Program Highlights
The London Book Fair will host more than 150 talks and panels across several stages
Want to understand the forces impacting the global publishing industry in 2024 and beyond? Look no further than the London Book Fair’s Seminar Program, set to run March 12–14 at Olympia London. This year’s slate of events features industry leaders, experts, authors and A-listers and will explore hot topics including the rise of AI, the boom in digital audio, the influence of BookTok and social media, the translation market, copyright, threats to the freedom to read and publish, and geopolitical forces affecting the book world. What follows are highlights drawn from the conference program. For a full list, consult the London Book Fair website.
Tuesday, March 12 A NEW GENERATION OF READERS: HOW BOOKTOK IS DIVERSIFYING READING AND UNIFYING READERS
Tech Theatre, 9:30–10:15 a.m.
Esther Fung, social media and marketing coordinator at PangoBook, and bookseller Léa Crumpton, both book influencers, will break down how BookTok and Bookstagram are changing reading habits, and offer tips on how to create one’s own successful accounts. OPENING KEYNOTE: A CONVERSATION WITH JONATHAN KARP, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SIMON & SCHUSTER
Main stage, 10:30–11 a.m.
Jonathan Karp, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster, will talk about the global publishing landscape and the future of the venerable publisher—which celebrates its centennial in April—in the wake of its recent acquisition by private equity firm KKR, in conversation with
Publishing Perspectives’ Porter Anderson.
PUBLISHERS, COPYRIGHT & AI: TAKING ACTION
Tech Theatre, 10:30–11 a.m.
There is little debate that generative AI will change the publishing business. Here, scholarly publishers will weigh in on the intersection of publishing, copyright, and AI, including
Claire Harper, head of global rights and licensing at Sage, and Sarah Fricker, group head of legal at the Institute of Physics, moderated by the Copyright Clearance Center’s Chris Kenneally.
LOCAL BOOKS, GLOBAL TRENDS: INTERNATIONAL BOOK MARKETS IN 2023
International Markets Theatre, 11–11:45 a.m.
Jackie Swope, senior account manager, book research for Nielsen BookData, will offer an overview of and key insights into the local and global factors driving varied book markets in 2023 using the combined data of U.K.-based Nielsen BookScan and GfK, Germany’s largest market research company.