London’s Poetry Book Fair,  now in its third year, goes from strength to strength. More publishers displaying their wares each year, a new venue, Conway Hall, a spill-over evening session of poetry readings in a nearby pub  – and aisles heaving with browsers and buyers by lunchtime. But despite the general atmosphere of poetic community on Saturday at Free Verse, the mood among publishers there was not unalloyed joy, but realism.

There is a consensus that poetry will always be a niche market. Amy Wack, of Seren, pointed out that broadsheet newspapers reducing their poetry review coverage certainly hasn't helped, even though the Guardian, for instance, carries more reviews online. Poetry was proving quite slow to kickstart on Kindle, too. “It’s a transitional time,” she said.

Alan Gillott, of York’s Stairwell Books, said sales were very dependent on readings, and some poets were more energetic at getting out there and promoting their wares than others. Clive Birnie, from new kids on the block Burning Eye, publishers of performance poetry, took a more upbeat view, pointing out that sales of books at gigs by big names like Tony Walsh and Rob Auton were doing well, and others “with good local profiles” were delivering decent local sales, too.

Among poetry’s many good people must be counted Inpress, who make it very much part of their business to sell books by small to medium poetry presses. Don’t mention the ‘A’ word, but by buying through Inpress you are ensuring that the publisher and the poet do much better out of the deal. Managing director Sophie O’Neill said: “What we’re trying to do is gather together a community of like-minded publishers.”

Jane Commane, of Nine Arches Press, pointed to the Midlands publisher’s involvement in regional events, such as Wordsmiths & Co, a live poetry talk show at Warwick arts centre; Leicester’s Shindig; and a new event, Friday Evening Poet-Tea, kicking off in Leicester next month.

An integral part of the poetry book fair is the readings, in which a succession of publishers showcase some of their poets, including those experimenting on the wilder side. It’s educational, and part of the appeal. I looked in on the Veer Books session, which included Ollie Evans spattering out words set out in grids and explosions in his pamphlet, and David Ashford stamping his foot periodically during his machine-gun delivery.

Several publishers were tweeting their satisfaction and enjoyment of the fair on Sunday. Organiser Charles Boyle, of CB editions, said almost 700 people attended, a big increase on last year. He added: “The extension of the readings programme into the pub across the square was definitely successful - a number of us didn't leave until well after 11pm.”

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