Whenever I go to the fair, I’m always looking for what is happening beneath the surface: what the future of publishing might look like, how technology is shaping it, and what writers and creatives need to be paying attention to now.
In this episode, I talk about the UK government’s proposed AI copyright policy and why it caused such concern across the creative industries. I also touch on the pushback from writers and organisations such as the Society of Authors, including the Human Authored campaign and Don’t Steal This Book.
I also share some of the biggest trends and ideas that stood out to me across the sessions I attended, including:
why print is still doing well
why readers are looking for comfort, escape, and physical experiences
what kinds of books and formats are growing
how search is shifting from SEO to General Engine Optimization (GEO)
why authors need stronger websites and clearer digital authority
how questions of visibility, distribution, and power still shape whose stories get seen
The sessions I mention include:
Lifelines or Pipelines: Creating International Publishing Structures That Shift
The Future of Publishing Technology Beyond the AI Debate
Women in African Publishing
How AI, Metadata, SEO and GEO Can Help You Sell More Books Worldwide
Decoding the US Book Market by Circana Book Data
This episode is for writers, creatives, publishers, and anyone interested in where books, technology, and discoverability are heading.
Links mentioned:
Episode 12 - Navigating the digitak shift - Insights on writing seo and ai with Abidemi Sanusi
https://youtu.be/6yZbb9MT-K8
Schema.Org
https://schema.org/
Society of Authors
Human Authored campaign
https://societyofauthors.org/2026/03/11/human-authored-scheme-launched-as-generative-ai-threatens-authors-livelihoods/
Don’t Steal This Book
https://www.dontstealthisbook.com/
Schema.org
https://schema.org/
Links to podcast and article on London Bookfair 2026
Tasmina Perry on Substack -
https://open.substack.com/pub/weareallcreatives/p/i-went-to-london-book-fair-2026-so?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
The Creative Penn - ep 854
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2026/03/16/writing-characters-15-actionable-tips-for-writing-deep-character/
Pubishing Perspective
https://publishingperspectives.com/?s=london+book@UC1eU2S9cTu-HcN3Yn8a-QmQ