My FBF: Liane-Louise Smith, head of international rights, The Blair Partnership

This will be my 12th Frankfurt. My very first was back in 2011 with Random House Children’s Books. I was doing a maternity cover at the time and remember being very excited that I had the chance to go—it felt like I’d finally arrived in rights. I loved it, but felt quite overwhelmed because I knew no one. Everyone was extremely kind and welcoming, and I am still firm friends with many of the editors I met for the first time at that fair.

There have been so many great Frankfurt parties, but from a personal point of view, appearing with Editorial Standards at the Logenhaus jazz bar last year was a book fair highlight. It’s quite daunting singing in front of a room full of colleagues, but everyone was so supportive and the atmosphere that night was electric. Delighted that we’ll be back again this year with some more tunes!

The first FBF back after the pandemic, when there were still not many people attending the fair, was rather special. Everyone was so eager to be back, and there was a real enthusiasm and camaraderie that had sprung up from being apart for so long. Plus my schedule was much calmer than usual and it was easier to get to the bar at the Hof.

I’m looking to seeing everyone this year. It is the highlight of the fair catching up with international colleagues. This year I’m looking forward to seeing the international publishers of Clare Leslie Hall’s Broken Country, which will be published in 30 languages in 2025. This is the exciting stage in the lead-up to publication, when everyone’s plans are starting to come together.

We have some non-fiction projects that are already grabbing everyone’s attention: Burn Bright by Nick Petrie, The Confidence Trick by Mark Egan and The History of the Universe by David Kelly; and two utterly fabulous, heart-wrenching YA novels: Georgina Spivey’s Go Back, Don’t Let Him Leave and Adam by Katie Idle.

I’ve discovered several wonderful Italian restaurants over the years. But I won’t name names for fear of never managing to secure a booking again, but let’s just say I eat a lot of truffle pasta during book fair week.

Fairs are still important as there’s no real substitute for meeting people IRL. But also, it’s an opportunity to hear about other books that are travelling around the world. I always delight in hearing about projects from other countries that everyone is excited about. Also, it’s the chance encounters and new introductions that can happen over drinks at the Hof or during Frankfurt dinners that are invaluable and impossible to replicate outside the fair.

My top fair tip? Meet as many people as possible. Not only is it fun to hear what other people are up to but you never know when a connection is going to turn into something exciting. I’ve had some brilliant collaborations with people I originally sat next to at a publishing dinner years earlier.