Bologna book fair got rescheduled this year.

xin li

I heard the news about the Coronavirus outbreak in Northern Italy this morning, then the following news of the Bologna book fair got rescheduled from March to May. My heart sank...

I hope all fellow SVS artists who live in Italy are safe.

eriberart

Very sad news. I think the publishing community is freaking out right now.
I'm not sure if I will be able to attend in May. I'm worried that it will be cancelled at a later date. I can't see things being much better with the Coronavirus in a couple month's time...
Think I might cut my losses with Bologna this year and try London book fair instead... which is in 2 weeks so gives me far less time to prepare! I better order some business cards tonight.

xin li

@eriberart (Sign...) It is a mess for everyone who prepared to go there I guess. I know it is common for publishers to book hotels and tickets a year in advance for the book fair.

I just canceled my Airbnb, and I need to get in touch with the airline company - luckily I think my travel insurance is covering these types of situations.

Good luck with the London book fair. I probably can not make it in 2 weeks - so much more planning to do when I have a toddler at home :-).

eriberart

I got a full refund on my airbnb but stupidly hadn't bought insurance yet (I thought it would be fine as long as I bought it before the trip!) so I'll loose £100 of flight costs but I suppose it could be a lot worse.
I'm now frantically trying to re-arrange the meetings I have made with publishers to see if they'll see me in London instead! Definitely didn't need this stress on a Monday morning

smceccarelli

I got a full refund on Airbnb and I'm banking on going in May...though I'm not sure at this point the fair will be held. What a bummer!

idid

@eriberart maybe you can get the flight ticket refund, cause it may be a type of nature disaster, instead of your own cause. Hope everyone is doing well and the epidemic ends very soon.

eriberart

@smceccarelli I think there could be a possibility it is cancelled completely. From what I can see on Twitter, lots of illustrators aren't going anymore, and there was already going to be less publisher stands than usual as some publishers had already backed out due to coronavirus. I'm not sure how much difference 5 weeks will make which is why I'm hesitant to book anything for May

eriberart

@idid I will look into that! But I booked on a cheap airline so not expecting much haha

smceccarelli

@eriberart We'll see... For me it's not a big deal, as I can go by train and book the ticket just a couple of days before. Fewer visitors and fewer expositors may mean more chances to talk to the publishers that are there.

Julia

Hello!

I dont work in the publishing industry (nor anything related to illustration) but for a global company.

We already work in teams from 3 different locations (regular office, work from home and recovery site) in Asia Pacific to avoid large contamination if one of the team members is infected.

All business trips are cancelled. Those coming from certain countries during private trips are being quarantained. With the outbreak in Italy, this policy will now apply to our offices Europe.
As I am on holiday in Europe, I ll probably need a clearance from HR before I head back to Australia.

I believe the safety committee does not see it being a temporary threat amd warn us against unecessary trips. Witnessing this in my company, I am not too optimistic that any event gathering people in countries at risk will be reorganised soon until we have a minimum visibility on the virus containment, which is not the case currently... the outbreak in China dates back early January and we are almost March. To my opinion, Bologna in May is probably optimistic.

Hope that those with plane tickets get refunds - but if it is treated as "force majeure", I don t think the airlines are compelled to anything.

Good luck! And wear a mask, it still feels safer in international airports! (Ps : this does not look ackward, believe me!)

Lee White

@Julia I agree. I would not hold my breath for any international event to run this year. Even local conferences will probably be affected too. If you have travel plans I'd try to bail out and refund as quick as you can. I always buy trip insurance now. Too many things going on to avoid it. Normally it's pretty cheap and adds a little peace of mind.

eriberart

Aaaand now London book fair is cancelled too! Guess I'm having a 3 day holiday in London next week

LauraA

@eriberart Oh no!! I hope the museums are open! At least you could do some research.

I think this is going to be the year of staying at home working on our portfolios and holding virtual meetings! I know that my husband, who travels half the year and all over the world for work, is rapidly replacing conferences with video calls. I wonder if some publishers will do the same? It's something to keep an eye out for! (Hint: Portfolio reviews at SVS!)

eriberart

@LauraA Yes I'll get to be a tourist for a few days haha. I've managed to reschedule one of my meeting to the publishers office luckily, waiting to hear back from the others, so it won't be completely unproductive!
My day job is in a school and we already have procedures in place to close the school if advised to or if someone gets the virus. It is hectic!

xin li

@eriberart oh no, so sorry to hear that. Is plum pudding located in London? Maybe you still get to hold your meeting appointment? I am hoping the frankfurt book fair in the autumn will still be on. Maybe they should move the fair to summer, before the new flu virus coming back to town?

eriberart

@xin-li Yes they are in london, I've emailed and I'm waiting on a reply
I think everything should be okay by Autumn but who knows!

Coley

At least this will cut down on CO2 emissions temporarily. Bright side!

xin li

@Coley totally agree