us to build a sizeable network, in dozens and dozens of countries, of like-minded partners from whom we learn a great deal. This "coalition of the willing" has allowed us to further our shared desire to publish great books and reach wide and diverse audiences. And then there is the buying and selling of rights.

We handle international rights in select titles for many important authors on our list – including Matt Haig, Ruth Ozeki, Nick Cave, Ana Diamond, Amy Liptrot, Olivia Laing, Shaun Usher, Michel Faber, Rebecca Solnit, Margaret Atwood, Jo Marchant, David Eagleman, Chloe Dalton, Claudia Hammond, James Meek, Nan Shepherd, Gil Scott-Heron and Rick Rubin  – and book fairs provide a vital opportunity to promote these titles, as well as celebrate successes with our international partners.

However, instead of taking our usual stand at LBF 2026, we have decided to take over the Taste of Joy Cafe on Russell Gardens to hold all our meetings. It’s a lovely space, a very short walk from Olympia, and the owner could not be more accommodating and welcoming. We’ll be serving excellent coffee, pastries and sandwiches during meetings – and next door to it is Cibo, one of my favourite Italian restaurants in London, where we will hold lunches each day.

At Canongate, we always try and challenge ourselves to do things differently, because we know that doing things in the same ways breeds familiarity and restricts innovative thinking

Money was one of the factors in this decision. We are always interrogating how we spend our money and how we can get the most bang for our bucks – and the cost of taking space and building a stand at Olympia is sizeable (even if the stand isn’t!).

However, we also felt like approaching this year’s fair in a different way. At Canongate, we always try and challenge ourselves to do things differently, because we know that doing things in the same ways breeds familiarity and restricts innovative thinking. We will undoubtedly learn new things next March, and have different conversations. And I feel confident that our many meetings will be that much more memorable, because they will be taking place in a space that is more convivial and conducive to conversation.

Every year we also throw, with our friends at SunnyMarch, a party for 400 people on the Wednesday night of LBF. This celebration of the inspiring community which we feel so lucky to be part of is another way we think our time and resources are well spent during the fair – and I’m delighted to say that is a tradition we plan to continue. After all, there is only so much talking you should do.