thebookseller.com THURSDAY 16 03.2017 At the London Book Fair Visit us at
STAND 2c82
Fairgoers ‘upbeat’ but editors hedge bets WORDS The Bookseller news team P
UBLISHERS AND AGENTS have noted an “upbeat” mood at this year’s fair,
with many saying that the publishing industry can play an important role in helping people to navigate through or escape from the prevailing turbulent political climate.
In the first London Book Fair since the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election, many fair- goers said politics was a hot topic during discussions, with more politically themed books
seeping through into submis- sions. However, others reported quieter trade than usual, with no single big book being chased by multiple houses, a possible consequence of the fair running a month earlier than usual. Publishers have been looking
to foreign fiction, such as Swed- ish psychological thriller In the Mire by Susanne Jansson (see p05), pre-empted in multiple territories and on auction in the UK as The Bookseller Daily went to press. Meanwhile, with the
value of the pound down, UK publishers with hot properties are finding US and European publishers are more eager than usual to acquire them, owing to the improved exchange rate. Litle, Brown and Orion c.e.o.
David Shelley said: “The mood of the fair is very positive. It feels as though there are a good number of rights deals happening, and although there is anxiet about the political situation in vari- ous parts of the world, there is also a desire for books that help
explain the world we currently live in and the trends that we are seeing across the globe.” His thoughts were echoed by Canongate c.e.o. Jamie Byng, who added: “The mood feels upbeat, with publishers positive about the world of books—even if the world seems troubled and the planet’s future uncertain.” Books with politics as a theme have been popular, said PFD agent Alexandra Cliff. “There seems to a very political mood this year, unsurprisingly, and there’s an appetite from editors for books that tap into that,” she said. However, she found it “interesting” that there had not been “that one big thriller or psychological suspense novel that everyone is talking about”. Kate Mills, publisher at HarperCollins imprint HQ, said editors had largely been looking further afield, to foreign titles. In terms of content, “everyone is just looking for something that makes them feel beter, that makes them feel good and as though they are in charge of their own lives”, she said.
Ready to rock: Obama’s right-hand man signs with John Murray Press
John Murray Press m.d. Nick Davies has nabbed a title by Alan Krueger, a former adviser of Barack Obama, that uses the music industry to explain “the dismal science of economics”. Davies “acted swiſtly” to pre-empt UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown for Rock- onomics, making an offer on Sunday night (12th March) that Wise signed off the follow- ing aſternoon. Princeton professor Krueger was Obama’s chief economic adviser for three
INSIDE
years, and he also served in the US Treasury. In Rockonomics, he will use the music world to show how economics works, as many factors that are integral to how finance works (supply and demand, demographics, income paterns) are also integral to the music industry. Davies called it “pop econom- ics at its best”, adding: “Just when I thought it was shaping up to be a low- key LBF, I got this stellar proposal. I’m thrilled to have won the book—and with an old-fashioned book fair pre-empt.”
orld any
orks ome c
Faber signs jungle legend Goldie p04 · Swedish début sets LBF alight p05 · British Book Awards contenders revealed p18 Keith Houston muses on the future of the book p24 · 404 Ink’s founders discuss their ethos p29 · Horace Bent at LBF p34
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36