London Book Fair: 10 takeaways

The London Book Fair, one of the key events in the global publishing industry, took place at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, where Ukraine also had a national stand. Each year, the fair gathers over a thousand exhibitors from across the globe and draws about 30,000 attendees, including publishers, agents, authors, translators, and other book industry professionals.

This year’s London Book Fair opened with a focus on education. Doesn’t that speak for itself? The largest stands at the entrance, located directly across from each other, belonged to Oxford University Press and Shanghai Century Publishing Group. Beyond them stretched endless rows of educational books, exam prep materials, and a bit of children’s literature.

This year’s fair included several new additions, including the Sensory Calm Room and an increasing number of inclusive spaces. Estonia exhibited consistently high-quality, vibrant stands (small ones), as did Poland (a medium one). The industry giants were there too: France, Germany, and the big five from the UK. That remained unchanged. 

The Emirates and the entire Arab world are rapidly learning and adapting to the “local style.” Before, they assumed one huge, empty space with a small number of local books. Now, “on a grand scale,” their stands were scattered throughout the fair, strategically placed near event venues. The style was more restrained and European, with a greater number of negotiation tables and British representatives working the reception desks since not everyone managed to make it to the opening.

RELATED: Audible expands into 11 new global markets

In reality, most of the meeting spaces remained reserved for agent meetings; in 2026, this area expanded slightly once again. In 2025–2026, the London Book Fair featured approximately 1,500-1,700 meeting tables with about 550 in the International Rights Centre and another thousand or so at exhibitors’ stands. This was the only sector where work, in 15-minute slots, continued at a feverish pace right up until closing time.

It seems that the region’s book industry has come to terms with reality and continues to develop its strategies by calculating the profitability of various business areas. Discussions around AI and copyright are no longer fueled by outrage or fear of the unknown, but rather by numbers and conversations about compensation. Business is business.

Within the first few hours at the London Book Fair, I realized: this is no longer a typical fair, but rather a nerve-wracking assessment of what will become of books as a product in the coming years.

1. Main stage: Weldon and the long shadow of the crisis

Thomas Weldon, CEO of Penguin Random House UK, opened the main stage proceedings by stating that 2026 is not just another “tough year,” but a moment when the industry must finally decide where it is headed after an endless “high-pressure mode.” His speech was filled with cautious optimism (as was the case on the NielsenIQ BookData stage), but the main point was a stark reality: without investing in the reader as a long-term project, there is no format that will save us.

His speech sounded almost like a political one, but it was addressed not to voters, but to those who haven’t lost the habit of buying books yet. The problem is that mostly book producers made up the audience. Weldon talked about the “pipeline of readers,” from toddlers just learning to hold a book to adults who, over the past decade, have simply stopped reading in their leisure time. Weldon also mentioned the balance between commercial pressure and the cultural responsibility of large publishing conglomerates. Everyone agrees in theory, he said, but they focus on calculating profitability.

2. The reading crisis: The backdrop to all discussions

During the breaks between sessions, the phrase “pipeline of readers” was repeated like a mantra. The statistics — which everyone here already knows — were painful to hear: over a third of British adults say they’ve simply stopped reading for pleasure, and reading for enjoyment among children and teenagers has dropped to its lowest level in decades. This fact dominated every conversation, from marketing to educational programs.

2026 is officially the National Year of Reading in the UK, and the London Book Fair made this theme a central focus of its program and partnerships.

RELATED: Nielsen BookScan Report: Key insights 2024

Under the slogan/brand “Go All In,” this government initiative by the Department for Education, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, is conceived as “the biggest campaign of a generation” to revive reading for pleasure and transform the country’s reading culture. The organizers encourage people to “go all in” on their passions (soccer, music, gaming, cooking) and explore them through reading to demonstrate that books are an extension of existing interests. The focus is not only on children but also on young people and adults.

The nine charities at the heart of the campaign (National Literacy Trust, The Reading Agency, BookTrust, Bookmark, Chapter One, Coram Beanstalk, Fair Education Alliance, The Queen’s Reading Room, and World Book Day) have been named “Charities of the Year.” They made a strong impression at the fair, hosting events from sessions on reading accessibility for vulnerable social groups to discussions of how libraries and bookstores can support the “children’s reading revolution” in the age of screen culture.

3. “Coalitions for the future”: Who else, besides publishers?

After lunch, I made my way to the “Coalitions for the Future” panel, which naturally continued the mood from the morning. There, a simple statement rang true: publishers alone won’t reverse the trend away from reading unless schools, libraries, local communities, universities, and tech companies are fully aligned.

