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Chinas Publishing Industry: Getting Bigger and Stronger

Reported by Feng Wei and Ren Dianshun Translated by Yang Guishan

The reform and opening-up policy of 1978 has had an enormous impact on Chinas publishing industry, and recent years have witnessed even more development within the industry. One significant development lies in the new types of publishing entities that have emerged in the Chinese marketplace. In total, 528 for-profit publishing houses, 265 independent audio/video and digital publishing units, and more than 3,000 stateowned Xinhua bookstores have been restructured to form different stateowned (or national) publishing groups. Some of these groups have already exerted their influence and dominance both at home and abroad, while others are beginning to flex their muscles. There are now three major national publishing and media groups, namely China Publishing Group, China Education Publishing & Media Group, and China Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group. Some of these enterprises have been very successful in listing their companies on the stock exchange and making sizeable investments in both local and overseas markets. Culture-related industry has become an important part of the C h i n e s e e c o n o m y. P u b l i s h i n g companies no longer function solely as disseminators of information from the
S4 Sept.26,2011 Director of GAPP Liu Binjie and Wang Jianzhou, president of China Mobile, signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum to Develop the Digital Publishing Industry.

government, but have the responsibility to promote cultural development and economic growth. By implementing progressive changes to the publishing industryfor instance, realignment according to market strengths and advocating an internationalization strategyChina is fast becoming a powerful publishing nation on the global stage. The next five years will be a crucial time for Chinese publishing. The promotion of the cultural industry within the country and abroad has created tremendous opportunities for the publishing players. At the same time, many factors have come together to provide the impetus needed by the publishing industry to go beyond the

Chinese shores. These include the rise of China on the global stage, the push of going-out (internationalization) p o l i c y, s t ro n g e r d o m e s t i c s u p p o r t (particularly in financial incentives and market capitalization), fast-growing domestic and overseas markets, and better technology that makes it easier for Chinese publishers to connect with the rest of the world. It is worth noting that since China officially joined the Universal Copyright Convention and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, its publishing industry has benefited from increased collaboration with overseas partners. In recent years, the political, educational, and business communities within China and beyond

have spoken favorably of the significant cultural strategy that has been adopted by the central government, which is to expand domestic market, obtain capitalization and vigorously push the going-out policy.

for the equity market. At the end of 2010, Fan Weiping, general director of Department of Publication Industry Development (which is part of the General Administration of Press and Publication, or GAPP), said that investors would see a new batch of restructured publishing enterprises with excellent performances domestically and abroad. In fact, some of the Beijing-based national publishing giants are being regarded as rising stars in the capital market. Three months ago, two national groupsChina Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group and China Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd.were officially e s t a b l i s h e d , a n d i t wa s p r o m p t l y announced that both would seek public listing in 2012. Meanwhile, China Education Publishing & Media Group has been fast-forwarding its plan to get listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange by t h e f irst hal f of next year. N ie Zhenning, chairman of China Publishing Group, said early this year that his group would list as a separate company by the first quarter of next year at the latest. Many established Chinese p u b l i s hing gro ups , he adde d, are seeking to list as separate companies instead of as one big enterprise. China Publishing Group, for instance, has 14 subsidiaries and 81 holding companies as well as various joint stock and affiliated companies. Several local (or provincial) publishing groups are also busy preparing for public listing. On March 28, Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & M e d i a C o ., L t d . c o m p l e t e d i t s business registration in Nanjing, an important step towards initial public

offering (IPO). On the other hand, Zhongyuan Publishing & Media Group injected RM1.369 billion into Xinan for a backdoor listing deal back in 2010. Hebei Publishing Group and Shandong Publishing Group have also restructured to become joint-stock companies, and are now preparing for IPOs. More companies are expected to travel down the same path in the next five years. Effective policy plays a major role in encouraging more publishing companies to go public. In April 2009, GAPP issued detailed guidelines on how to further reform the press and publishing industry. The guidelines put forth the plan to build six or seven publishing giants,with assets and sales revenues exceeding RMB10 billion, within the next three to five years. Going public is one of the methods to realize this plan. When news of the backdoor listing of Hubei Changjiang was announced, ST Yuanfas stock was so popular its price jumped for several consecutive trading days. Based on the closing price on March 25, the market value of this group has already exceeded RMB10 billion even before it went public. (RMB10 billion is approximately $1.6 billion; at press time, there are about 6.4RMB to the dollar.) The rush to list will prompt small-scale companies or those with limited resources to improve their operations and set higher goals. As usual, enterprises that have already been publicly listed or which are preparing to do so will have firstmover advantage. As Wang Guike, chairman of South Publishing & Media
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State-Owned Publishing Companies: Restructuring and Going Public

