One week into the #FrankfurtBookFair2020 #fbf20 virtual book fair meetings and I have some thoughts.

Zoom meetings are not nearly as horrible as I expected them to be. There are a number of advantages: I can pull as many colleagues into a meeting as I want, which means more energy and variety.

The amazing @CiaraMcEllin is joining all my meetings to take notes which means I can fully focus my attention, a complete novelty and I will be spoiled forever. Plus we all get to see each other’s bookshelves and pets, which is fun.

I haven’t scheduled any back to back meetings, so technological difficulties (the new “I just ran over from hall 8/couldn’t find your table”) aren’t stressful, we can overrun if we’re having fun gossiping or chatting about books

and I get a bit of a break for coffee/toilet/snacks (and there’s no queue for the toilet in my house).

Our individual meeting schedule is focusing on established relationships which makes it easier and also more enjoyable. You CAN have a high-energy, fun, laughing meeting via zoom. Yes, I miss the buzz of an in-person book fair.

I miss the chance encounters and the catching up with friends who live in different countries (or even south London, which is basically the same thing, I’m looking at you @juliachurchill).

I especially miss the stand parties and hotel bar happy hours (though I don’t miss the Hoff, sorry, or the resulting hangovers). I won’t be hanging up my fair passes anytime soon. But as a substitute, this isn’t terrible.

It’s been fascinating to catch a glimpse of the global publishing industry mid-pandemic. In general, the mood is optimistic and upbeat. Most people I’ve spoken to are reporting sales losses to be much less than expected, or even gains by getting lucky with the right titles.

Unsurprisingly, the books that fared best in the spring were established authors, escapist fiction, and practical nonfiction on timely topics.

Since mid-June with bookshops re-opening across Europe the trade has increased and in many cases a boom summer made up for a lacklustre spring. With cinemas, theatres, museums etc closed, bookshops remain a bastion of culture and people are rediscovering a love of reading.

Digital sales, ebooks, & audio have grown in almost every territory, & publishers who were well placed to expland into these markets have reaped the benefits. Territories that relied almost exclusively on physical bookstores sales (such as Portugal & Croatia) suffered the most

Looking towards the future publishers seem to want to consolidate their gains by acquiring more of the type of tiles that work best for them, & are somewhat reluctant to trying new genres but at least happy to consider debuts.

We rep a very wide range at @watsonlittle and we’ve had interest in all of our titles. I feel lucky to be working in an industry that is far more resilient that we all feared. It's been an eye-opening week. Would love to hear how my #foreignrights colleagues have found it?