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Author Fair GuideBy Stewart Ferris

London · United Kingdom

The London Book Fair

The English-language spring rights fair. Compact, intense, and not designed as an author pitching event.

Next dates

16–18 Mar 2027

150 days away

Venue

ExCeL London

First edition at ExCeL in the Docklands, as part of a multi-year deal.

Author access

Authors are not the intended visitor

Floor

Trade / professional

English

Buy ticketsOfficial siteMap
The Grand Hall at Olympia during the London Book Fair, under the glass barrel roof, with national stands and crowds on the floor
The Grand Hall at Olympia, London Book Fair, March 2026 — the last edition in Kensington. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.

The fair

The London Book Fair is the English-speaking world’s principal spring trade show. It is three dense days of rights, distribution and professional seminars. Authors can buy a visitor pass, and the registration form now lets you identify as an author — but the International Rights Centre is explicitly not for writers seeking a deal. The 2026 edition was the last at Olympia in Kensington. From 2027 the fair moves to ExCeL in London’s Docklands.

Advice for visiting authors

  • Buy a standard Show Ticket, not an IRC pass. The Rights Centre requires proof of booked meetings and is not for authors seeking deals.
  • LBF ran a Writers’ Summit the day before the 2026 fair. Watch for a similar paid programme in 2027 — it is a better use of an author’s time than cold-walking the halls.
  • If you do walk the floor, target independent and overseas publishers. UK corporate stands are usually appointment-only.
  • A polite conversation about what they are acquiring this year is more useful than a pitch. Take notes. Follow up by email afterwards.
  • From 2027, plan travel to ExCeL (Custom House / Prince Regent DLR), not Olympia.

Address

ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL, United Kingdom

First edition at ExCeL in the Docklands, as part of a multi-year deal.

From the Olympia floor

Stewart Ferris’s photographs from March 2026, the last London Book Fair at Olympia, before the move to ExCeL.

A high view of the London Book Fair floor, with HarperCollins in the foreground and Penguin Random House to the right
HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Audible and the national stands under one roof. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
The International Rights Centre on the gallery above the Grand Hall at the London Book Fair
The International Rights Centre sits on the gallery. It is for booked meetings, not for authors seeking a deal. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
People walking the aisle between stands at the London Book Fair
A trade morning. Walk the aisle, watch who is actually free, and do not block a meeting. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
Visitors at the HarperCollins stand, beside a large display for Professor Alice Roberts
The HarperCollins stand. A busy corporate wall is a place to look, not to hand over a manuscript. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
A specialist illustrated-book stand at the London Book Fair, with shelves of craft titles and neon category signs
A specialist stand. The list on the shelves is the conversation — and these houses are often willing to have it. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
A crowded seminar at the London Book Fair, with a speaker on a pink stage and screens either side
The seminar programme. Often a better hour for an author than a cold walk up to a rights table. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
Peppa Pig and George costumes in front of a children's book stand at the London Book Fair
Children’s characters on the London floor. The specialist rights fair for this work is Bologna. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
Author HQ banners beside the Kindle Direct Publishing counter at the London Book Fair
Author HQ, next to the self-publishing stands. Useful orientation. Not a substitute for a publisher meeting. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.
The Kindle Direct Publishing stand at the London Book Fair, with a sign reading Become a Published Author
Kindle Direct Publishing and Lulu share the hall with the trade houses. They are selling a service, not acquiring a list. Photograph by Stewart Ferris.