PAlestina, artificial intelligence and romance were high on the agenda at this week’s London Book Fair. More than 30,000 agents, authors, translators, publishers and other book industry professionals gathered at Olympia London to secure deals and discuss publishing trends, challenges and emerging genres. Here we’ll summarize the main takeaways and give you an overview of what we can expect to see in bookstores over the next year or so.
Palestinian voice
On the first day of the fair, Book Workers for a Free Palestine held an outdoor vigil to “mourn the deaths of Palestinian writers, poets, scholars, and journalists killed by Israel.” Ayla Ahmed wrote, publishing director at Penguin. English PEN held two seminars focused on Palestine and freedom of expression, featuring writers including Isabella Hamad, who was recently nominated for the Women’s Prize.
“It has been very difficult to make room for poetry in the face of the violence we are seeing,” Rafeef Jidaa said at the fair. “Many people have written to me, saying, ‘Why didn’t you write a poem like this?’ we teach life?’ Poetry doesn’t work that way. I don’t stand by in case of war. ” On the deal side, Profile Books won the rights to publish What Israel Fears from Palestine. Written by Raja Shehade. Explores opportunities for peace that have been “denied by Israel” since its founding in 1948. Shehadeh explores “what went wrong over and over again and why.”
neurodiversity
The book, which features a neurodiverse protagonist, was praised in conversations that included author Marina Magdalena. Its Antigone Kingsley series, about a girl with ADHD, is one of many new books featuring neurodiverse protagonists. Pamela Accury’s talk focused on how augmented reality technology can enrich the reading experience for neurodiverse children. “Not all great minds think the same way,” Aculley says. The discussion comes after Fern Brady won the inaugural Nero Nonfiction Award for Strong Female Character, her memoir about growing up as an undiagnosed autistic person.
Impact of AI
“Writers are very special and will not be replaced by machines,” Bill Thompson from BBC Research and Development told Fair in one of his many talks on AI and publishing. “[But the] Publishing industry? Wow, it’s going to be chaotic. Entire industries will be transformed. ” AI will change the way publishers approach copyright, marketing, distribution, e-books and translation, he added.
Panelists emphasized that AI models such as ChatGPT have the potential to be used as collaborative tools for writers. “It won’t write the book for you, but when your family is tired of you,” or when your children don’t talk about character development, AI will step on your shoulder.” It will be. “It’s always there, never gets tired of it, never stops. Kate Devlin, Reader in AI and Society at King’s College London, added that AI was used “adversarially”. She asked ChatGPT to give her a gateway into the chapter because she had a “really bad experience of being stuck in her writing career.” She was “absolutely against” the suggestion and “very upset” that her response cleared her of writer’s block.
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BookTok and Romantasy
This year, there was also a focus on romance and romantasy (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy), with a discussion of BookTok and the genres it has soared. Lucy Hale, managing director of publisher Pan, said Love Stories was also popular with publishers, who reported high demand for Romantasy. bookstore. Del Rey’s Trace of the Penguin The UK and US have acquired the rights to Silvercloak by Laura Stephen. The film is described as a romantic fantasy set in a world where “crime is rampant, magic is fueled by pain and pleasure, and mafia groups lurk in every alley.”
Greek retelling
The recent wave of Greek retellings, pioneered by the success of titles such as Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, is far from over. This week’s fair saw two new acquisitions in this field. Magic Cat Publishing has acquired the rights to Sea Speaks, a feminist reimagining of the Greek language. Mythology by classical scholar Honor Cargill Martin. Meanwhile, HarperNorth has acquired Bad Girls of Ancient Greece by debut author Lizzie Tiffin, which is described as a “guide to all the villains of ancient Greece” including Athena, Medusa, Aphrodite and Polifonte.
climate
Sustainability in publishing continues to be a hot topic this year, with over 20 events held in our dedicated Sustainability Hub. Penguin social impact director Sienna Parker said at the fair: Declare the Pledge of Publishing The 184 signatories agreed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2050, helping to “revitalize” the industry. But the “next step” is to help signatories “deliver on their pledges,” Parker added.
The fair also welcomed two new books about the ocean. Ocean, by David Attenborough and Colin Buttfield, is scheduled to be published on May 8, 2025, on Attenborough’s 99th birthday. Coastlines: A 4-billion-year journey along the world’s coasts, by Ben Wilson. Both are published by the Hachette imprint.
