With A Focus On AI And (About Bloody Time!) Developing Readers, Do We Finally Have a Half-Decent Director At The London Book Fair?

There's a saying that neurotics build castles in the sky, psychotics, live in them, and psychotherapists collect the rent. Substitute writers, publishers and RX respectively, and we have the London Book Fair writ large.

I tend to fall asleep at the mere mention of LBF nowadays, such has been the spiral of indifference brought about by the succession of LBF "directors" since Jacks Thomas moved on to greener pastures.

It's been one messy year after another as business folks that wouldn't know one end of a book from the other try to organise a fair for the book industry. I'd start a 'Bring Back Jacks Thomas ' campaign if I thought it would tempt her away from Bologna's haven of publishing tranquility amid forward thinking and global expansion, but who in their right mind would return to the poisoned chalice that is making money for RX Global?

True, it's been standing room only at the annual London event, but that's only because no-one has managed to provide enough seats. Literally. You couldn't make it up.

So it was with some surprise that I picked up on Edward Nawotka 's post for Publishers Weekly that ran with the unexpected headline "London Book Fair 2025 to Focus on AI, Developing Readers".

AI, of course, is a given. And audio. And print. And more AI. And more audio. Oh, and more print. Everything else is just a sideshow. And of course everything is a sideshow to "Rights". (More on that fantasy later.)

The Ed Nawotka post began with an intriguing assertion that the LBF is the world's largest English-language publishing trade show, which is sort of true, except most of Frankfurt is in English and the English-language element, while unquantified, probably beats LBF's.

Nawotka cites virgin LBF director Adam Ridgway as forecasting 30k+ attendees. Adam, you're gonna need a bigger boatload of seats!

But hold on. Numbers not seen since before the pandemic, Adam? But 30,000 was the number RX originally claimed for LBF 2024, and that before, per Publishing Perspectives, RX upped its original 30,000 claim to 33,000.

Adam Ridgway has had a full year to get this house in order (needless to say TNPS was there with some suggestions when first RX landed LBF with its 3rd director in four years).

From that 2024 post:

Ridgway brings to the table experience in energy, jewellery, chemicals, and broadcasting, so at least can come to LBF with an open mind, even if his hands are tied.

As an employee of, and former commercial director of, RX, Ridgway is of course going to put the interests of RX above all else. That’s a given.

But as Jacks Thomas showed us, that needn’t put LBF at a disadvantage. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Ridgway needs to engage with the industry and not just ask questions about the industry’s needs and what the industry expects from a fair, but take notice and act on what he hears, something Gareth Rapley failed to do.

Too soon to know how this will pan out, but after reading the Publishers Weekly post I am more optimistic about LBF than at any time since Jacks Thomas departed.

The main stage, reports Nawotka, will feature sessions addressing AI and copyright policy developments in both the UK and US. Good luck with that, Adam! That's the very definition of a moving target.

Per PW, speakers include Maria Pallante, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, and Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association in the UK. Additionally, Helena Gustafsson, chief content officer of Storytel, will discuss AI's influence on the audiobook landscape with Ana Maria Allessi, president of Hachette Audio.

From Audio Alley to Audio Village

The global audiobook boom has led the fair to expand last year's "audio alley" into an enlarged "audio village." The International Rights Center has also grown, now featuring nearly 550 tables—an approximate 10% increase from 2024. Ridgway noted the high demand for space in both areas.

Right now, of course, AI and Audio are inextricably linked in the publishing industry mind, which is both good and bad.

Good in that AI is gaining acceptance thanks to what it can do for audio and translation, despite understandable misgivings arising largely from faux narratives that are driven by the Luddite Fringe's determination to keep publishing in the twentieth century.

Bad in that a) AI is getting sidelined in the creative arena by the Luddite Fringe obsessing over partially-justified concerns about copyright, which will need a court ruling to define, and b) misleading - no, let me be blunt, blatantly false - claims about AI companies refusing remuneration.

The Diarrhoea Flow

This diarrhoea flow from certain authors, and authors' reps, that should know better, claiming AI is "stealing" their work, and demanding AI companies pay, is laughable when AI companies are trying to doing just that. HarperCollins, for example, is offering its authors half of a $5,000 per title deal with Microsoft for a three year non-exclusive training licence.

