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Several publishers say they may not be attending the London Book Fair this year amid concerns over the way last year's cancellation was handled and its new 2021 date in June. However others in the industry have expressed their support for the event.
This year's LBF, under new director Andy Ventris, was moved to run from 29th June to 1st July owing to the coronavirus, leading to many organisations running their own mini rights fairs online in the spring. A final decision on what form the fair will take is scheduled for next month.
It follows the late cancellation of last year's event after many firms had already pulled out because of the pandemic. The resulting refund policy, which saw some exhibitors offered 60% of their fees back or, if they chose to turn that down, a transfer of 100% of their fees to a booking for the same package at this year's event, also led to criticism.
Although some publishers and agents have expressed sympathy for the challenge of organising this year's meet-up in the midst of a pandemic and ever-shifting restrictions, others were more critical of the organisers.
A senior industry figure said their company would not be attending, citing disquiet over organiser Reed Exhibitions' refund policy for last year's event and branding the new date in June “completely pointless”. They said there had been a lack of consultation over the rescheduling and an absence of information from organisers, although LBF says it has been holding "open and transparent" discussions with customers.
At indie Orenda, publisher Karen O'Sullivan was also unconvinced the fair was worth it, particularly after 2020's late cancellation. She said: “LBF were terrible last year with their refusal to come to any decisions about the fair until the very last minute, and this year isn't looking very different. We haven't booked a stand, and I'm not prepared to spend money doing so without a fuller picture of what is planned and any alternatives they are considering.”
She added: “We can probably manage without it this year, and although I long to see international colleagues and even domestic friends, it feels like an unnecessary addition to the calendar. There will be many people reluctant to attend because of the ongoing pandemic and its variant bursts, and I'm not thrilled with the timing. It's a busy time of year for us, and if we can take a step away and manage online, we'll be much better placed to cope with the increasing demands of pandemic publishing.”
Lesley O'Mara, m.d. of Michael O'Mara Books, said she was disappointed with the lack of information being supplied about plans for the fair. She said: “LBF carried over a large deposit from last year and if we decide not to participate, can we keep the payment for next year, or do we just lose it? We asked that question in the questionnaire they sent us before Christmas but have received no reply. Frankfurt was far more communicative. Obviously it won’t be worth having a stand, if we have no customers visiting. Our foreign sales department is busy organising a virtual fair.”
One agent told The Bookseller they were “in the dark” about organisers' plans for the fair and said a new advisory board set up for the 2021 event and chaired by David Roche was not updating people in the way previous ones had. Announced last year, the new-look board features heads of trade associations instead of representatives from publishing houses and other organisations.
They said: “The people who now sit on the advisory board as representatives for the industry aren't allowed to discuss the contents of the meetings. Given that everyone in the industry needs to know what to be prepared for way in advance, we're normally discussing this kind of a year ahead. The fact everyone's still in the dark halfway through February suggests they haven't made up their minds and really they need to.”
However, others were more sanguine about the uncertain situation. Agent Lorella Belli admitted the lack of clarity was “not ideal” and was making planning difficult. But, she said: “I guess they are sitting on the fence to see how the situation develops, I just hope there won’t be a repeat of last year, with cancellation at a week’s notice. We’ll be scheduling appointments as usual, and will wait and see if we can have them in person or virtually again. We also had a nice party planned for the first day of the fair in March, which we have now moved to June, so we’d need to know sooner rather than later if the fair is going ahead.”
Literary agent Madeleine Milburn went further, saying criticism of the fair's organisers was “extraordinary”. She said: “How can they give us further clarity when we simply don’t know what the landscape will look like in June? We haven’t had new guidance from the government, and though I know large summer events are starting to be cancelled, the LBF was sensible to move to the end of June. We all thought life would have returned to some sense of normal by then.
“We are keeping the March and October dates for our virtual fairs so we can still keep this framework for the year, but really, this pandemic has made me realise just how much I love a book fair. I always come away with a string of new global relationships and feel truly invigorated to find new talent. We can still do the deals without the fairs, but there’s an energy and buzz that the whole of publishing becomes hooked on, that is simply irreplaceable. The LBF organisers have always bent over backwards to give me a good experience at each fair, and I’m sorry that they’re having to contend with something that is completely out of their hands.”
Isobel Dixon, president of the Association of Authors' Agents and a member of the advisory board, said it was “premature” to push for a final decision before the organisers' promised date.
She said: “Agents by and large go about their business of selling rights all year round, via email and phone calls, as well as at physical fairs when we can have them, but these times call for flexibility and understanding. We can manage our businesses without meeting in person, as the industry has shown, and will wait till it is completely safe to do so again - while looking forward to clarity as soon as London Book Fair can share that information, and at least by the end of March. They are well aware of the discontent about how last year’s LBF cancellation was managed, but this is not the same situation now. “
At Bloomsbury, group sales and marketing director Kathleen Farrar said the firm's sales teams had been given the information they required from fair organisers. She said: “Obviously it is hard for LBF to finalise arrangements when we’re still all waiting on government advice. We’re sympathetic to challenging times we’re in and are pressing on with own 'book fair' digital sell-ins directly with customers irrespective of the fate of physical fairs this year.”
Literary agent Rachel Mills said she was looking forward to fairs starting again but said the way people will approach them in the future could change following the past year's experience. She said: “For us, book fairs are about maintaining and building new relations with international publishers, so that whenever in the year we submit our books, editors are excited to receive them. As soon as we can travel safely again, you can be sure we will take as many opportunities as we can to visit publishers everywhere and reconnect, be it sales trips or book fairs; nothing can compare with real face to face connection.
"With new players such as the Bologna adult fair in the mix, maybe in the future each year we'll evaluate which book fairs to attend, rather than it being LBF and FBF set in stone ‚Äî I can imagine the post pandemic landscape will be different.”
Andy Ventris, director at The London Book Fair, told The Bookseller his team was working "tirelessly" and was in conversation with those affected.
He said: “We are still committed to making a final decision by the end of March as to the form the London Book Fair will take in 2021, and, while we very much hope to be able to deliver a live event in the summer, the LBF team are currently working tirelessly to prepare for all scenarios. We continue to have open and transparent conversations with our customers, partners and advisory board members as we work towards creating opportunities that best suit the industry’s needs at this key time. We welcome all those with queries or concerns to reach out to us directly."
The criticism comes as RELX released its results for 2020 showing Reed Exhibitions saw a fall in revenue to £362m from £1.3bn the previous year. Adjusted operating profit plunged 150%, with the division recording a £164m loss. For the company as a whole revenue was down to £7.1bn from £7.9bn, while profit before tax fell to £1.5bn from £1.8bn.