The London Book Fair, 16-18 April 2012, was once again a great global marketplace for rights negotiation. Taking place every Spring at Earl’s Court, Pontas was registered at the International Rights Center and was represented by Anna Soler-Pont, Patricia Sánchez and Elisa Basolu. They had the opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues about the economical crisis affecting the publishing industry, talk to publishers about new books, enjoy the vibrant atmosphere and explore innovations shaping the publishing world of the future.
Patrick Barkham published a good summary of the London Book Fair 2012 in The Guardian. Here’s an excerpt: “Business is brisk upstairs at the 584 tables for literary agents who, like speed-daters, try to charm foreign publishers into buying rights to their authors' books in half-hour rendezvous. (…) There are parties, a lot of schmoozing, people get tipsy, talk things up, then people buy something next morning."
From left to right: Elisabeth Dyssegaard, editor-in-chief of Hyperion, in a dinner-meeting discussing details of the forthcoming publication of Jonas Jonasson’s novel in the United States; in another dinner-meeting, Danish editor Louise Konigsfeldt (from Rosinante) and French editor Marie-Pierre Graciedieu (from Éditions Stock) discussing about Dolores Redondo Meira’s debut novel (to be published simultaneously in six languages in March 2013).
Norwegian editor Synnove Tresselt (from Aschehoug, publishers of Susan Abulhawa) and Héloïse d’Ormesson (responsible for the latest French publication of Susana Fortes ’s novels); Dutch editorJacqueline Smit (from Orlando Uitgeverij) and Joop Boezeman, managing director of the Dutch publishing group A.W.Bruna Uitgevers (publishers of Maite Carranza, Lluís-Anton Baulenas and Jonas Jonasson, among others).
