London Book Fair 2024

This March I attended my first London Book Fair and it was HUGE. I’d been to events at London Olympia before, but the scale of LBF was incredible by comparison.

As an introvert who works from home, I find myself making excuses not to get out to events in person. The result? I end up falling out of practice with talking to people in professional contexts and I need to give myself a lot of pep talks to get through them.

In some ways, the huge scale of LBF makes it easier to fade into the background. The background is my natural comfort zone, but comfort zones can be too… comfortable. A few of my lovely translator colleagues were there too and this meant I couldn’t just wander around anonymously. Which is A Good Thing.

Honestly, if you’ve never attended the LBF, I recommend going just to marvel at the beautifully colourful sight of London Olympia being given over entirely to the book industry. Wall to wall books in all their glory, and in a huge range of languages. Bliss for book lovers.

To get started, I attended the opening keynote by Jonathan Karp, President and CEO of Simon & Schuster to hear his perspective on publishing industry trends and developments. I heard that there is increasingly an international focus in book publishing – great news for anyone wanting to read books written in a language other than English.

Other key points I heard mentioned (these are very much my own quite subjective takeaways):

• In a fast-changing industry, where publishers and authors have to embrace social media and new technologies, there is now often more reference to ‘decks’ than to manuscripts.

• Authors are often doing their own marketing and achieving greater reach through social media (think BookTok).

• AI was discussed, of course. You can’t go anywhere without it being mentioned these days. Karp said that at Simon & Schuster they were ‘daring to be cautious’ about the benefits of AI as a tool. One example is how it could be used for older books, and they are experimenting with AI narration for books that would not otherwise be published.

Particular highlights for me were hearing about Strasbourg as 2024 World Book Capital, and hearing distinguished literary translators talk about the translation of non-fiction works, something that can sometimes be overlooked as a genre of literary/narrative translation. I also went along to the CIEP’s stand to say hello and had a lovely chat with its new CEO, Christine Yeates.

I’d love to go to LBF again. Even though I only attended one out of the three days, I got a lot out of it.

Have you been to LBF? Share your tips in the comments!

If you’re planning to go, pop your questions in the comments below.

The Sustainable Food Forum and the Speciality & Fine Food Fair – towards a better food system for a healthier planet

Harvesting opportunities

I’ve been out of my office more than usual these past two weeks. Two major food events have been early autumn highlights for me: the Speciality & Fine Food Fair at Olympia, London, and the Sustainable Food Forum, also in London.

It was such a treat for me to attend these two events, both centred on my number one favourite topic: good food. To me, good food means more than just food that tastes good; I want to know how it got onto my plate. The planet needs sustainable food that is good for the earth and good for people.

But why go to these events, as a linguist? Because I translate and copy-edit for customers in the food sector, it’s vital that I stay up-to-date with the latest trends, innovations and thinking. If I didn’t understand my customers’ challenges, I wouldn’t be equipped to make informed decisions when translating or editing their content.

Meeting the food system innovators and trailblazers

At the Speciality & Fine Food Fair I had the chance to meet innovative and ethical food exhibitors that are blazing a trail with their artisanal products. It was a privilege to see businesses that are experimenting with new ingredients and formulations and to learn about the latest trends.

I had conversations with exhibitors about how they produced their products and got them to market, and about future plans for selling their products more widely in the UK and beyond. Most importantly I sampled several of their mouth-watering products – cold-pressed gins, organic butters and cheeses, ethical and free-range ready meals. Yum! I was impressed with how well organised the event was – registration on the door took seconds and it was also easy to share contact details with exhibitors by simply scanning my visitor badge.

Making food system reform a priority

On 19 September I was lucky enough to secure a ticket with translator colleague Josie Worrall to attend Food Matters Live’s Sustainable Food Forum. This was held in the sublime venue of 30 Euston Square; also home to the Royal College of GPs. Josie and I agreed that the conference far exceeded our expectations. We were treated to seamless event organisation, top-notch food (par for the course, I guess!), and well-lit, comfortable conference rooms and cutting edge debate.

The Sustainable Food Forum was packed with expert-led discussions looking at key policies and challenges in our global food system. Chaired by journalist Samira Ahmed, we quickly got to the heart of the matter in the very first session: we are producing more food than we need, yet we are still hungry. How is this possible?

The answers to this question shared a common theme: the global food system is the single most destructive environmental force. Agricultural production generates more emissions than all forms of transport combined. But we just keep producing more meat to satisfy consumer demand. As consumers, we are so used to meat being the centrepiece of our meals, but it doesn’t have to be. A staggering 77% of agricultural land is used for animal production, something that seems crazy when we bear in mind that neither the meat nor the dairy industry would exist in the UK without subsidies.

If we fixed our food system it would pave the way for huge progress in mitigating climate chaos. There are powerful food lobbies pulling the strings, and many panellists argued that it’s time to call out these big players. The Netherlands has introduced a policy to reduce livestock numbers by 30%, the first in the world. Earlier this year, I attended another food systems conference that highlighted some other heartening global food policy initiatives - things ARE being done but we need to do more at every level, particularly at policy level.

