Curtis Brown to hold digital spring fair

Curtis Brown will hold its own digital book fair for adult and children's rights in March, in lieu of the normal London Book Fair and Bologna Children's Book Fair schedules.

Running in the last two weeks of March to 1st April, the firm said agents from across the Curtis Brown, ICM Partners, CB Australia and C&W agencies plan to hold online meetings with editors in all territories where they are active.

The company said it was inspired by the success of its “Fakefurt” digital initiative when Frankfurt Book Fair was physically cancelled last year. Once again, agents will use digital initiatives and channels like interactive catalogues, social media campaigns, author Q&As and newsletters, building towards a focal point of 22nd March. Meetings will be held over a nine-day period.

Curtis Brown said, with the London and Bologna fairs both moving to June, it had received “unanimous calls” to hold an earlier digital fair of its own.

A spokesman explained: “Even by early January—thinking back to Fakefurt’s success, and looking forward to the volume of extraordinary books we expect to have in the first half of 2021—we had unanimous calls to convene another digital book fair. We imagine it will be close in terms of volume of business to the traditional spring fairs, if not their equal. To say nothing of the crucial work in maintaining our strong relationships with key overseas partners on this schedule.

“Similarly, we know that very little replaces the value of our overseas trips and face-to-face meetings, and therefore will be doing all this with one eye on June, and a long overdue in-person reunion with our international colleagues who make it to visit us for the London Book Fair, which will be a bonus second focal point in the trade's 2021 calendar. And we are thinking exactly the same for Bologna.”