Decoding the London Book Fair 2025: the digital progression of the publishing industry

in Inscribe
by Kimberly Azumah

During my placement with the Inscribe writing development programme, I was provided with the invaluable opportunity to attend The London Book Fair 2025. As a person who comes from the Midlands with no ties to an industry that is inextricably tied to the south of England, I knew that this opportunity would be immeasurably beneficial to exploring my future career plans, and it did not disappoint. 

Whilst at the event I attended a variety of panel discussions and events, with topics ranging from the contentious nature of classics to the ethics of writing about other people’s experiences, yet there was one topic I could not seem to escape throughout the entire day: the digitisation of the publishing industry. Whether it be through the popularity of eBook and audiobook content or the use of social media for marketing, like every other industry, the publishing industry has been forced to use digital platforms and social media to maintain relevancy. The industry profits from a community of people who love to switch off and bury themselves in worlds of fantasy, yet they are inextricably tied to the digital world through consumer culture. The biggest question I kept asking myself that day was: how can the publishing industry continue to balance the interests of both the consumer-based culture of modernity, and the readers desire to be captured undisturbed in the world of fantasy that they purchase? 

What I learned about The London Book Fair. 

Prior to Inscribe’s invitation I have to admit I was completely unaware of the event, with the name calling to mind nostalgia fuelled images of a giant version of the Scholastic book fairs that I experienced in primary and secondary school (I can confirm I was slightly disappointed by the reality). 

I learned that The London Book Fair (LBF) can be divided into two main parts. The largest (and most profitable) element of the event is the International Trade Centre, in which publishers have large attractive stands where face-to-face business and industry networking takes place. These stands are filled with books and advertisements for books that publishing houses intend to negotiate and sell the foreign rights for. There are also various smaller stands for the other parts of the industry to advertise their services, such as freelancers and book charities. For other publishing professionals (or hopefuls like me), LBF hosts over 100 seminars and panel events over the three-day period that provide key insights into the current climate of the publishing industry. 

In summary, the entire publishing industry is represented at LBF, with the event bringing together the global publishing industry to develop relationships and gain insights into the future of the industry. 

At LBF.

The topic that I kept encountering like a strange refrain for the day was the rise in popularity of audiobook and eBook content. During a presentation and panel discussion, Spotify’s audiobook team reported that their focus on facilitating a backlist of books as audiobooks (books that have already been released being converted to the audiobook form rather than new releases), has led to audiobook listening hours on the app for the UK, the US and Australia being up more than 35% year over year. Seven of the top 10 audiobooks on Spotify in 2024 in the UK were backlist titles, with five of those being more than five years old! Spotify’s audiobook catalogue continues to expand on a massive scale each year: since launching audiobooks as part of their Premium membership in 2023 they are up from 150,000 to 400,000 titles in just English-language markets alone. This means that an entirely new demographic of readers is being reached through this alternative way to consume literature.

Throughout the day, there was also an awareness of the extent to which the TikTok app has begun to play a major role in the publishing industry. From BookTok influencers leading and contributing to panel discussions over the three days, to publishing houses and companies discussing how they have begun to tailor their marketing to appeal to the language used and content created on the app, TikTok is paving the way that the publishing industry is able to engage with younger consumers within the 16-25 age bracket. 

My reflections 

My discussions with publishing professionals and attendance at seminars at LBF supplemented a line of thought that I had been considering previously; how successful can authors be without popularity on social media? Also, can publishing houses truly survive and thrive without good social media marketing? Many writers, especially debut authors, are required to showcase their personality and engage with their readers on social media as part of their contract and marketing. Some authors are even expected to bring a social media audience to the table with them to even start discussing a contract with a publisher. 

The London Book Fair was an amazing opportunity and so informative. The various seminars and talks that I attended gave me immense insight into interesting areas of the publishing industry that I wasn’t even aware that I would be interested in previously. I had such an amazing time and have left with an even greater urge to earn my place in an industry that continues to utilise the digital world to expand, rather than retract, which was one of the fears that arose when digital technology first emerged as a force in the publishing industry. 

About the author

Kimberly Azumah is currently a BA English student at the University of Leicester. She has been interning with Inscribe for the past few months and is pursuing a career in the publishing industry. She is interested in Black British literary history and ensuring the visibility of global majority writers in the industry. She has developed social media and marketing experience through managing her own book related BookTok page (@kimasbookshelf). 

Watch a video of Kimberly's time at the book fair at her LinkedIn profile.

References

Share this article