Now and again I think that  it is crucial for any writer to take the time away from their day life and wallow in a complete and total immersion BOOKFEST.

I am lucky enough to live an hour away by train from one of the largest book trade shows in the world – the London Book Fair.

This is where literary agents come together to make deals for their clients, and publishers show their fabulous catalogues to booksellers from around the world. But it also has developed a terrific program for authors.

The last time I was there it was struck down by the Icelandic Ash cloud, but this time Earls Court was totally buzzing!

 

Why was it such a terrific day? This was my chance to:

* Meet my tribe and talk to real people, face to face, and not just over the web. [ Great fun!]

* Visit publishers. [ Waves to the lovely team at Harlequin who were doing a fabulous job] 

* Catch up with members of the Romantic Novelists Association who were visiting or manning publisher stands. 

* Attend top class presentations by internationally recognised stars in their field.

For example; the lovely Katie Fforde on genre fiction, with Manda Scott for contemporary and historical, and Jo Fletcher for speculative fiction.

And a stunning and animated presentation by Bella Andre on Self-Publishing who is working with Kobo on the foreign translations of her work.

* Come away with notebooks full of furiously written notes which I am slowly going to break down and use.

* Walk through aisle after aisle of fabulous new technology, publishing services and BOOKS!

There truly is nothing like spending a whole day with people who share your passion and want to make a difference with books of all shapes, sizes and format. 

I had a great time.  Sigh. Lots to do.