How to Prepare for London Book Fair 2023

If you’re planning to attend London Book Fair 2023, either as an independent attendee or for work, here are my top tips on how to handle the fair.

Tips for London Book Fair 2023

The first thing to be aware of is the size of the fair. It goes on for three days and there are thousands of meetings. And then there’s the space. The Olympia in Kensington is huge and it can take a good 15 minutes to travel from one side of the fair to the other, so always set aside some time if you want to see everything.

Bring a reusable bottle

All the walking – especially if it’s a warm day outside; the building is like a greenhouse – will leave you feeling dehydrated. There are usually plenty of water spots throughout the building, so I highly recommend bringing a reusable water bottle you can refill. There are also quite a few cafes and shops if you need to buy a water bottle first.

Wear comfortable shoes

You may think this is a work event, let me wear heels, think again. Wear trainers or your most comfortable shoes – I would approve of Crocs during LBF! You have to walk everywhere, usually at speed usually, just to make it to your next meeting or panel, not to mention the travel to the fair through London. Trust me, break the trainers out.

Set breaks between meetings

If you have a meeting at 1 pm don’t set the next meeting until 2 pm, as that leaves you plenty of time to actually talk but also to find the person you’re meeting with and find a place to have the meeting. It also leaves you some time to move from one meeting to the next as there’s nothing worse than rushing. Plus it’s likely you’ll get lost and spend 15 minutes walking through the building.

Pack some snacks

There are cafes and places to buy food at the London Book Fair, but the queues are often miles long and the food is massively over-priced. As such, pack some snacks to bring with you. You don’t want to be carrying around a lunchbox all day, but it’s worth packing some energy bars, yogurt tubes, tin-foil sandwiches etc. You can always pop outside the fair to nearby shops but the walk alone will take you 20 minutes and if you only have 30-60 minutes, that’s a big chunk of time.

Bring headphones, earphones, or earplugs

It gets very noisy at the London Book Fair, so I highly recommend you bring some headphones/earphones or even earplugs with you. If you’re wanting to have a break or need to tone down the noise, then having these with you will be a godsend.

Pack pens and a notepad

The internet is sketchy and more often than not it’s easier to take notes by hand, so I recommend bringing a notepad and several pens – they always run out just as the meeting begins! This is also a great way to take notes at panels and as you’re walking around.

Those are my top tips for handling the London Book Fair 2023. What would your tips be? Let me know in the comments below.

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