This year's London Book Fair in March was host to an event which would have been considered science fiction just 20 years ago. Margaret Atwood, previous winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for best science fiction novel, launched her long-distance book-signing machine, the LongPen, at the Fair.

And, in the best traditions of science fiction comedy, last-minute technical problems meant the machine did not work.

Atwood's audience of buyers in a New York bookshop were left with blank faces, as well as blank pages.

Right up until the last minute the LongPen had been tested as working. It relies upon a remote waldo holding a pen (another idea once considered science fiction), controlled by the author where-ever in the world she happens to be. A web-type camera fixed to the robot hand and a tiny screen gives a video feed to the author, so that she can actually see the page she is remotely signing.

The idea was developed by Atwood after a gruelling publicity tour. She argues that rather than reducing contact between author and readers, the LongPen will allow people in remote areas to benefit from a remote signing.

Book publicists were out in force at the London Book Fair, held this year in a new venue – ExCel in the Docklands. This giant exhibition space was shared – bizarrely – with a beauticians' fair. Hopefully participants of both fairs found mutual benefit from sharing the centre.

Now one of the most important events in the international publishing year, there were nearly 24,000 people at the Fair, representing more than 100 countries.

One sign of the Fair's growing importance is the number of book launches, author appearances and announcements made. These included the release of the always controversial Orange Prize for Fiction long list, as well as Atwood's gallant attempt to bring the future ever closer to the present.

Report by Meredith