BIBF Beijing International Publishing Forum 16 September(tentative)
[Beijing/London 2021]: The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), Asia’s largest book fair, is set to go ahead on 14-18 September 2021 after postponement from August dates.
Important Chinese publishing houses, international publishers based in China and related exhibitors will gather in Beijing for a five-day fair where BIBF hopes to build a bridge for overseas publishers to renew direct connections to the Chinese market.
(There are more than 2200 international and domestic publishers get involved in the BIBF via physical and online ways. )
In parallel with the 5-day physical book fair, the digital edition of the book fair will be held via BIBF’s upgraded digital platform SMART!BIBF so as to facilitate the participation of those who may not be able to come to Beijing in person. SMART!BIBF will continue to be available throughout the year for publishers to get in touch with Chinese counterparts after the book fair.
BIBF Beijing International Publishing Forum is set to open on Sunday 16th September(tentative). The forum this year will discuss the publishing and cultural synergies in building a community with a shared future for mankind, with a special focus on how new technologies will empower new development in publishing, in particular for the Education and STM professional publishing sectors.
The forum will be hosted by Zhang Jichen, Vice President of China Publishing Group Co., Ltd. and President of China National Publications Import& Export (Group) Co. ., Ltd and features Chinese speakers including Wu Shulin, Vice Chairman of the Publishers Association of China, Huang Zhijian, Chairman of China Publishing Group Co., Ltd., and representative from Huawei Technology, and international speakers including Martin Albrow, Fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences, , Dr Phua Kok Khoo, Chairman and Editor-in-chief of World Scientific Publishing in Singapore, Joe Lam, Managing Director of Pearson China and East Asia, Ahmed Farooq, Deputy Head of the Embassy of Pakistan in China and Professor Yuri Tavrovsky from the Experts Council for the Russo-Chinese Peace, Friendship and Cooperation Committee..
Fair Director Ms Liying Lin said:
“We are delighted to welcome Chinese and locally based international publishers back to BIBF. As you can see from the phenomenal success of international titles in the Chinese book market in the last six months, there are so many opportunities for international publishers in China. We hope as many international publishers use our SMART! BIBF services to engage with the publishing community and really find out what is going on in the market over the last year. We cannot wait to open this vibrant book industry event and we are delighted to be able to host events around Beijing for book lovers as part of BIBF’s Global Reading Festival.”
Chinese Publishing Market:
In the first half of 2021, the retail book market scale will reach 36.14 billion yuan, with more than 1.77 million titles for sales, a year-on-year growth rate of 11.45%.
According to the Open Book report, in the first half of 2021, the sales of children’s books through live-streaming short video in e-commerce platforms has become the biggest market sales channel, with 58.54% of the total sales.
International titles have done very well in China in the past six months:
● The late Scottish historian Norman Stone’s A Short History of WWI and WWII ranked no.2 in the June non-fiction bestseller list.
● UK author Neil Gaiman’s Smoke and Mirrors ranked No.2 in the June international fiction bestseller list
● DK Encyclopedia (UK) has once again topped at the best-selling list in April.
● German author Nele Mosst's Little Raven the Rascal ranked 3rd place in the children’s bestseller list, followed by The Adventures of Pettson and Findus from Swedish writer Sven Nordqvist.
● What’s that sound from YOYOBOOKS (Belgium) ranked ninth in the children’s book bestseller list.
● French author Christian Jolibois‘s Les P'tites Poules ranked 11th. Mes p'tits docs by French Stéphanie Ledu ranked 13th.
● In the e-book best-selling list, British writer Robert de Board's Counselling For Toads: A Psychological Adventure is the No.1 bestselling title for June 2021
BIBF Global Reading Festival - highlights of Beijing cultural events
From 24-29 August, BIBF hosted BIBF Global Reading Festival which saw a series of events taking place all around Beijing with poetry, book events and author readings at 20 bookstores across the city and live-streamed online. Many international writers took part in these events online.
This year the spotlight was on international literature from France, UK, Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, Poland and many others, with a theme on children’s books, poetry and film. The highlights including:
French Night featured two hours of live-streamed discussions by Chinese and French authors on La rentrée littéraire discussing the highlights of Chinese and French literature. They shared works of popular French literature L'Anomalie and Laissez-moi in China, and Chinese literature in French La Grande Harmonie and Pekin pirate. Featured speakers include literary critic Yu Zhongxian, professor of Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Xu Zechen, writer and editor at People’s Literature Magazine and Judith Orio, cultural attaché of the French Embassy in China.
Brazil Night featured Chinese writers and translators Min Xuefei, Fan Xing and Ma Lin, who translated Brazil literature Dois Irmaos and Azul Cowo into Chinese, and Brazilian author Euridice Gusmão sharing his novel A Vida Invisivel by bringing the Chinese audience into the world of Brazilian literature.
British Night featured prominent Chinese author Liu Zhenyun, winner of the Mao Dun literature prize in conversations with his three fellow authors Xiao Hanran, Niu Yunping and Wang Dabao to discover the rich history and culture in Great Britain through works such as The Tuscany Child by Rhys Bowen, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, and Encyclopedia of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvand. The live-streamed event was accompanied by pre-recorded video footage from the British Library.
Notes to Editors:
The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) has been organised by the China National
Publications Import and Export (Group) Corporation since 1986. Over the past 35 years, the BIBF has become the second largest book fair in the world, attracting exhibitors and visitors from more than 97 countries.
The BIBF is not only one of the most influential fairs for professionals from the entire publishing community conducting business in China, but also a unique venue for showcasing international culture and content.
The BIBF Digital Platform, including its social website and mobile app, was launched together with the book fair in 2020. It has helped the community rebuild connections and turned BIBF into an all-year-round digital book fair. The platform is now being upgraded with more SMART features, and it will better serve the book fair and the community at large.
For more information, please visit https://www.bibf.net/en/
Contact: sales@bibf.net