Exporting to the United Kingdom

Exporting to the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom (UK) is a well-established export market for publishers from other English-language markets, as well as an important market for publishers from other territories. Its publishing industry is prolific and diverse with an active book-reading and book-buying public, easy internal communications, and national media coverage. Geographically compact, the UK is also relatively easy to access, with very few import restrictions or taxation barriers.

The United Kingdom has undergone a series of significant upheavals in the last five years that have impacted the publishing industry and book market. Take this opportunity to hear about these latest developments and about what the UK has to offer as a potential export market for your books.

 

Topics include:

  • An overview of the book industry in the region
  • The state of publishing, distribution, and retail
  • Book Fairs and Literary Festivals in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
  • The rights business
  • Trade exports and the impact of Brexit
  • Higher education and academic textbook market
  • Key players
  • And much more…

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YOUR HOSTS

Emma House headshot

Emma House is an international publishing consultant, having worked in the industry for over 20 years. She is the former Deputy CEO of the Publishers Association where she worked for 11 years. Prior to this, she worked for The London Book Fair at various posts including Event Manager, Head of International Development, and Key Account Manager. She has broad knowledge of the publishing industry globally and a strong network of contacts across publishers, agents, distributors, and booksellers. She is co-founder of the Facebook group Publishers Without Borders, designed to bring the international community together during the COVID-19 period. She is an advisor for the organization “Civic” on a Future Libraries project for the UK Public Library sector, project manager for ‘Quick Reads’ (an adult literacy initiative run by The Reading Agency), as well as a consultant to the Sharjah Book Authority. She is a trustee of the Publishing Training Centre and an advisor to LDN Apprenticeships.

 

Simon Littlewood headshot

Simon Littlewood is an adviser, consultant, and coach to a range of international book industry companies and government organizations. Simon has held positions in trade, academic and professional, educational, and illustrated publishing in the UK for over 30 years. A member of Macmillan’s Graduate Recruitment Scheme, where he gained experience of sales, marketing, and editorial management both at home and overseas, he was also a founder director of Pan Macmillan South Africa. He later took senior roles at Phaidon Press and Headline Book Publishing before becoming International Director of The Random House Group (now part of Penguin Random House) in 1997, a post he held until 2014. During successive phases of expansion at Random House he oversaw strategic developments in Europe and East Asia as well as leading the start-up of Random House India in New Delhi. As a director of Random House South Africa he played a key role in the establishment of its local publishing list Umuzi. From 2009 to 2011 Simon was Chair of the UK Publishers Association’s International Board, leading copyright protection campaigns jointly with the PA’s International Director. He has been closely involved in publishing education for many years, giving seminars on a range of courses, and sitting on the Industry Advisory Board of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies. Since 2014 he has represented the UK PA on the Executive of the Federation of European Publishers in Brussels, and from 2014 to 2019 he fulfilled the same role at the International Publishers Association in Geneva.