The Net Book Agreement kept UK book prices fixed for almost 100 years, allowing local bookshops to thrive and publishers to take risks. But in 1997, it was declared illegal. Was it outdated protectionism - or a cultural safety net we didn’t realise we needed?

One still lives by the pitching of ideas and editorial meetings, perhaps dog-eared manuscripts in canvas bags are long gone.

In the world of publishing - the selling of book ideas, the rights eightsome reel — every step matters. Every fair, every pitch, every deadl