The London Book Fair is an annual event that this year took place from 12–14 March. I was lucky to be offered a ticket to attend by Victorina Press the publisher of my novel The String Games. The fair was held at Olympia and the sheer scale of the building, crammed with stalls from publishers around the world, gives a sense of the enormity of the publishing business.
One small section on the ground floor was occupied by the IPG (Independent Publishers Guild) where Victorina Press had a stall. It was great to meet other authors published by Victorina Press and celebrate bibliodiversity. This is a term coined by independent publishers in Chile and adopted by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers. Bibliodiversity provides an opportunity for independent publishers to promote a different outlook and voice from the standardised content offered by major publishers. Victorina Press is an excellent example of bibliodiversity with a broad range of publications including adult novels and children’s fiction, practitioners’ guides, poetry and short fiction. You can read more about bibliodiversity on a blog post written by Danielle Maisano here.
Although the London Book Fair is primarily for industry, there are growing opportunities for writers to enjoy input. I attended several sessions at Author HQ including advice on how to market and promote your work. (You may see some of this learning put into practice as the launch of my novel approaches.) I also had the opportunity to meet friends, put faces to names I knew from social media and approach publishers I had met online. I loved the whole experience and was pleased to see uncorrected proofs of The String Games displayed on the Victorina stall.
I also grabbed a few freebies at the fair and brought home three further proof copies of The String Games.
These are now winging their way to book bloggers who will post reviews as part of my blog tour in May.
There are lots of exciting events happening prior to the launch of The String Games including the release of my debut poetry pamphlet adversaries/comrades. If you fancy coming to the launch of adversaries/comrades please find the details below:
So, that’s a round up of my very busy week. How are things going for you?
the writer is a lonely hunter 
All looks and sounds very exciting Gail – extremely please for you
Very informative post, Gail. Best of luck as you launch “The String Games” and begin your marketing campaign. What an exciting experience this must be for you! Also, thank you for the link to Danielle’s blog. I read it and found it very informative as well as inspirational. This was a great post!!
Thanks, Jim. It’s always great to have your feedback and support.
Congratulations. You’ve worked so hard. I’m glad you’re enjoying your success
Thanks, Paula.