Luis González Martín, Managing Director of GSR Foundation, claimed that in Spain, unlike the European average, the number of readers is increasing. He added that the issue of metrics is more urgent than ever. “We need to understand reading in terms of taxonomy — all possible formats, prototypes, and strategies — to implement a smart marketing approach that fosters a ‘taste for reading.’”

Everyone talks about coalitions the way they used to talk about marketing campaigns, he said. Time for reading in schools and a shift from screens back to print, programs for adults who once read but stopped, special formats for those with concentration difficulties, and partnerships with platforms that attract attention but lack book content are all on the list of urgent infrastructure updates.

Arne Svingen, prominent Norwegian writer and Secretary General of PEN International, said:

“We’ve reached a point where all the warning lights are flashing; we must act now, because thoughtful reading is a skill that is being lost. We need to find a new language here and speak with those we’ve never spoken to before.” In particular, the panel discussed involving soccer players and prominent athletes in reading promotion, collaborating with government programs, and expanding the concept of coalitions. Ultimately, they concluded that the book lobby must become “less soft” and adopt the experiences of more assertive industries pursuing their own interests.

4. Fair architecture: Where the future lives

It was clear that the LBF had organized its program thematically across different spaces. In the main hall were discussions on reading; upstairs on the second floor were the Tech Theatre with panels on AI; in another wing was the Literary Translation Centre, where they were discussing translation and cultural policy in the post-Brexit era; while in the Olympia Room, conversations focused on the book trade and the extra skills required of those keeping a bookstore or publishing house afloat.

This distinction perfectly illustrated what constitutes the foundation and what constitutes the superstructure.

5. AI: From panic to the “AI content superpower” strategy

The Tech Theatre premises are always packed, and the mention of AI in the program acted like a magnet. Since everyone understands that AI isn’t going away, the main topic of discussion remained the terms under which publishers can provide their content or utilize AI.

RELATED: The London Book Fair 2025: ‘Romantasy,’ AI, audiobooks, ‘new reader’ and reading for pleasure

Panelists discussed a transparent system for labeling AI-generated content and agreements for training models that use book collections. Parallels with the music industry and news media were constantly drawn: major licensing agreements are already being signed in those sectors, while book publishers risk entering this conversation too late and from a less advantageous position. Practical advice: don’t try to make licensing perfect, because the situation is changing too rapidly; the main thing is to just do it.

In its report Content Superpower: UK Publishing and the AI Licensing Market, the Publishers Association shows that a distinct market for AI content licensing has already emerged in the UK, covering long-term licenses for text and data mining, new licenses for AI model training, and a rapidly expanding segment of licenses for Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems. They predict that by the end of 2026, all major academic publishers in the country will be actively operating in this market, and draw a policy conclusion from this: there is no justification for copyright exceptions for AI, since voluntary licensing is already in place and generating revenue.

The report also states that British publishers’ long-standing investment in high-quality content is transforming the country into an “AI content superpower,” and emphasizes the need for two government actions: first, to publicly reject any copyright exemptions for AI, and second, to require AI developers to disclose the data they use to train their models. This position is framed as an urgent intervention ahead of the government’s upcoming decision on copyright and AI (hearings were scheduled for March 18).

6. “Human-authored” as a potential luxury or premium option

Among the solutions being discussed here were labels such as “human-authored” and “created by humans.” The idea is quite simple: in a world where text is becoming infinitely abundant, the human voice may cease to be the default standard and instead become a distinct value proposition — much like handcrafted items in the fashion industry.

However, skepticism was evident in off-the-record conversations: everyone understands that a single label won’t disrupt a market where readers often can’t distinguish AI-generated text from human-written text without the help of intermediaries.

It will be important not just to label content, but also to build trust in the publisher, brand, or media outlet.

7. Audio: From the “let’s just do everything” phase to a thoughtful decision

Discussions about audio were also a recurring theme in the program. Recent studies show that the British audiobook market will continue to grow until at least 2030, but enthusiasm has given way to cautious professionalism. Instead of “we’ll voice everything,” publishers are now carefully evaluating each release and calculating where to bring in a full, star-studded cast, like Audible did for the Harry Potter audiobooks, and where to go “cheap and accessible” with AI.

On the one hand, it is said that audio content truly expands the audience in situations where reading is difficult: on public transport, while doing household chores, for people with visual impairments or concentration issues, and for language learning. On the other hand, production costs are rising, competition for listeners’ attention is growing, and this is no longer about endless experimentation but about developing a clear strategy. The main challenges are production time, costs, and “building a loyal customer base.”

8. Selling attention and disinformation: Why do we listen to books?

During one of the discussions about audio, I jotted down a couple of lines verbatim: “We no longer sell hours of sound. We sell attention, which is always scarce.” The industry’s recognition of this reality explains why it is moving away from monotonous readings toward thoughtful casting, multi-voice productions, the “audio-original” format, and collaborations with subscription services. There is an important lesson: audio content can serve as a gateway to reading for people who have long since “dropped out” of books but are returning through headphones rather than bookshelves.

