Storyhouse Works editor Anna Trapmore visits the London Book Fair 2025

Anna Trapmore (left) and Paola Bucciol (right) at the London Book Fair

Hundreds of thousands of people visit the London Book Fair every year − so what made LBF 2025 so special? Anna Trapmore discovers a thriving community of connectivity.

There’s something weirdly ‘Airport Security’ about scanning a stranger’s chest for information. But this is the reality of the London Book Fair: Version 2025, where QR codes are fast negating the need for business cards. One click from a mobile phone and you’re instantly connected to fellow writers, editors, publishers or distributors – digitally anyway: I’d far rather reach out with an old-skool card and a conversation, than suffer a contrived ‘Can I scan you?’ moment (Imagine the awkwardness if they said “No”?).

It’s a surreal, slightly alienating feature of a fair where so much seems tailored towards forging personal, meaningful connections. Even inside the vast glass-domed expanse of conference venue Olympia – where I’m told some 200,000 visitors flock over this three-day event – there are cosy nooks aplenty for lovers of literature to curl up or congregate. Publishers put a lot of thought into the look and feel of their stands, which, in some cases, are more like carefully curated living rooms with stylish spot-lit snugs, fancy furniture and free apples.

My advice would be to take a seat while you can.

I was silently thanking my faithful suede flats as I made my way upstairs to the crowded Author’s Lounge to find it was standing room only. This is where many of the fair’s most sought-after panel discussions take place and seats get snapped up quickly, with audiences spilling out into the surrounding hall and straining to hear on the sound systems. The earlier you can arrive to timetabled talks the better − and expect a game of musical chairs in between sessions as one crowd replaces another.

It was here I had planned to pal up with fellow Storyhouse Works writer Paola Bucciol, author of The ABCs of Amsterdam family travel guide. Together we were keen to glean insiders’ tips from several sessions that day, at everything from Self publishing for Profit to insights on writing and marketing. First on the agenda was Keeping Up with Social Media.

I’m going to level with you here: whilst I can quite happily host a podcast, I’ve never felt entirely comfortable ‘putting myself out there’ on social media (I can count on one hand the number of tweets I’ve posted to date, and this is my first blog, so be kind). But it turns out that, in the publishing world, I am in excellent company. Many of the leading authors and content creators we listened to that day confessed their aversion to self-promotion. Even social media sensation Rosie Kellett – a former actress − admitted the cringe factor in performing to camera, while bestselling author of The Multi-Hyphen Method Emma Gannon seemed to speak for the writing community at large when she shared her reluctance to ‘perform’: “I’m a writer… I’ve crafted my whole career so I can stay at home!”.

According to Adele Parks, one of the UK’s biggest-selling writers of women’s fiction, being an author is “40 per cent writing and 40 per cent marketing”, and while she didn’t specify what the other 20 per cent of author responsibilities might be, it’s clear that we all need to wise up on promoting our publications. But if, like me, you don’t fancy burn-out from being a social media ‘content machine’, there is another way.  

By far my favourite discussion of the day was Building a Community and Brand around your Writing, where the panel talked about a tangible shift away from more performative forms of social media − and terms like “audience” and “followers” –   in favour of a more collaborative approach. Whereas the likes of Instagram and TikTok are arguably about exposure and discoverability, and attracting the mass approval of strangers, increasingly popular platforms such as Substack and Discord encourage a two-way conversation in which author and reader are both getting more value.

If I had to pick one key takeaway from LFB 2025, it would be this: build and leverage your own writing community. Rather than chasing ‘Likes’, you can reach out to an invested readership – and what better place to begin than somewhere like Substack where you can blog, send out a newsletter and be the author of your own social network for free? Essentially, you’re posting direct to people’s inboxes rather than the great digital unknown, and it’s a move that can quite literally pay off if you choose to go down the subscriptions route. Emma Gannon, who describes her Substack as “a cosy online space for curious readers” currently has around 66,000 paid subscribers who support her as a writer.

Of course, it’s a chicken-and-egg scenario to some extent: you’re unlikely to attract a community without ‘putting yourself out there’ in the first place. Ultimately, we need to embrace some form of self-promotion – and, crucially, a sense of ‘self’. In other words, you need a brand to attract ‘your people’ (see my Key LBF Social Media Takeaways below for more on this).

