Pop Culture

Clever Bookish Marketing from the London Book Fair

Check out some of the clever marketing from the London Book Fair.

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Christine Ro

Staff Writer

Christine writes about books for Literary Hub, VICE, and the Ploughshares blog. She occasionally writes about other topics, because someone once told her (although it seemed implausible) that there’s life outside of books. Blog: https://www.christinero.com

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A book fair is an opportunity to marvel at the massive amount of money pouring through various nooks of the publishing industry. It’s also, of course, a venue for ingenious book publicity. Here’s some of the most eye-catching standalone marketing from the most recent edition of the London Book Fair.

A tiny folded business card, showing a cartoon-style octopus and ocean, with the text "The Golden Key" and "Bangon Books"

An adorable miniature book-shaped business card, for a representative of Bangon Books, the publisher of The Golden Key

A sloth hangs upside down, smiling. Text reads "Hang out with me."

A sloth-centric “Hang out with me!” business card, showcasing the work of British illustrator Izzi Fitch

A blue pamphlet resembling a passport, with the text "Antoine Cassar" and an image of a bird over a globe

A simulated passport, containing the border-challenging poem “Passport” by Maltese writer Antoine Cassar

A fox and a hedgehog look worried, with images of beds and pillows and the text "I can't go to bed, this just isn't right!"

A mini sample from Sophia K. Bennett and Christopher Bennett’s children’s book I Can’t Sleep on That!, with a QR code on the opposite side for illustrator Stag Prints

black poster featuring an astronaut, a toilet cleaning brush, and toilet paper, reading "Finally you are alone"

A poster hung on a bathroom stall, facing the toilet user, promoting both the value of a quiet space and the introverted creativity of Latvian authors

A pink box with the text "Period" and "It's about bloody time", containing sanitary products

Another bathroom publicity stunt: free tampons and sanitary pads in a case advertising Emma Barnett’s upcoming book Period.

Colorful pillow-shaped business cardColorful pillow-shaped business card

A pillow-shaped card from the perspective of Mr. Pillow, a character created by Ukrainian illustrator Dariia Bila