Q&A Gareth Howard, c.e.o., Authoright Author authority


Felicity Wood talks to Authoright c.e.o. Gareth Howard about LBF’s newly improved Author Lounge and why having a place for authors at the fair is more important than ever


The Author Lounge has been revamped this year, why now? We had been saying to the LBF for a couple of years that we know the number of authors attending the fair is increasing and, understandably, most of them are unpublished and they have a lot of questions about publishing. So, because of the way the industry is changing, LBF invited us to curate a new space that would be entirely aimed at authors.


What can authors expect from the new Author Lounge? Te core of what we do is marketing solutions for authors and providing author services, but we are unusual in that we work across the whole industry—from Faber and HarperCollins, to self-publishing companies, to literary agents and retailers like Foyles—but the author is always at the core of what we do. We wanted an area that feels like a home for authors, not just somewhere people try to sell services to authors, but an area where authors can benefit from a roster of events and also just have a place where they can network and socialise.


The industry is changing rapidly, does this new larger home for authors at the LBF reflect this? From my perspective the author is often overlooked, but the reason every single one of us is at the LBF is because somebody, somewhere, put


pen to paper and we need to bring that back to the core. Barriers are being broken down all the time between publishers, agents and authors. Agents are becoming publishers and authors are becoming their own marketers—everybody’s role is changing. We are seeing the 360° publishing solution that publishers used to provide for authors less and less, so even authors that are traditionally published are having to do things themselves and need a place to learn about the industry.


The Author Lounge will see a wide range of seminars, on topics including book cover design, how to get a literary agent and the challenges facing traditional publishers. Can you tell us more? All of the events are focused on the author, we have one seminar looking at the future of bookselling, but we will be bringing it back to the author—does it matter to an author to have their books in a bricks and mortar store and if it does, why? We’ll be looking at self-publishing of course, but we didn’t just want companies there selling services, we wanted to get to nub of what is good self-publishing, what do you need to be aware of, how do you get your book through that white noise?


Is LBF ready for an influx of self-published authors? I’m expecting to see a mix of authors, some of them will have self-


Pitch event. Tis is a terrific opportunity for authors to get some feedback from publishing professionals, and hopefully we’ll hear some irresistible pitches that demand


to be snapped up.” David Haviland at Andrew Lownie Literary Agency


8 THE BOOKSELLER DAILY AT LBF | 15 APRIL 2013


I’m really looking forward to hearing the authors’ pitches at Te LitFactor


Howard: “For us, it is becoming less about self-publishing or traditional publishing, it is just about publishing”


published, some will have traditionally published but are looking for more ideas on book marketing, but probably most of them will be unpublished. We will of course be talking about self- publishing a lot, and self-publishing companies will be there, but these things are becoming blurred. For us, it is becoming less about self- publishing or traditional publishing, it is just about publishing. Tere are all these different grey areas now and it is no longer one thing or the other. I think the days of snobbery towards self-publishing are over and the calibre of speakers we have attending the Author Lounge is testament to that.


At the Author Lounge the LitFactor pitch will give unpublished authors a chance to meet literary agents. Why was this important to you? It was important for us to have the traditional publishing industry represented too, and we believe a great deal in the role of the agent, but just think that they will be doing a lot more. We knew from talking to authors in the past that a lot of them go to the fair desperate to talk to a literary agent, who are all tucked away in the International Rights


Centre with back-to-back meetings. But equally from the work we do with agents, we know they want to become more involved with authors and talk to new authors and so we wanted to give both sides a vehicle for that.


A full list of seminar events can be found at www.londonbookfair.co.uk/ authorlounge.


Agents confirmed to take part in The LitFactor Pitch include Sam Copeland of Rogers, Coleridge & White, Ariella Feiner of United Agents, Simon Benham of MayerBenham Ltd, David Haviland of Andrew Lownie Literary Agency, Lorella Belli of Lorella Belli Literary Agency, Chris Wellbelove of Greene & Heaton, Laura West of David Higham Associates, Jacq Burns of the Jacq Burns Authors’ Agency and Luigi Bonomi, Amanda Preston, Thomas Stofer and Ajda Vucicevic, all from Luigi Bonomi Associates.


Ben Wood, LitFactor and Authoright projects manager says: “The matchmaking of authors and agents is exactly what LitFactor will facilitate online, so it’s fantastic to launch our website and the Pitch at LBF”


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