My LBF: Hellie Ogden, Co-head, UK book division, WME

I have been going to LBF every year since I was in my early 20s, minus time off for three babies, and I’m hurtling towards 40 now. My first one… I was so eager that I had all my notes bound in a special laminated folder. And then so hungover on day one that I lost said folder.

My favourite parties were various Canongate ones, particularly ones at Paradise in Kensal Rise so I can walk the two minutes home. And I love the Eccles Fisher final-day Polish extravaganza. I hear the WME party is good…

He won’t appreciate me naming him, so I won’t, as he is a very successful publishing person. But when I was in my early 20s, I met him in Kensal to get the train to LBF on a day two. He had lost his wallet the night before, I had lost all my make-up. He still owes me the train fare to get him there, and my hangover couldn’t be hidden with any amount of Boots’ emergency foundation. But we laughed a lot and I like reminding him of the story every year.

I am really looking forward to seeing my new LA and New York colleagues this year, as this is my first LBF with WME, as well as the US editors and loads of international publishers I have had the pleasure of seeing yearly, or meeting for the first time. Equally, I look forward to seeing UK agent friends and editors I’ve grown up with and don’t get the chance to see enough of.

One of my books I’m really excited about this LBF is Orion publishing director Leodora Darlington’s début novel The Exes, which I just sold to Penguin Michael Joseph in a significant overnight pre-empt. And the queen of New York publishing, Suzanne Gluck, has done a stonking deal for it with Maya Ziv at Dutton. Laura Bonner has closed international pre-empts, with more to come. Plus, I’m teasing some big débuts to come post-fair, continuing to sell rights in major projects sold recently, like Sarah Harman’s All the Other Mothers Hate Me, Julia Kelly’s The Fisherman’s Gift, Kat Dunn’s Hungerstone and some new projects from long-term clients with big international reach.

I hate the lack of light in the rights centre, the fair food, the chaos in finding our table– as someone with no sense of direction – and the inevitable freshers’ flu to round it out.

I think IRL fairs are still so important. The connections made at the fair, but perhaps more importantly over drinks later, are invaluable. Plus, it’s fun, after a huge amount of late-night edits and stress in the lead-up. I love the connections, the laughs, the friendships and even the inevitable small talk. I love the confusion it creates among non-industry friends who don’t get why this eccentric convention dominates my life twice a year (I’m including Frankfurt in that).

My tips for a successful fair? Well, looking back on my answers, the messaging seems to be: don’t drink too much or lose all your things.