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Clever Bookish Marketing from the London Book Fair

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