‘Why I’ll be at LBF’: Meet the Australians attending in 2025

Meet the Australian visitors – both seasoned and brand new – attending LBF this year. 

In her nine years at Australian independent Allen & Unwin, Wenona Byrne (Creative Australia director, literature) regularly attended LBF. ‘It’s been ten years since I last visited, and I’m excited to return!’

‘Writing Australia will be established this year within Creative Australia, and we want to learn from programs overseas, to inform the Writing Australia Council. I am attending LBF as part of my research project into international literary policies and programs. I’m particularly interested in the reading engagement programs that have been developed in the UK. I’m also looking at how Canada supports its industry, particularly Canadian voices and independent publishing.’

What will you be talking about?

‘Reading engagement will be on the top of my list. With the release of the Understanding Australian Readers research this month, I want to find out what the current state of reading is in other countries. Are they experiencing the same challenges? How are they addressing the issue of declining readerships? I’m also interested in finding out what is needed to sustain a thriving industry for publishers, authors and communities.’

This will be the first LBF for Stuart Glover (Australian Publishers Association government relations and policy manager), but not his first book fair entirely – ‘For my sins I go back as far as the Australian Book Fairs at Darling Harbour in the early 1990s.’

‘I am looking forward to London, because – well, it’s London, but also – it has a great seminar program on the kind of industry and cultural policy issues I need to be across as the policy lead for the APA. London also attracts a great roll call of publishing and cultural apparatchiks from around the world. It makes information sharing easier. And for Australians, it means (for a change) not being on Zoom calls to Europe or the US in the middle of the night. It is great to meet people face to face.’

What will you be talking about?

‘In the past couple of years, AI has dominated industry discussions. And I am sure the risks the UK Government’s proposed AI framework poses to its powerhouse publishing industry means that it will remain high on the list. But there are many other issues that I am interested to catch up on: policies for educational materials, integrity of science publishing and accessible books. And two big issues for the APA are at the moment reading programs and also how governments might support publishers to invest in new Australian content – both on the trade side and educational resources.’

Former Hachette Australia group publishing director Fiona Hazard (head of global strategy and development, Keeperton) will be attending alongside half a dozen international Keeperton colleagues to represent the new publishing house founded by Australian author TL Swan.

‘This will be Keeperton’s first LBF, and as a new independent publisher, we’re thrilled to be meeting in person with agents, publishers, scouts, suppliers and partners to talk about our wonderful authors, our Arndell imprint, and Keeperton as a whole. We’re also excited to attend the LBF seminars and learn more about what’s going on in the industry globally – and of course you can never underestimate the power of the serendipitous hallway chats!’

What are you looking to acquire?

‘We’re looking for romance, romantasy, fantasy and YA.’

Gary Pengelly (publisher of Books+Publishing and Think Australian) is an LBF regular, having attended six times now, with 2024 being his most recent visit.

‘LBF brings together colleagues from the US and UK, so it is a unique opportunity to catch up with everyone at the same event. It is also an opportunity to meet with other publications, so I will sit down with Publishers Weekly and BookBrunch, where the topic will be areas of common interest to our respective audiences, such as technology and AI in particular: Can we collaborate on content?’

What will you be talking about?

‘The state of – and direction of – the industry, consolidation of publishers and the likely impact: What does it all mean for the ANZ market? Alongside this, I expect technology and AI to dominate many discussions.’

Hachette publishing director Joel Naoum will be attending LBF alongside Hachette Australia CEO Louise Stark.

‘From a rights perspective, LBF remains one of our most important rights-selling calendar events. As we work closely with our Hachette UK colleagues, it also provides an excellent opportunity to build on current and future collaboration.’

What will you be talking about?

‘I expect much of the conversation with international counterparts to focus on romantasy, BookTok and AI. The global demand for romantasy shows no signs of slowing, but there’s growing discussion around how long the boom will last and whether the genre is beginning to atomise into smaller subgenres and micro-trends. AI remains a hot topic, particularly around ethical concerns, copyright implications, and how and whether publishers can use it responsibly for non-creative applications. Meanwhile, BookTok continues to drive sales, but its influence is shifting, prompting conversations about sustaining momentum, adapting to algorithm changes, and broadening its impact beyond core genres like romance and fantasy (not to mention the continuing spectre of a US ban). Ultimately, these discussions will centre on how markets are responding to evolving reader behaviour and digital discovery.’

While the agency is new, many founders of a4 Literary have, in their various former capacities as agents, publishers, and scouts and right-sellers, been frequent visitors to LBF. However, this will be the team’s first time attending as an agency.

‘Having launched in late 2024, we felt it was a good opportunity to introduce the agency and our exceptional list of clients to the international market, and hope to deepen existing relationships with our colleagues abroad, as well as foster new ones.’

What will you be talking about?

‘Outside of pitching individual titles, a key reason to go to the fair is the exchange of information with colleagues in other key markets about what’s happening in their territories, whether it’s local publishing trends, the macro-economics affecting retailers and book-buyers, or personnel and company changes, etc. Australian authors are increasingly seen as a global commodity, and so we find there’s an equal reciprocal interest about what’s happening in our market.’

Hayley Tomlinson (Rockpool rights and contracts manager) will be attending LBF alongside Rockpool managing director Lisa Hanrahan.

‘Rockpool Publishing has always had a strong international focus, with export sales now making up 80% of our business. Attending LBF allows us to strengthen existing partnerships, forge new connections, and expand our reach into key European markets.

‘This year, we are particularly focused on infiltrating the gift sector after the launch of our new gift imprint, Sweet Hearts Press. We’ve also really expanded imprint Gelding Street Press; with far more internationally focused sports being covered, we’re expecting more translation rights to be sold from Gelding Street titles than ever before. We hope to see our titles resonate with international publishers looking for unique, high-quality content in the mind-body-spirit, wellness, sporting and gift categories.’

What are you looking to acquire?

‘While my primary focus is on selling rights, we are always on the lookout for fresh voices and innovative content that align with our publishing ethos. We’re particularly interested in books that offer new perspectives in the mind-body-spirit space, as well as wellness and self-development titles with broad international appeal. Lisa will be attending to meet with distributors and authors.’

What will you be talking about?

‘We anticipate a lot of discussion around the evolving trends in spirituality and wellness publishing, the growing demand for diverse voices in the space, and the continued impact of global supply chain challenges on print publishing. Additionally, the rise of AI-generated content and how it intersects with traditional publishing will likely be a key talking point. We’re also keen to explore shifts in consumer behavior post-pandemic and how different markets are adapting to these changes.’

Mizz De Zoysa-Lewis (general manager, Insight Publications) believes LBF is ‘a great opportunity to network and connect with industry professionals’.

‘There’s a lot of transformation in the industry at the moment, so it’s a great way to stay informed. There are also some great seminars this year, which I think will provide valuable insights into the use of AI, marketing strategies and emerging technologies. And if we’re lucky, we’ll find some publications to expand our list!’

What will you be talking about?

‘I think AI and its role in educational publishing is a hot topic at the moment, so no doubt we’ll be engaging in quite a few conversations about this. But we’re also keen to learn about global trends in pedagogy, teaching and assessment tools and the digital landscape.

‘LBF is an exciting opportunity for learning and connecting.’

Category: Think Australian feature