Sunday April 12th 2015
I’ve been living on Manhattan for nearly two years now, so when I visit London, it really does feel like I am going down memory lane. My husband and I decided we would go to Brick Lane on the Sunday. There was a terrific party atmosphere in the air. I even came away with an original 1950s black velvet stole from Beyond Retro – the vintage clothes store.
I’m a big fan of records, so we headed into Rough Trade East. I couldn’t get over their wonderful book selection. I was also thrilled to discover a nice stack of Sarah Herman’s ‘Extreme Bricks.’ The book was originally published in the US by Skyhorse, who then sold UK rights to Michael O’Mara books. This is perfect product placement, as opposite the store there is an exhibition called ‘The Art of the Brick.’ It features over 100 art sculptures created from more than a million LEGO® bricks by US artist Nathan Sawaya.
A nice pile of ‘Extreme Bricks’ by Sarah Herman in Rough Trade East.
Monday April 13th 2015
I spent today catching up on work and doing prep for London Book Fair. It’s very important to be prepared for all my book meetings. I also had a wonderful lunch with Grace Sandford, my lovely author and illustrator. It was the first time we had met in person. Grace came armed with gorgeous presents – a selection of her lovely greetings cards and she also gave me a cute little brooch made out of felt, which she had made herself. It was a great meeting where we celebrated her book deals in both the UK and US. We both had delicious fish dishes at Aurora on Lexington St, in Soho.
Lovely gifts from my illustrator and writer, Grace Sandford.
Tuesday April 14th 2015
I took the bus from Oxford Street to Olympia for the book fair today. I met with a wide range of publishers. I pitched new projects and listened to what they were interested in commissioning for their lists. It’s great for research too and wonderful seeing my clients’ books on proud display. Here’s some pictures I took at the fair:
My LBF badge for 2015.
The agency has done a lot of books with Summersdale Publishers. Here’s a picture of their stand.
Dr Keith Souter’s new book on dementia. Keith’s book and his articles have also been featured in the Daily Mail this month.
And I spotted this book on the Summersdale stand too. I can’t resist a picture of a pug.
The Omnibus Stand. Always the coolest.
Client, Ian Tilton’s Stone Roses title on display.
Lovely to see lots of Mark Beaumont’s music biographies books on display – The Killers, Muse, Bon Iver and Kanye West.
Nice illustration on the Bloomsbury stand.
HarperCollins stand.
Nice to see client, Fiona McDonald’s books in The Search Press catalogue.
“Isabel has great taste, and is a pleasure to work with. She’s flexible, reasonable and professional.”
Lee Wade, VP & Publisher, Random House Studio