The problem being, most publishers are so shit-scared of author-negativity on social media that they daren't even look in the general direction of an AI company without the dinosaur chorus drowning out their negotiations.

And I fear LBF25, through no fault of Adam Ridgway, will be hijacked by the Luddite Fringe determined to sing the dinosaur chorus out loud and drown out any rational debate.

Encouraging Young Readers

But now for the good news, which I'm assuming is down to Adam Ridgway's stewardship.

Addressing declining literacy rates among youth, the LBF has introduced a new programming block dedicated to fostering young readers. The session "Cultivating the Next Generation of Readers" will feature authors Will Rayfet Hunter and Taylor-Dior Rumble, focusing on engaging young readers in an era of waning literacy, explains Nawotka.

As quoted, Ridgway says, “Young people, particularly in places like the U.K., are not reading as much as they used to. They are absorbing content, but they’re not absorbing as much content from books. It’s a question of how you pivot.”

Actually, Adam, its a question of how English is being taught. Blaming parents, social media, Netflix and the tooth fairy are sideshow distractions beside the simple reality that children are so busy learning to pass phonics tests to meet government quotas, that they are no longer taught to read for pleasure.

Memo to Ed Nawotka - the same thing is happening in the US with the latest nonsense that is the pseudo-science of reading.

Okay, so no idea where Adam Ridgway will be taking this, and as it's his first time I won't raise my hopes too much, but kudos for even getting this topic on the agenda.

Academic and Professional Publishing

And kudos too, for another innovation at the LBF.

For the first time, the LBF will host a three-day academic and professional publishing conference, running concurrently with the main fair, per Nawotka's Publishers Weekly essay.

The programme will address sustainability challenges, business model evolution, and AI's impact on the sector. Ridgway apparently highlighted the financial strain on academic publishers and the need for support within this sector.

Head over to Ed's PW post for further detail about international participation, keynote speakers and honours and awards.

Here to start winding down this essay by noting that, per the PW report, the Country Market Focus will return in 2027, when refurbishments finally finish and there is room to breathe, but Ridgway is promising more seating this year.

So much to be optimistic about, having read the PW updates, but still it seems that the LBF will be, first and foremost, a rights exchange.

Ridgway, per PW, says, "It’s an opportunity for publishers to have those conversations about selling the licences and the rights around the world. It’s about doing the deals for content they have, whatever form it takes. That we have so much demand for space is a good sign for the industry and a good problem to have.”

Adam, you're missing a huge opportunity here. Or just maybe, and the above call-outs are examples, you are not, but are simply paying lip-service to the rights industry because that comes with the job description.

Here's the thing: As we saw in the Pandemic, rights just kept on being negotiated and sold regardless of Lockdown or "an abundance of caution" not rushing back to fairs as the Pandemic subsided.

For events like LBF, the rights tables are the set-pieces we come to expect, like the set-piece opening action scene in a James Bond movie before the equally set-piece credits. It's de rigeur window dressing, but contributes next to nothing to the film.

We all know most of these rights deals are already done and dusted long before anyone gets near those tables, and the face-to-face meets are ceremonial signings and mutual back-patting sessions before the evening partying starts. Seriously, what kind of publisher turns up at a fair, looks at the cover of a book they've never seen or heard of before, spends five minutes discussing the storyline, and signs a deal?

So sure, Adam, pander to the rights fantasy so expense accounts can continue to be ratcheted up as reps burn fossil fuels flitting from country to country while keeping a straight face citing environmental concerns about AI's energy needs. It's a great earner for RX - all that money for a table the size of a desk in a nursery school!

But at the end of the day, the headlines that matter are made, when there's enough seats, by the discussions and presentations about topics that matter, like AI and audio and, yes, young readers.

And also at the end of the day, that's what really brings footfall to events like these, as Frankfurt and Bologna know all too well, and are elevating to a fine art.

There's a saying that neurotics build castles in the sky, psychotics, live in them, and psychotherapists collect the rent. Substitute writers, publishers and RX respectively and we have the London Book Fair writ large.

Adam, LBF can be so much more, and still make RX a shit-load of money. Making a hefty profit and serving the publishing industry need not be mutually excusive.

Take time out to look at what Bologna and the Buchmesse are doing beyond their home countries. This is the future of meaningful book fairs.