The Brief
As part of Midas’s long-standing partnership with London Book Fair, each year we spearhead the programming for the popular Author HQ stage.
Author HQ designed to provide writers with an insight into the trends and talking points currently exciting the publishing industry, offering a range of inspiring content from authors and industry experts through a series of engaging and thought-provoking seminars. Our task was to create a programme which reflected the excitement around the first physical LBF since 2019.
The Work
This involved developing an interesting and engaging programme that discussed industry trends of the previous year alongside the issues of concern to writers today. Topics included the power of TikTok as a marketing platform, celebrating working class writing, publishing outside of London, and the mental wellbeing of writers. This meant more than just knowing who would draw crowds – it involved the nitty-gritty of liaising with teams, managing schedules and ensuring that logistics for each speakers ran smoothly.
Hearing from other authors share their different experiences inspired attendees and we worked in partnership with publishers to secure the presence of a mix of high-profile names such as Peter James, Louise Candlish and Milly Johnson, alongside exciting new talents at the start of their publishing journey including Lizzie Damilola Blackburn and Lily Lindon. We worked closely with third parties – such as the Society of Authors, the Association of Illustrators, and the Alliance of Independent Publishers – to provide expert advice on the intricacies of being a writer.
The buzz around the Author HQ programme was evident as LBF approached; we secured press coverage in the trade media and social media was awash with attendees sharing highlights and useful takeaways from each session.
The Results
The Author HQ stage was buzzing throughout LBF: each session was packed, and audiences engaged with the discussions that took place. There were over 1,600 attendees to the stage over the three days and the response to the programme was overwhelmingly positive.
