Lessons for writers from the London Book Fair

I sat at the Author's HQ area, absorbing the knowledge about publishing your book. Here's what you need to do to be a successful author today.

A YouGov poll came out last week that said 40% of Brits haven’t read or listened to a book in the past year.

Only 22% have read between 1 and 5 books over the last year.

If, like me, you have at least one book on the go at all times, this is shocking news. Reading is one of the main ways I make sense of the world. Along with other forms of culture, like theatre and telly, books help us feel connected and they create empathy for people who have different lives from our own. This is something we desperately need more of, not less.

If we are becoming a nation of non-readers. What are we doing instead? Doomscrolling. We are filling up our time by looking at our phones.

My talented, brilliant friend and loyal paid subscriber to this substack, Rachel (hi Rachel!) recently sent me a TED talk-worthy voicenote…