An espresso with Laura Summers

What are you reading at the minute?

I’m reading Come And Get It by Kiley Reid. I am enjoying it, but I think I preferred her first book - Such A Fun Age, mainly because I listened to that one, and felt the characters were really brought-to-life via audio. There’s something special about how the characters evolve throughout her novels that make her such a brilliant writer.

What is the best thing about going to international book fairs?

For me, going to a book fair is like a large-scale reunion in which all the people I’ve worked with throughout the years are under one roof. It’s fab. I’m also a big fan of meeting new people, and getting to know about their new releases, and ways that our marketing agency might help to market their books. A book fair is such a great opportunity for this too.

Is your reading preference for physical books, audio. ebooks and why?

Physical or audio and never ebooks. I spend at least 50% of my working day staring at a screen and I really like the contrast of being away from a screen when I’m relaxing/reading.

What is your favourite film based on a book?

It’s not exactly a film - but I’m currently enjoying the Netflix adaptation of David Nicholls’ bestselling novel, One Day. I have two episodes left to watch, and I’ll be bereft when it’s over (plus the saddest part is yet to come - apologies for the spoiler folks!).

What would be your favourite holiday destination?

I am a big fan of cities by the sea. I love having a city to explore, and then time to relax by the sea too. On my current list of places I’d like to visit are: Istanbul, Oslo, Copenhagen, Athens, Miami and Tokyo.

What one thing would make your job significantly easier?

More hours in the day! We run a busy marketing agency as well as a Community for publishing professionals - and frankly there’s just never enough time to do everything we want to do.. 

Biography

Laura co-founded BookMachine in 2010. BookMachine is now a team of 10 talented publishing professionals working across the industry on creative and impactful marketing campaigns and digital projects. Running alongside the agency is BookMachine Campus - a membership hub providing the industry with a community, events and training.