The Society of Authors at London Book Fair 2026
10 March - 12 March
Come and meet the team, chat to our advisors and Management Committee, and find out what we’re campaigning for this year.
You’ll find us at the Writers’ Summit, Novotel West
- Mon 9 March 2026
During London Book Fair, you’ll find us in the Authors’ Lounge with the Black British Book Festival, and AllIi (Association of Independent Authors).
- Tue 10 March 2026: 09:00 -15:30
- Wed 11 March 2026: 09:00 – 17:00
- Thu 12 March 2026: 09:00 – 16:30
Exclusive offer codes for SoA members
We have a limited number of discounted visitor tickets available to SoA members. These are either for one day or all three days of the fair. Please note that this code is only valid for the main book fair from Tuesday 10 – Thursday 12 March. The code will allow 250 members to apply for a visitor ticket with a 30% discount.
You can access this offer code via our SoA member page on our website, where you will need to be logged into the Members’ Area to view.
We also have a limited amount of discounted tickets available for the Writers’ Summit taking place on Monday 9 March, for which you can use the offer code SOAWS26. The code will get 10 members 30% off the Writers’ Summit.
Meet the SoA advisors
We’d love to meet you, whether you’re an SoA member, just starting out as a writer, or have been in the industry for years. Our advisors will be on hand each day so you can talk to them in person.
Meet the SoA team
Members of the SoA team will be on the stand each day. Come and say hello, grab a snack and pick up a leaflet. You can meet staff from our different departments –from Prizes and Communications to Events and Membership.
SoA talks at London Book Fair
The Society of Authors has curated a number of talks at this year’s London Book Fair and members of the team will be taking part inseveral sessions. Find out more below. See the full seminar programme.
The Writers’ Summit
We will be at The Writers’ Summit on Monday 9 March 2026 | Novotel West
View the programme | The Society of Authors is hosting the following session:
Top tips for emerging writers
When beginning your career as an author, there are many things you can do, and avoid, to start as you mean to go on, and build a successful, sustainable career. Tip number one is look to the wisdom of others.
Join Anna Ganley, the Chief Executive of the Society of Authors – the UK’s largest trade union for writers, illustrators and translators – in conversation with two seasoned writers Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin and Kit de Waal, sharing their top tips and advice.
Main Stage
Tuesday 10 March at 15.45-16.30
Shining the spotlight on ghostwriters
There’s no escaping the fact that celebrity titles are big business in publishing. Behind many of these books, there’s a collaboration between a ghostwriter and the celebrity. How does it really work behind the scenes? How can you get work in this area and what sort of terms should you have? And how might we all work together as an industry to ensure best practice when it comes to issues such as crediting and recognising the value of the ghostwriter’s work?
Speakers: Selina Julien, Lisa Bent, Joanna Nadin, Mark McCrum | chaired by Sarah Burton, Society of Authors
Literary Translation Centre and the Translators Association (TA)
As in previous years the TA has programmed two events at the Literary Translation Centre, the hub for everyone interested in translation and translators. Entry is free to everyone attending the LBF – you don’t have to be a translator – so come along and say hello. Read the full Literary Translation Centre programme here.
Tuesday 10 March at 12:30-13:15
Getting Out of the Margins: Five Years of #TranslatorsOnTheCover
In the autumn of 2021, translator Jennifer Croft and author Mark Haddon drafted an open letter hosted by the Society of Authors urging authors to commit to asking that ‘whenever our work is translated… the name of the translator appears on the front cover’. Five years on from the launch of #TranslatorsOnTheCover, it’s time to take stock – has it worked?
This session will explore the campaign’s impact and examine the changes it has prompted in both publishing industry practice and reader awareness. Speakers will also reflect on its position in the spectrum of translator and author-driven campaigns to improve terms for translators and enhance their visibility in recent decades, including the #NameTheTranslator campaign of the 2010s and more recent calls for authors to stand by their human translators with the rise of automated AI platforms. Looking forward, what lessons can be drawn from the past and what comes next in the profession’s efforts to obtain wider recognition of its vital role in the publishing process?
The Guardian – Why Translators should be named on book covers
The Society of Authors – #TranslatorsOnTheCover – update and sample letters
Wednesday, 11 March at 12:30-13:15
The Translator as an Asset
Translators do more than just translate. Indeed, the act of translating words on the page is but one of a wide range of activities that translators engage in. Beyond this most obvious facet of their role, translators also act as literary scouts, agents, interpreters, diplomats, and activists as they bridge languages and cultures and actively shape the literary landscape. And this is by no means an exhaustive list – those in the know appreciate the asset value of translators to the translated book production process. Yet this important work often remains unseen, unrecognised – and, often, unpaid.
This session will explore and define the far-reaching role of the modern literary translator as a key asset in the publishing industry, while also discussing how the industry in turn can support and care for its translators.
The Bookseller – Translation adjacent
Words Without Borders – Translation-adjacent
