Publishing Opportunities in China: Beijing Book Fair 2011

The 18th Beijing International Book Fair will be held at the China International Exhibition Center from August 31 to September 4, 2011. The main goals of the Book Fair are to expose books from China to an international audience and to introduce international titles to the Chinese market.

From a Dutch perspective

The Netherlands will take part as the Country of Honor. The Dutch take this opportunity to pay special attention to areas that are in demand in China. These are: children’s and juvenile literature, Vincent van Gogh, the work of Robert van Gulik and books about Dutch design and architecture (you may want to have a look at this list of Dutch design firms based in China).

The Dutch Foundation for Literature and the former Foundation for the Publication and Translation of Dutch Literature have been active on the Chinese book market for six years. In that period, more than fifty literary works from the Netherlands were translated and published by large, renowned Chinese publishers. Forty more titles are in preparation and will be presented prior to the book fair.

How big is E-reading?

According to this 2010 article in Publishing Perspectives “Beijing International Book Fair: E-books and Digital Content Boost China’s $150bn Publishing Media Market (Update)” e-readers in particular have become a hot product. For example Shanda Literature Group -– the country’s largest digital publisher -– released their first dedicated e-reader, the Bambook. And May, 2010 China Mobile — the world’s largest cell phone carrier — announced that it was building China’s largest online digital bookstore. The company plans to offer its subscribers 3G wireless access to online publications including digital books, comics, newspapers and magazines and hopes to attract some 200 million users over the next five years.

One of the comments following the Publishing Perspectives article intrigues me: “I have been considering putting my book in E-book form, however, living in China for a while has changed my consideration. I have found and was told to never buy software in China. Most Chinese don’t and can download anything on the internet.” Is this true? Would be great if someone has more info on this…

Exploring Publishing Opportunities

The day before the opening ceremony, the seventh Beijing International Publishing Forum will take the lead in exploring the experiences, successes and development trends of the Chinese publishing industry and its cooperation with foreign publishers. This year’s forum will focus on the opportunities of the post-financial-crisis Chinese publishing industry, and discuss international cooperation with regards to the Chinese market. This year’s theme is “Global Publishing Cooperation and China’s Market Opportunities“. Applications are possible until July 15th. The price for attendance is RMB 500 for a full day or RMB 300 for a half day, per person, and includes a complimentary lunch on the day of the forum.

If you can’t make it to Beijing on time you may be interested in the research that’s being done by FreePint, a publisher of resources for information professionals. They are currently researching information needs for the Chinese market and invite you to participate in FreePint Research: Survey on Information From and About China. This project attempts to create a better understanding of what types of information companies consider to be strategic when they work towards their ambitions relating to China. The project is sponsored in part by Bureau van Dijk, Informa Business Information, and ISI Emerging Markets.

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Tagged: bibf, book fair, china, dutch design, netherlands, publishing

Posted in: announcement, books, china, copyright, publishers