RELATED: Translation trends at the London Book Fair: Japanese are overtaking the UK market, translations from Ukrainian are on the rise

The issue of disinformation as a “dangerous trap” is discussed everywhere. There are calls to set up research integrity teams across all publishing houses, not just academic ones, and to promote the responsible and ethical use of AI. A typical account of abuse cited was Sarah Wynn-Williams’ memoir “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism,” an insider account of Meta/Facebook’s corporate culture, showing how the pursuit of growth and influence went hand in hand with a disregard for the consequences for users and democracy.

9. BookTok: Not a cure-all

The London Book Fair program was well aware of a shift: talk of “how to get on BookTok” is starting to fade, while discussions are increasingly focused on how to sustain the habit of reading once the “hype dies down.” Data shows that BookTok generates impressive sales spikes for individual titles but fails to reverse the long-term decline in regular reading — especially among age groups that were once the core of the market. It is becoming clear that TikTok has taught people how to sell books, but it hasn’t taught them to read consistently.

According to NielsenIQ BookData, TikTok/BookTok users account for about 90 million book purchases per year in the UK, but this represents only a fraction of the total volume and about 3% of all books purchased. Moreover, this trend does not apply  to every literary category.

10. What’s in it for Ukraine?

“We are at the London Book Fair for the first time, and we’re amazed by how productive it’s been,” said Nataliia Skorykova of Orlando Publishing House. “We had planned for three guaranteed meetings, but ended up having twelve with two contracts having already been signed, and even more are in the works. We’ve also established contacts ahead of Frankfurt. I want to emphasize how important it is that there is a Ukrainian stand and that publishers have the opportunity to come here: this is a very valuable contribution from the state.”

RELATED: General Valerii Zaluzhny at the Ukrainian stand in London: I’m working on a new book about the war

Tetyana Budna, Bohdan Books Publishing, is a regular guest in London: “We have our own niche and publish science fiction, horror, and thrillers. That’s the direction we’re working in. We’re satisfied with this year. We see that interest in Ukrainian literature is growing, but for now we’re buying more. We also listen and learn—this is a very important professional and intellectual platform,” said Budna.

Lesya Nemyrovska of the Ranok publishing house echoed Budna’s impressions: “LBF is a very powerful platform. It’s where you build contacts that last all year. We’re very pleased with this year’s results, and we acquired exactly the rights we had planned.”

“I believe that a circle of British intellectuals who are systematically working to promote Ukrainian literature has already been formed. We are in talks about large-scale projects for not just one or two selected authors. Instead, we have a more systematic approach. The UK and France are our main partners here,” said Victoria Matyusha, the OVO literary agency.

I asked Emma Shercliff, a British literary agent and founder of Laxfield Literary Associates (2020), whether the success of books by Victoria Amelina, Oleksandr Mykhed, and the art publisher Thames and Hudson has paved the way for other Ukrainian authors, and whether this can truly be called a success. Shercliff has worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years (Macmillan, Hodder Education, Cassava Republic Press), and in recent years has focused specifically on a roster of Ukrainian authors, including Amelina, Mykhed, Artem Chapeye, Yuliia Iliukha, and many others.

“I continue to work with the same authors: the rights to Amelina’s books have already been sold to 29 countries around the world, including South Korea and Italy. ‘Dom’s Dream Kingdom’ is being translated into English, partially due to grant support, including the PEN Translation Program. We are preparing it for release next year, including in the U.S. and Canadian markets. Last week, a major Indian publisher acquired the rights to Iliukha’s book ‘My Women.’ At the same time, Ukrainian authors are also important advocacy voices. The way Chapeye speaks about literature and his own experiences is an artistic practice in its own right,” said Shercliff.

Shercliff also noted that international publishers’ interest in Ukrainian literature has been growing recently — ranging from non-fiction to fiction. She is actively developing partnerships with established authors, expanding the sales territories for their books, and building a long-term presence for Ukraine in publishing markets, as consistency remains a key strategy in literature:

“At the same time, I’m in talks regarding a new format for me — this is with one of the most prominent Ukrainian authors with epic novels, and I expect breakthrough results from our collaboration. It seems to me that the success continues.”

This year’s London Book Fair didn’t give the impression of calm stability, but it didn’t look like a funeral for books either. It was more like a conversation among people who have finally recognized the scale of the problem and are trying to piece together a new reading infrastructure from the fragments — one that can withstand TikTok, AI, and the next major crisis and calculate the business opportunities of each.

Translation: Iryna Savyuk

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn and Terra King