Bologna and London Book Fairs

The annual Bologna Book Fair was scheduled for the week before London which gave overseas visitors a rare chance to visit both as, normally, they are several weeks apart – making the cost for S.A. Publishers and Booksellers prohibitive (or rather even more prohibitive than they already are).

Both fairs are, in reality, working trade fairs so that the bookseller, or non-vested publisher will see publishers hard at work buying and selling rights. This makes for a vibrant and active environment and one has to be fairly discerning about what one wishes to do in order to make one’s time work effectively; publishers are busy and it is rare that you can just drop in and speak to someone you wish to see if you have not made an appointment.

For those who have not visited Bologna, it is a glorious town so that the end of the day leads on to an engaging time and the town can be explored on foot and the restaurants are very good indeed.

What was notable at Bologna this year was, firstly, the increase in graphic novel publishing and, secondly, a preponderance of publishers from Asia selling educational material and learning aids. Virtually everything on show at Bologna is available in English and, because it is exclusively a children’s fair, the level of illustration is quite remarkable. What struck me, in particular, was the quality of work from the Korean and Taiwanese publishers. I also saw very good work coming out of the Pan Macmillan stable and I have no doubt it will do well for all booksellers.

London is considerably bigger than Bologna. All the English publishers are present and there are small presses that one would not normally have a chance to see if it were not for the London Fair. There is some remarkably good publishing coming from these publishers particularly in the arena of history, politics and biography. However, it is not an exaggeration to say that the new Harry Potter inspired book, essentially the text of the play to be shown in the West End from the end of July, was the most talked about book of the fair. The new Harry Potter will run to 352 pages and although the final shape of the text (is it purely dialogue or does it include narrative), is still shrouded in mystery. J.K. Rowling produced the storyline and the people at Little Brown, the publisher this time round, told me that she also had a hand in the development of the plot and the dialogue. There is no doubt it will thrive in South Africa.

For me, personally, the chance to visit both fairs was a terrific opportunity, but next year, I think, it is time for some of my colleagues to make the trip to Bologna and be fattened up in the process.

Benjamin Trisk