11th March 2025


Interview Q&A


Gloria Bailey


The PA’s associate director for export services has been running its collective stand at exhibitions across the globe since the 1980s. After 120-plus shows, the book-fair stalwart has been named this year’s LBF Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Questions by Tom Tivnan


Can you reflect on the award: what it means for you personally, but also perhaps for the Publishers Association, too? I am humbled and honoured to receive this award. My aim is to support and assist publish- ers as best I can so they can grow their export business. It never occurred to me that what I do would warrant such a recognition. We are a small team at the PA – led by CEO Dan Conway, our general counsel and deputy CEO Catriona MacLeod Stevenson – and we all work together to deliver for our members, so this award is for them as much as it is for me.


What are your career highlights? Receiving an MBE in the 2003 New Year Honour list for services to book publishing; being recognised by the Beijing International Book Fair as part of its 30th anniversary last year for my contribution to advancing co-operation between our two industries over the past 12 years; and now LBF’s Lifetime Achievement Award are definitely high points. I am also delighted to have worked with several publishers when they started out and watched them grow to become award winners: Sweet Cherry, Magic Cat (see pp28-29) and Nosy Crow are just some of the publishers who did their first book fairs with the PA.


What do you think is the key to your role? You need good organisation skills and an aptitude for administration, as there is a lot of paperwork involved before you get onsite. Building good relationships with fair organis- ers, stand contractors, shippers and caterers is vital. Sometimes things go wrong, and you have to work with them to fix the problem. Creating a pleasant experience for publishers


so they continue to exhibit with us is also important. This involves negotiating discounts on hotel rooms and with suppliers to keep costs down; and arriving onsite earlier to check every- thing is built and delivered as ordered and get problems rectified before the publishers arrive, as this all contributes to providing a seamless and stress-free service for publishers.


Since we are here at LBF, do any particular years stand out? Definitely 2010, when the ash cloud grounded all flights in and out of London and produced the quietest book fair ever. All the stands were built but there were no overseas exhibitors, only those from Europe who either drove or came by Eurostar. The year we moved from Olympia to Excel also stands out, as after just one fair, publishers refused to go back to Excel: the distance from central London and limited number of hotels were among reasons given


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for not wanting to go back. The following year, we moved to Earl's Court.


I know you can’t say, but is there any fair you particularly look forward to each year? I really like all the fairs I go to, but Bologna is a favourite due to its location and time of year. Who wouldn’t want to go to Italy in the spring? I have a fantastic relationship with all the teams at the Fiere, so working with them is a joy.


Every decade or so, a new technology makes people say book fairs are over. Why do you think people keep returning year after year? Our industry relies on finding new customers, and face-to-face meetings are important. During the pandemic, some of the publishers told me it was difficult to read a customer’s body language over Zoom, so they could not tell if they liked a book or not. In children’s publishing you need to touch and feel the book – again, you can’t do that over Zoom. Finally, there are the serendipity meetings, and you definitely can’t do those by Zoom, so in-person book fairs contribute to how publishers grow their business.


Bailey will be presented with her Lifetime Achievement Award tomorrow (12th March) at 5.30pm on the Main Stage


London Book Fair


Interview


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