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My FBF: Amy Ellis Head of rights and permissions, PLS
The “rights geek” on meeting clients she has only seen via Zoom, the value of scheduling a lunch break amid the back-to-backs and doing the conga at the Maritim.
This will be my sixth Frankfurt Book Fair (my fifth with my PLS hat on), not counting the Covid years when we did our meetings online. My first FBF was in 2014, when I went as a student while studying for my publishing degree at Oxford Brookes. I stayed in a hostel with eight students to a room, so it was very full-on. We had meetings with publishers that our instructors pre-arranged but it was largely an opportunity to explore. I fully appreciate that now, as there are so many stands and parts of the fair I don’t get to see because I’m rushing to/from meetings or queuing for food/bad coffee/the toilets all day.
My boss probably won’t be happy to read this, but my favourite FBF party was when we started a conga line in the Maritim bar. I’ve promised to be on good behaviour this year. But I say that every year…
I really look forward to the Rights2Gether drinks. I’m always appreciative that Clare Hodder pulls a bunch of “rights geeks” into one place for a drink (or too many) after a busy day. It’s always a mix of new and familiar faces, which makes for good networking and the occasional late night heart-to-heart in the queue for the loo.
This is one of my busiest FBFs: several of my meetings are with people I’ve been working with for years and still have yet to meet face to face because of the pandemic. I’m most excited about those meetings.
They call me “the permissions lady” for a reason. Our PLSclear platform went through a few big upgrades this year, so I’m excited to talk to publishers about some of the changes we have made and upcoming developments to the platform. I’m on a mission to make permissions licensing a more exciting part of the business—not an easy task! I’m also looking forward to hearing more from publishers about the complexities of licensing AI.
We have had many a team dinner at Bockenheimer Stubb, which I recommend for a cosy evening. It’s not the best location for any vegetarians, though, so I’m always mindful when making that suggestion!
As a small organisation, PLS doesn’t have the budget to visit the many publishers we work with overseas, so being able to meet face to face with people we work closely with at Frankfurt is so valuable. It’s easier to get to know each other better and I find the conversations flow a bit easier.
I always make time for food. I think there’s a book fair mentality that lunch is a luxury but it’s important to take time to eat something. Setting aside time for food and a break is the difference between function and dysfunction.
As exhausting as Frankfurt is, once I hit my groove I love to be out meeting as many people as possible. Publishing is such a people business and it’s part of what makes me love my job so much. FBF also enables us to all come together and nerd out about rights. What’s not to love?
