London Book Fair withdraws from AbeBooks sponsorship deal

The following message was sent out to the rare book trade by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, ABA on Tuesday, 31st October 2018:

The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association is proud to be part of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, which represents the booksellers of 36 countries.

Following a successful partnership with AbeBooks for our 2018 summer fair, we were saddened to learn that from November 30th 2018, AbeBooks will no longer support ILAB booksellers in certain countries, with a significant negative impact on the businesses of our friends and colleagues.

Our mission is to champion the highest standards of rare bookselling across the world, irrespective of location. Sadly we feel that AbeBooks is not a suitable fair sponsor for us at this time and so have decided not to renew our sponsorship agreement for the 2019 Firsts book fair. We hope very much that AbeBooks will find a solution to accommodate all ILAB booksellers.

Amor librorum nos unit.
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (ABA)

Sally Burdon, ILAB President, comments: "The ILAB Committee applaud the action taken by the ABA in deciding to decline ABE's sponsorship of Firsts next year. This sacrificial action on their behalf, will of course make their fair more difficult to stage and thus sends a clear message to ABE that booksellers around the world stand together and will not ignore blows to the businesses of others."

Contact details ABA:
Camilla Szymanowska (Secretary)
Antiquarian Booksellers' Association
6 Bell Yard, London WC2A 2JR
+44 (0)20 7421 4681
Email
www.aba.org.uk