The London Book Fair

At The London Book Fair (LBF) you can negotiate rights, meet partners and follow more than 100 seminar sessions alongside publishers, literary agents, scouts, rights and licensing teams, commissioners and service suppliers. LBF is an annual publishing trade fair run by RX, and its 2027 edition is the first to be held at Excel London. The organiser reports over 34,000 publishing professionals and more than 1,000 exhibiting companies.

The 2027 fair at Excel London

You have three days for your meetings and sessions.

Day	Opening times
Tuesday 16 March 2027	09:00 to 18:30
Wednesday 17 March 2027	09:00 to 18:30
Thursday 18 March 2027	09:00 to 17:00

The organiser says your ticket includes entry to the content seminars held over all three days. Registering interest on the official site signs you up for the organiser’s email updates. Attendees must be over 18 unless the organisers have approved them in advance. LBF calls itself primarily a trade show and states that it cannot arrange meetings for authors to pitch to agents.

Why the fair moved from Olympia

The move is meant to make the event more inclusive and accessible for you, according to the organiser, which announced a multi-year deal with Excel following consultation with the industry and the LBF Advisory Board. The 2026 fair took place at Olympia London from 10 to 12 March 2026. The announcement also mentions the fair’s recent 40th anniversary.

Edition	Dates	Venue
2026	10 to 12 March	Olympia London
2027	16 to 18 March	Excel London

The International Rights Centre

If you are an agent or rights holder, the IRC gives you a separate area to hold pre-booked meetings with publishers, editors and scouts about rights sales, co-editions, translations, licensing, and film, audio and digital adaptations. In 2027 all IRC tables are in the ICC Maritime Suite, and the organiser lists 556 international rights tables. Entry needs an IRC badge. If you have a confirmed meeting but no badge, go to the information desk with proof of the appointment to get a temporary pass or an escort. Depending on table type, an IRC exhibitor receives one exhibitor badge and one visitor invitation, or four of each.

Conferences, features and awards

You can add programmes built for writers, illustrators and academic publishers to your visit.

• The Writers’ Summit: a one-day event of advice, workshops and networking for writers at any career stage.
• Academic and Professional Publishing Conference: one day on research system sustainability, digital change, trust markers, business models and AI initiatives.
• Author HQ and Audio Village: Author HQ is a stage for writers, alongside Authors of the Day on the main stage.
• The Illustrators’ Gallery: a shared space where illustrators show work and meet publishers to discuss commissions.
• Trailblazer Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award: presented each year.
• LBF Schools Programme: run with the National Literacy Trust for schools in underrepresented areas.

Past seminar topics named by the organiser include rights selling essentials, rights deal checklists, getting published and pitching to agents. Exhibitors range from large groups to independents publishing fiction, academic texts, children’s books and graphic novels. Anyone new to the publishing sector calendar may find our guide to choosing your first UK trade show useful.

Exhibiting at LBF

As an exhibitor you take part in what RX describes as the first international publishing event of the year, and it reports that 86% of exhibitors return and 91% are satisfied. You book a stand through an application form, after which a member of the team gets in touch. RX’s in-house design and build service, SmartSpace, sells all-inclusive stand packages. Our guide to shell scheme or space only covers the choice between stand types. Sponsorship covers onsite signage, email banners and social media posts. RX also organises World Travel Market London and Infosecurity Europe (from 8 June 2027) at the same venue.

Getting there

You can travel by train right to the venue, as the show site points visitors to the Elizabeth line to Custom House, which links directly to Excel’s West Entrance, with direct trains from Paddington, Liverpool Street and Heathrow. Another route is the Jubilee line to Canning Town, then a Beckton-bound DLR train to Prince Regent for the East Entrance. If you drive, the Orange Car Park takes pre-booked drivers only during the fair, and the venue has 54 cycle racks at the East Entrance and 6 at the West. Earlier in March, Excel hosts International Confex from 3 March 2027; see more trade shows in London.

Source: londonbookfair.co.uk/en-gb/visit.html, londonbookfair.co.uk/en-gb/exhibit.html, londonbookfair.co.uk/en-gb/visit/international-rights-centre-visitor.html, londonbookfair.co.uk/en-gb/visit/venue-and-travel/lbf-moves-to-excel-2027.html