London will be once again the place where the global publishing industry comes together. The London Book Fair (LBF) 2009 attracted 23,000 visitors from over 100 countries to trade rights, buy or browse books.
What’s New at LBF 2010 – Comic Books
For the first time, the London Book Fair will have a designated Comic and Graphic Novel Pavilion, thus acknowledging the important role that comic books, graphic novels, manga and animé play as part of the publishing industry. Apart from sneak previews of new titles, visitors can also meet key players and see illustrators live at work. Here’s an overview of the seminars exploring the opportunities of the comic book market:
- Cross-Media Horizons: Graphic Novels & Video Games
- Artists at Work
- Getting Graphic Novels and Manga to the Reader
- New Opportunities: Graphic Novels and Digital
- Graphic Novel Industry Unveiled
London Book Fair 2010 at a Glance
LBF 2010 will be held in Halls 1 and 2 at Earls Court Exhibition Center; the official LBF show website has an up-to-date floor plan. Visitors’ entrances are at Brompton and Warwick Road. Here are the opening hours at a glance:
- Monday, April 19th: 9 am – 6:30 pm
- Tuesday, April 20th: 9 am – 6:30 pm
- Wednesday, April 21st: 9 am – 5 pm
London Book Fair 2010: Market Focus South Africa
Every year, LBF picks a new Market Focus country – India in 2009 – a tradition that was established in 2004. This year’s choice is South Africa because of the many literary voices that are united in this one nation. The Market Focus seminar series will educate visitors about South Africa’s book market and fiction, crime and sports writing in particular, but also academic, educational and children’s publishing.
The Market Focus initiative has various goals:
- introduce South African literature and writers to the global publishing industry
- support cultural and publishing relations between South Africa and the international publishing community
- help South African publishers promote their books and literature internationally
- identify new South African authors not yet published in English
- facilitate the liaison of national and international publishers with their counterparts in South Africa
Though London Book Fair has traditionally been an industry fair focused on rights trading, this focus is shifting with more emphasis on publishing trends like digital venues and this year’s comic book pavilion. Popular features like the Literary Cafe, Author of the Day and Cook Book Corner are still very much part of the program.
Readers interested in this article may also want to read about BookExpo America (BEA), taking place from May 25-27 in New York or London Book Fair 2011.
Simone Preuss - Simone is a freelance writer, editor and translator who decided to go solo after a successful career in publishing. That was more than ...
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