Big five US publishers, Amazon withdraw from LBF

Amazon and the US businesses of HarperCollins, Hachette and Penguin Random House are the latest publishers to withdraw staff from the London Book Fair (LBF) due to the coronavirus outbreak, reports the Bookseller.

They join Simon & Schuster US, Macmillan Trade US, Ingram Content Group and OverDrive as businesses to have pulled out of the fair.

The UK government will publish its coronavirus action plan on 3 March. Speaking to the BBC on 1 March, health secretary Matt Hancock said the UK government might consider banning mass gatherings, closing schools and encouraging people to avoid public transport.

In a statement on the LBF website, organisers said they are ‘continuously monitoring the situation around Covid-19 Coronavirus’, in line with guidelines from Public Health England and World Health Organisation. ‘If the advice from the UK authorities does change we will act upon it and immediately update the industry,’ LBF said.

Category: International news