What is happening in the world of books?
Once again, the annual three-day get-together of the book trade from around the world took place in Olympia, London, from the 11th to the 13th of March. Whilst there are other book expos in different counties across the year, it is London that has the largest international attendance. I was there on behalf of our authors and also to look for new trends, opportunities and partners. I found it to be a valuable event and a great chance to meet up with the businesses and individuals who help us deliver our publishing, distribution and promotional services.
As in previous years, we were a part of the Independent Publishers Guild stand on the ground floor of the main hall. It was packed throughout the three days and one of their best stand ever.
We were on the lookout for ways of enhancing the books that we produce by using additional printing and cover enhancement services. We will be writing an article on our findings very shortly. We were also able to meet up with a number of overseas publishers whom we have been working with and put faces to names. It was a chance to thank the IPG for all their help and support to Filament over the past year.
It was interesting that the theme of the Fair was “Defining the Future of Creative Content”. As the public now source their reading from an increasing number of web platforms, audio programmes and smart devices in addition to the printed books that we know and love, this was an acknowledgement that authors have morphed into being content creators as well To build and engages with your tribe means that you will be increasingly be writing for screen and page. This year TikTok has attracted huge numbers for it’s BookTok section of their site. Filament is already there! Our Author Dee Blick has already demonstrated how effective this has been with her book The Boutique
We will be sharing more on what we learned at the Fair in articles and blogs in the weeks ahead.
Chris Day
