deilibri

01/04/2026 · 12:37

LBF – Ukraine has to be here!

I was delighted to be invited to a reception on the Ukraine Book Institute stand at LBF2026.

I’ve always admired the way they arrive at the show and put on such as warm, positive face despite the adversity back home. This year the Ukraine Ambassador to the UK, Valeriy Zaluzhny (left|), spoke of the importance of books and invited listeners to discover Ukraine through its literature – through the ideas, experiences and voices of the people who their history today.

‘Books shape a person’s memory, worldview, and future. That’s why books once had an amazing ability to survive eras, wars, and borders. However, like a newspaper with the editor-in-chief’s name at the end, a book disappears. The editor and author disappear with it, and, as a result, the truth disappears. Instead, so-called information has appeared that strikes people’s minds from anonymous sources and shapes their future. Unknown people are still doing this today, and AI will do it tomorrow.

Therefore, today, in times of great trials, the word of truth acquires special power. It must become an instrument of memory, a form of resistance, and a way to explain to the world who we are. That is why Ukrainian literature is experiencing an important moment today – it speaks not only about war, but about the values that determine our future. That is why it is extremely important for us today that Ukraine is present here at the London Book Fair.’

Welcoming everyone to the stand he concluded: ‘As a person who has the honour of serving his country, and as an author, I understand well that a book is not just a text. It is an opportunity for Ukrainian voices to be heard. It is a chance for new translations and for new partnerships. I am sincerely grateful to all our international partners, translators, publishers and readers who help Ukrainian literature find its place in the world cultural space’.

I’d also like to thank Olena Odynoka, Deputy Director of International Cooperation, for her kindness and media assistance.

Positive move on copyright & AI plans

The Government’s long-awaited report on copyright and AI has been published. For UK creators and the creative industries, it signals a win for all those who have campaigned and lobbied hard on this issue over the past year.

Entitled A Report on Copyright & Artificial Intelligence it’s a response to the Government’s consultation on copyright and AI which has rowed back from a copyright exception. This would see rightsholders have to opt-out of their work being used to train Large Language Models. This was the Government’s controversial preferred option when it launched the consultation in December 2024. The result was a massive outcry which united the creative industries and led to sustained campaigning from unions.

In response to this development, it was hailed by the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) General Secretary, Ellie Peers, as representing a ‘win for collective action’ and ‘a step in the right direction on the road to a fair system that will protect and reward writers and other creators in an age of Artificial Intelligence’. However, she admitted that there was much work that still needs to be done to strengthen, not weaken, UK copyright law.

Writers need certainty around protection of their work as a matter of urgency. They need to step up their campaigning and lobbying, writing to their MP, attending protests, making a noise on social media and more.

The Travelling Pineapple Hits Town

There is one stand I always head for when I enter the London Book Fair, even before I’ve registered. It’s to see the ever-smiling, friendly face, of Steve ‘Mr Pineapple’ Mathieu. This year, though, was an exception.

I met Mr P among the bustling crowds trying to exit Kensington Olympia Station – you can’t miss a bright yellow, bouncing pineapple, even in a crowd. This year there was to be no stand, festooned with pineapple decorations, as the ever increasing exhibitor costs has proved too much, but he was still on a mission.

However, our meeting was fortuitous, because Mr Pineapple had brought me a gift. It was a copy of his book Cultivate Your Seed for Greatness. Now I’d read this a couple of years back, but this is a completely revised edition building on his message to: ’embrace the role that’s been given to you in life and make it fruitfully bloom’.

This new edition is almost three times as long with more in-depth discussion and advice coupled with more illustrations. I confess to not having read this yet, but it’s a task I’m looking forward to. My picture shows my last view of Mr Pineapple as he heads into the fair to spread his message: ‘Don’t wait for life to change you, because life is the one waiting for you to change. Let the fruit speak.’

Bon Voyage Mr P.