The first day of the London Book Fair has been abuzz with chatter about world affairs, from the forthcoming celebration of the Chinese New Year, which limited the number of Chinese exhibitors, to the United States and Israel's war with Iran, which forced the cancelation, delay, or rerouting of publishers traveling to the fair through Dubai.

Steve Jones, the general manager of Kinokuniya bookstores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, had packed a bag for a week's worth of vacation in Poland, where he went to celebrate his birthday last month. He said he hasn't been able to return home since.

"There have been rockets and bombs exploding over UAE and we're very concerned about the safety of staff in the stores," he shared with PW. "But the malls have remained open and we too have kept the stores open." He added that, at times like these, having access to books is more important than ever.

Still the war led to the cancelation of the Sharjah Animation & Comics Festival, scheduled for March 26–29, and the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, set for April 11–20, is presumed to be affected in some way. Ahmed Al Ameri, CEO of the Sharjah Book Authority, said that so far, there are no changes planned for the Sharjah Booksellers Conference, slated for May 2–3.

While many in publishing have looked askance at America's changing role in world affairs under the Trump administration, one thing is undeniable: American books dominate global bestseller lists.

In 2025 Mel Robbins's The Let Them Theory, Frieda McFadden's The Housekeeper, and Dan Brown's The Book of Secrets topped bestseller lists in nine of 19 global territories tracked by NielsenIQ BookData, according to Suzy Warnock, senior analytic account manager, who presented her findings at the fair. Overall, Warnock said, 15 of 19 territories saw a bump in unit sales of adult fiction, led by crime and thrillers. The next top category overall was self-help.

One company cementing America's ongoing cultural dominance across the globe is Audible, whose CEO Bob Carrigan announced the audiobook company was expanding to 11 new territories, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The expansion includes local-language catalogs in Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Turkish, and Arabic, with access through Amazon's regional sites, local currency payment, and localized recommendations. Overall, Carrigan noted, the company is aiming to substantially increase the share of revenue coming from outside the U.S. over the next few years.

Carrigan's announcement coincides with U.K. research commissioned by Audible from NielsenIQ BookData to mark the National Year of Reading. The data shows audiobooks are driving broader reading engagement: 29% of U.K. audiobook listeners reported increased enjoyment of reading across formats and 22% said they read more print books since starting to listen to audiobooks. Among 18-to-34-year-olds, 37% said listening makes reading more enjoyable and 38% reported reading more e-books.

Finally, speculation has been swirling about the future of Simon & Schuster following Monday's announcement of Greg Greeley's ascension to the role of CEO. Perminder Mann, CEO of S&S U.K., told BookBrunch that she is "very excited" and that "he comes in with a lot of support."

Others at the fair were less enthused, and there was widespread speculation about what the immediate future holds for S&S. "One thing we know for sure," said one mergers and acquisitions expert. "We know KKR won't be selling S&S to Amazon, the margins aren't there. And they are too big for another publisher to acquire them. The likelihood is it will be eventually acquired, but by another private equity company."