London Book Fair 2025: Publishers Are the World’s ‘Professional Survivors’

Ridgway has had no shortage of challenges to contend with in his first year as show director, not the least of which is the relatively limited space offered by the Olympia as it continues to undergo renovations, leading to a number of prosaic concerns. Attendees often joined long lines to enter panels that were themselves often shoehorned into too-small rooms, only to ultimately be refused entry. An overly aggressive air conditioning unit in one part of the International Rights Center sent literary agents running back to their hotel rooms to get their coats. More dramatically, a small portion of the roof collapsed onto an empty chair in the same part of the IRC, surprising the surrounding fairgoers.