With three talks dedicated to self-publishing that day, Paola and I were party to plenty of ‘Indie’ insights (my Self-publishing Pointers are listed below). It was both inspiring and daunting to hear from two undisputed self-publishing success stories: Adam “A.P.” Beswick, author of the dark fantasy series Levanthria – apparently reached his million-dollar mark on sales within two years, while prolific YA and adult fantasy writer Sacha Black decided to sell books the DIY way: she bought a warehouse, employed an Operations Manager and Admin Assistant and now self-publishes three books a year. 

As Orna Ross, Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, enthused, “The sky’s the limit in terms of what you can do as indie authors”.  All this autonomy and creative freedom can be confusing, however. Several speakers admitted that they had spent more time trying to navigate the self-publishing process than actually writing their books. (If only they had come to Storyhouse Works!). One thing that everybody seemed to agree on, however, is that self-publishing is in itself a supportive community. As Adam put it, “Everybody should be helping each other as indie authors − it’s not about gatekeeping”

That word ‘community’ again.

Over on the How I Write panel, award-winning British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak shared some fun revelations about her MO (who knew that she works to a soundtrack of heavy-metal music − and reads aloud to her furniture to “hear the rhythm of words”?). But she also spoke movingly about the importance of connectivity in an era of anxiety. “We need to read from all cultures,” she urged. “The danger is we become numb, disconnected to each other’s stories... In an age of information, we need to slow down, to care about the nuances.” 

As the colossal end-of-day queues for the cloakroom at LBF testify, it’s a big, busy world out there. Here’s to finding that revitalising, unifying space that books can bring. The London Book Fair itself feels like such a space. Maybe see you there next year?

Key LBF Social Media Takeaways:

Go where you’re most comfortable. Jumping in at the deep end and starring in a ton of TikTok shorts is not for everybody. Instead, you might start with a slideshow on Instagram, or post images on Pinterest if you’re promoting a book with strong design.

Social media choices need to be sustainable – don’t try to be everywhere all at once. If you seldom post you can’t build up followers or “trust” in you and your brand. People need to feel as if they’re getting to know you, so start with a platform you know you can upload to regularly.

Having a brand is essential. Most of us cringe at the concept of self-promotion, but you need to be clear about what makes you you − perhaps it’s the sound of your voice, or a certain look or design that makes your content instantly recognisable. Take the time to spot patterns of success or failure in your own content to sharpen and strengthen your brand. For instance, perhaps videos where you’re wearing a beanie hat get bigger hits, whereas a change of font or colour could confuse fans away from your content.

Be playful. As indie author A.P. Beswick pointed out, when it comes to marketing, “We’ve never had it so good”. Thanks to social media, we can experiment for free; in other words, you can make marketing mistakes and it won’t cost you. 

Experiment with TikTok/ BookTok. The platform’s in-app editing makes it very user-friendly – but before you start posting your own content, do your homework: search authors in your genre; look at viral videos and see what’s working. 

Honesty is a powerful way to connect with strangers on social media. You don’t need to overshare to be successful, but if you are comfortable and willing to share “messy” authentic moments of vulnerability people are far more likely to feel a connection to you. 

Be prepared for overnight success. When Rosie Kellet’s video about communal cooking went viral, she had been posting recipes to her website for months so potential followers had somewhere to go and something to look at. This made all the difference, she says, in harnessing her sudden success, rather than just being a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon. So start posting your content now, even if you’re only currently catering for an audience of one.

Self-publishing pointers:

Sacha Black is a big believer in DIY sales. Her top tip is to have a website that’s transactional – a place where people can buy your books with one click.

AIA Director Orna Ross seconds this advice and recommends putting a weblink at the end of publications to encourage readers to come direct to your site for sales.

When it comes to distributors, A.P. Beswick warns not to put all your eggs in one basket. While he recommends IngramSpark as “a good avenue into bookstores”, he also uses Book Vault as a supplementary source of sales. That way he’s covered if there are any logistical problems with printing or shipping.

Consider investing in translations of your books. According to IngramSpark’s Chris Sako, it doesn’t cost as much as you think and could increase your reach immeasurably.