Sustainability is not a trend

We often talk about sustainability as if it’s a trend. But actually it’s a must. Food industry coalitions and collaborations are the answer if we are serious about climate action. And the Sustainable Food Forum was a good place to start.

We heard first-hand from producers about how innovations in ingredients and processing may hold the key to a more sustainable food system. We face a doubling in meat production in future, as the world’s population grows. And yet most consumers still make their buying decisions based on taste and price – this means that customer acceptance has to be a priority.

There were some heated debates around new plant-based alternatives and meat analogues, and the extent to which they provide the answer. In my view, they do provide at least a large part of the answer.

It was highly relevant that one of the event’s key partners was ICEX. I attended an interesting presentation by Rising UP in Spain, the Spanish Government’s start-up programme to help international agrifood start-ups set up in Spain. As a Spanish to English translator, I’ll be keen to see how this start-up programme develops.

How can I help?

If you are a food system thinker, innovator or producer, I can help you hit the right note in your English language publications.

If you want to make sure your documents are fit for their intended audience, you need a specialist wordsmith in your corner. One who also cares about sustainability. If you are working hard to attract investment and new business to your region, your communication materials become mission-critical. You can’t afford to miss a beat.

That’s where I come in: as a translator and copy-editor specialising in sustainable food and food policy, I’m already helping my customers get their message across. If you’re interested in exploring how I can help you, click the image below to book a free chat.

5 confidence-boosting tips for attending in-person industry events when you’re rusty

In 2022, the return of in-person events is gathering pace. Last week I attended the Cardiff Translation Unconference and, in a few weeks, I’ll be at the ITI Conference in Brighton.

For many of us this change of tempo is welcome, exciting, and terrifying all at the same time. It means moving out of our comfort zones and into the big wide world beyond the reassuring comfort and splendid isolation of our home offices.

Let’s face it, despite regularly attending industry events in the pre-pandemic years, it has been a while since most of us did this and we’re out of practice. Read these five tips if you’re planning to attend an in-person event in your sector and you’re feeling rusty:

1. Keep your adrenalin levels in check. 😰

Adrenalin (or ‘good anxiety’) can be your friend: it focuses your mind and you can channel the energy it creates. But when it tips you into overdrive, it can also be your enemy. To help quiet any negative anxiety before leaving for the event, spend one minute breathing in and out slowly – counting to six as you go and holding the inhale at the top before letting it go again. This should help to calm your nerves. For me, yoga offers another way of steadying myself and staying focused.

Before you leave, doing a bit of pre-conference research about who will attend and connecting with them in advance will also help you feel more prepared and at ease.

2. Don’t self-criticise. 🤟

Remember that most freelance linguists are probably just like you and me: keen to network and share ideas, but also pretty introverted. Just like you and me, they probably spend more time behind a computer screen than speaking to people face-to-face, and they probably don’t have any secret conversational superpowers that you mysteriously lack.

When you walk into a room at an event, remember that the other attendees are all there for the same reason. Keeping this in mind takes the pressure off.     

3. Manage your expectations. 🚵

Networking is a journey, not a destination. You don’t know where that journey will take you and it will probably make you less nervous if you don’t have a fixed destination in mind. Especially if the networking is between peers and colleagues.

Think about building connections along that journey ̶ connections you may revisit in the future. Don’t bounce around the room for fleeting chats with as many people as possible. It’s not about promoting your business at every moment. Attend the smaller fringe events if you can, too. The fringe events are an ideal opportunity to engage with people in a more meaningful way.

4. Pace yourself. 🦥

Arrive early if you can. Arriving early means you can take stock of everything before it gets busier (and noisier). It might also enable you to locate a smaller group of peers and begin a conversation. Plus, others may notice you there early and approach you first.

For you, arriving early could even mean arriving one or two days early to settle comfortably into your groove, or adding an extra evening to your stay after the conference to bask in unbroken solitude.

5. Guard against overstimulation. 💫

Squirrel brain is real. I’m always keen to take absolutely everything in, even though it leaves me feeling shattered. I tend to be extremely comfortable with one-to-one connections, but burned out when there’s lots of noise and action coming from different directions. Especially when the networking continues into the evening at post-conference dinners – I know that’s my potential pain point.

To counteract this, try building in some buffer time to refresh ̶ time to retreat to your accommodation if you need to, so you’re not always in conference mode. Remind yourself that you do not have to be ‘on’ at all times. If you could potentially skip any sessions that aren’t as relevant to you, it’s OK to take a short walk in the fresh air to decompress.

Because you’re worth it

Even though in-person events and conferences can be daunting, they beat all other forms of professional networking hands down. So much of my work comes through referrals, and meeting someone in person helps to build trust.

I am actively engaged in my professional network the rest of the year, so these events offer a rare opportunity to meet all those names I usually only connect with online. And I always come away with fresh ideas and perspectives. In short, I couldn’t run my business without in-person events, even if my inner introvert tries to persuade me otherwise 😉

Want more?

Here are two book recommendations about this:

Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert’s Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You’d Rather Stay Home)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking