When I was asked to join the Parthian team for The London Book Fair I was elated. I had never been to London, let alone the renowned book fair. Stepping through the doors of the Olympia I was greeted with the stock market of publishing, it was filled with stands, agents and publishers, it was overwhelming, to say the least.
Wales at London Book Fair stand was a combination of members from Welsh publishers, Literature Wales, Literature Across Frontiers, Wales Arts Council and more. I was shocked to find out how recent the Welsh stand had been included in the book fair but was also really happy to see it there and to see everyone together supporting Wales.
At 11:30 I attended a lecture on identity and translation in Scotland, Wales and Europe in the Literary Translation Centre. I was live tweeting the lecture for the Parthian twitter page and quoting from the author panel. The lecture was the challenges of translating but what it means for the authors that get their work translated into English.
Parthian won a nibbie for Small Press of the Year for the Wales region from IPG which was a wonderful addition to the day as everyone was in high spirits, I couldn't have asked for more!
The day was long but extremely beneficial for me to see how the publishing industry works at these events. I was able to meet agents and other publishers such as Honno. But I must say, the best part of my day was the Zero Hours On The Boulevard readings which took place after the fair at The Grove pub. It was a chance to network without the busy background of the fair, it was a wonderful and welcoming atmosphere with some fabulous readings from the authors. I felt very grateful to be a part of it and can honestly say my first time in London, was a great success.
-Molly Holborn
