04 March 2020
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The LBF was cancelled this morning after major publishers pulled out of the event
A statement from organisers Reed Exhibitions was issued today.
'The effects, actual and projected, of Coronavirus are becoming evident across all aspects of our lives here in the UK and across the world, with many of our participants facing travel restrictions,' it read. 'We have been following UK government guidelines and working with the rolling advice from the public health authorities and other organisations, and so it is with reluctance that we have taken the decision not to go ahead with this year's event.'
Major publishers who announced that they would not be attending before the LBF cancelled the event include Hachette, HarperCollins UK, Pan Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House. Curtis Brown, Blake Friedmann, Darley Anderson and Jo Unwin literary agencies had also announced that they would not be attending.
The Leipzig Book Fair, which would have taken place between 12 and 15 March, has also been cancelled because of coronavirus fears.
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