Partnership with the London Book Fair
Add to researchWe work with The London Book Fair on their Market Focus programme to promote the cultural and business opportunities that exist in particular countries or regions around the world.
As one of the largest and most important annual book fairs in the world, The London Book Fair brings the commercial and cultural sides of the literature world together. It provides publishers from new and emerging markets with an opportunity to meet and do business with their counterparts from the UK and around the world. The British Council curates a programme of work highlighting the Market Focus country.
April 2011: : Russia Market Focus 2011
April 2012: China
We are currently developing a programme to illustrate the wealth and breadth of Chinese literature. We aim to reflect the important themes and issues of Chinese literature from the past, while also considering what China’s writing reflects about its people and the role it plays in Chinese society today. Chinese writers will be welcomed to London for talks, lectures, seminars and meetings with other writers, publishers and the British public.
Read more at China 2012
As well as our links with publishers, writers are absolutely key to our work. Our work with London Book Fair has resulted in
a) an increase in invitations for British writers to attend international festivals
b) more opportunities for international writers here in the UK.
British and UK-based writers who have taken part in this project and its legacy work include:
China 2012: Jeanette Winterson, Susie Orbach, Francesca Beard, Aoife Mannix and Luke Wright
Russia 2011: Linda Grant, Joanne Harris, Roma Tearne, James Meek and Adam Foulds
South Africa 2010: Beverley Naidoo, Gillian Slovo and Zoe Wicomb
India 2009: Tom Paulin, Michael Morpurgo, Woodrow Phoenix, Ian Rankin
Arab World 2008: Anthony Horowitz, Meg Rosoff, Ben Okri, David Almond, Leontia Flynn and Paul Farley
The Market Focus cultural programme acts as a springboard for new encounters and projects to emerge and be put into practice. These span the entire spectrum of literature from increased international opportunities for writers, more high-quality translations, a more internationalised publishing industry to professional support for literary translators, and increased use of contemporary literature in English-language classrooms around the world.
