Hailey ’s London Book Fair Experience
The annual three-day London Book Fair was held this month, from March 11th until March 15th. Gathering thousands of publishers, literary agents, editors, readers, and students, the fair offered attendees the opportunity to discover new titles, engage in book panels, and create new connections. The MS in Publishing program from Pace University was present at this event, sending three attendees: Professor Manuela Soares, and graduate students Hailey Hovey and Kayleigh Woltal.
We’ve asked Hailey about her experience at the London Book Fair, as well as her expectations and duties. Following is an interview:
What were your initial expectations before attending the London Book Fair, and how did the experience compare to those expectations?
I mostly expected the entire experience to be completely busy and crazy, which it was! But I didn’t expect to have so much fun helping direct people to find the exhibitor or session they were looking for. Of course, getting to watch the panels was something that I had been looking forward to, but wandering the fair and experiencing the buzz and excitement was truly my favorite part, which I hadn’t expected.
- What were some of the highlights or most memorable moments from your time at the fair?
Getting to know the other volunteers in between sessions or during breaks was a huge highlight of the whole experience for me—learning about the experiences and interests of other publishing students in the UK and New York.
- How do you see the knowledge gained from attending the fair influencing your future career in publishing?
I learned a lot about the types of technology companies that exist specifically for publishing and what they are doing to benefit publishers and authors. Familiarizing myself with what’s available and possible to accomplish influences how I present myself and my skills to be a greater asset to wherever I work in the future.
- What were some of the most surprising and unexpected aspects of the trip for you?
I didn’t expect us to get to every London bookstore from our list in our limited free time, but we did! We definitely made the most of our time there. Something unexpected specifically from the fair was having the freedom to coordinate with the other volunteers to make sure we could listen to all the sessions we were interested in and getting the chance to move around rather than being stuck at one place the whole day. There was never a dull moment because of this!
- Did you have any free time to explore London or immerse yourself in the culture outside of the fair?
Besides a quick tour of the venue, our first day was completely free, so we visited a ton of bookstores and walked down Cecil Court, which had a few extremely small and specific bookstores (antique, first editions, etc.) We also walked around Piccadilly Square and saw Big Ben.
- What advice would you give to future students attending international book fairs for the first time?
Be open-minded to talking to new people and find personal connections. Also, study the events to figure out which ones you are interested in so you can adjust your work locations accordingly and be better prepared to help other fair attendees find where they are supposed to go.
What was the most interesting place you visited in London?
My favorite was The Word on the Water bookstore. It was a bit far to get to and closed earlier than the others but so worth the extra effort to get there! It is a small bookstore on a boat, and it felt so cozy and had a good variety of books for its size.
- Did you buy any books? What influenced your decision to purchase?
I bought a handful of books (though not at the fair—there were not really any opportunities to get books there), and most of the time my decision was influenced by the covers. The UK versions of my favorite books had beautiful covers, so I ended up buying the entire Once Upon a Broken Heart series by Stephanie Garber and a special edition of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, along with two new books: The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.