Hello there, and welcome to the March blog!
This time, I’ll focus on my experience at the London Book Fair and the Selfies Book Awards 2025, but first, a few mini updates!
Fyn Carter and the Legends from Atlantis
Fyn 2 is currently being formatted before it is sent to my proofreader. Uncorrected proofs will also be on their way to some book bloggers and reviewers in the next few weeks. I really want to share more details about the book and am finding it hard not to, but as soon as I have a confirmed release date, subscribers to my blog will be the first to know!
Twitter/X
I have been debating what to do with my Twitter/X account for some time. For now, please consider it not in use while I work out how I want to proceed with social media in general. I’ve updated the social media links on my website (see the bottom of each page), and I’ve also updated my business cards!
The London Book Fair
On Tuesday 11th March I attended the London Book Fair and the Selfies Book Awards 2025. I’ve wanted to attend LBF for some time, but I’ve always been advised it’s more of a trade event. As per last month’s blog, Fyn Carter and the Agents of Eromlos was shortlisted in the Children’s category for a Selfies Book Award, so, this time, I had the perfect reason to attend!
It was absolutely more trade focused, but it was still very interesting and an enjoyable day. I loved seeing the displays for the huge range of publishers in attendance, and there was a really engaging buzz about the place. Everywhere I went, people were sitting at one of the hundreds of tables having meetings, but there was also a lot more happening. I attended some really interesting talks in relation to self-publishing. It felt like there was an effort to include events for authors and writers in attendance. There was also a nice amount of support for the self-publishing industry, and various businesses who made themselves available to talk to.
I will say that pretty much every time I tried to go to a scheduled talk in Author HQ, the seats had already been taken, and the attendees were spilling out into the walkways. I see this as a positive thing – it shows there is an appetite for the content. Hopefully future events will cater for this a bit more, but I do understand the event is perhaps intended more for the wider industry.
The talks I got to attend in full included ‘New Self-Publishing Models for Indie Authors’ and ‘Self-Publishing for Profit’, and I came away from them feeling very inspired. Prior to becoming an author, I worked as a Business Analyst. With Fyn 1, I was so excited to follow my dreams, I didn’t fully consider how my previous career pathways could help. I just wanted to try things naturally and enjoy what I did. What I’ve now realised is my previous careers and studies are tools I should use. In the near future, I will start to consider more, how I can incorporate previous learning into a strategy for my author career going forwards. I want to make my previous experience work for me.
Outside of talks I made sure to take the time to explore. This was a brilliant thing to do. I ended up bumping into some lovely familiar faces and making exciting new connections.
The Selfies Book Awards 2025
Before the awards ceremony, some of my writing friends asked how I was feeling and if I was nervous. I was surprised that I was very relaxed and just happy to go with the flow. Fyn Carter and the Agents of Eromlos was shortlisted – for me, that was already a win!
When the ceremony began and shortlisted books were being introduced, I did become (quite unexpectedly) emotional inside. I was so happy to see other people being recognised, and it felt amazing to have a proper realisation that Fyn Carter was included – my book – the book I’d spent so long working on. I had this sudden fear of: what will I do if it wins? I hadn’t really anticipated that possibility before then (the other shortlisted titles have a lot going for them!).
As it goes, Fyn Carter didn’t claim the award, but I’ll tell you this – I don’t feel like I’ve lost in any way at all. I had the most amazing day. I’m extremely grateful to BookBrunch and the Selfies Book Awards for creating the opportunity and providing recognition for indie books. I am just so thankful for the experience. Also: congratulations to Karen Inglis for her winning novel, Beyond the Secret Lake.
I made a fun video of my day. Here’s a link to it on Instagram.
If you want to pick up a copy of Fyn Carter and the Agents of Eromlos, with the sequel on the horizon, it’s the perfect time. You can see options via the Shop tab on my website. As always, thank you to everyone who has done so already.
Fyn Carter 2 news will be here soon! Until then, I wish you the best!
Ian 😊
Ian Hunter Creates 