London Book Fair not defeated by travel restrictions

In some ways, the restrictions on air travel gave this year's London Book Fair a distinctly subdued feel. A number of overseas publishers had stands full of books and display materials, but no people. There were plenty of large empty spaces and lots of bored rights executives, although deals were, apparently, still being done (http://www.thebookseller.com/news/117130-falling-ash-fails-to-stop-hot-deals-at-lbf.html).

There was other activity too. The Society of Young Publishers (SYP), for example, ran a couple of very well attended events on getting into and getting ahead in publishing, and the Diversity in Publishing Network (DipNet) held a reception focused on the UK Publishing Equalities Charter, the consultation period for which has now been extended to 14 June.

As always, what went on during the day was only half the story, and various parties and events in the evening gave friends and colleagues the chance to catch up in a more relaxed atmosphere.