The move to get listed on the stock exchange is gathering momentum among state-owned publishing entities. Those that have been listed are set to expand their business domestically and globally while focusing on producing quality works and strengthening existing collaboration with overseas partners. Given the rising number of publicly listed publishing enterprises, it is becoming clear that the Chinese book industry will be shaped by market forces, aka the invisible hands.

Boom in Going Public

In this, the first year of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (20112015), state-owned publishing enterprises have already started listing in the A-share market through backdoor listings. A case in point: publicly listed company ST Yuanfa announced that it would purchase part of Hubei Changjiang Publishing Group Co., Ltd. and its 15 subsidiary companies valued at RMB2.5 billionin a deal that would allow the publishing group to branch into the equity market. However, this deal also marked the end of backdoor listing onto the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Since then, more publishing enterprises have made a beeline

Group, said, The capital market is changing Chinas publishing industry, and those who seize the opportunities to move ahead through bigger capital injection through public listing will be at the forefront of the industry.

Ambitious plans and dreams

With a public listing, key publishing enterprises will emerge stronger and have access to more financial resources. So far, the blueprint for the publishing industry in the 12th Five-Year Plan has shown great results. Investors are invariably attracted to the performance of listed publishing companies. By the end of the 12th FiveYear Plan, the annual income of Time Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. will reach between RMB6 and RMB7 billion, and Chinese Universe Publishing and Media Co., Ltd. will achieve its goal of hitting RMB20 billion in terms of sales revenues. Currently, many of these listed companies have focused on new media and digital publishing as ways of gaining capital investment. Early this year, China South Publishing & Media Group signed a contract with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., to restructure Tianwen Digital Media so that it is equipped to grab a greater share of the digital products market. Time Publishing and Chinese Universe Publishing will also put more resources into their digital publishing business and seek out strategic partners with digital publishing and new media experience. Amassing cultural assets is one goal that all listed publishing companies share. Chinese Universe Publishing, for instance, announced on August 11 that
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it would invest RMB1.3 billion in five major projects such as Xinhua Culture City and Modern Publishing Logistics, which focuses on dissemination and production of cultural products. Another RMB200 million will go to its wholly owned subsidiary Jiangxi Xinhua Distribution Group, and toward restructuring Xinhua Joint Distribution Co., Ltd. As for Time Publishing, it will pour a sizeable amount of money into building its cyber-porta creative digital community covering 40 acres that will be populated by technology and digital content tenants. Mea n w h i l e , C h i n a P u b l i s h i n g Group will purchase a provincial-level publishing company after its IPO. China Education Publishing and Media Group has also indicated its intention to seek potential companiesboth local and abroadfor a merger in order to raise capital. On the other hand, China South Media is focused on speeding up its restructuring and

putting its efforts into high-quality traditional publishing projects and unique publications over the next five years. At Time Publishing, the plan is to split the companys assets for individual listings, and the progress has already started. Many of these listed publishing e n t i t i e s h ave a l s o i n d i c a t e d t h e i r ambition to create a few more listed companies during the 12th Five-Year Plan. Gong Shuguang, chairman of Hunan Publishing Group Investment Co.,Ltd. said that, by the end of 2015, his group will have created two new l i s t e d c o m p a n i e s fo c u s e d o n n e w technologies and real estate, which will have more than RMB20 billion and RMB26 billion in sales revenues and total assets, respectively. According to Liu Binjie, director of GAPP, the total output of the publishing industry will reach RMB2,940 billion by the end of 2015. The big number and the rush to market capitalization

will definitely push more companies to restructure and become more professional.

and acquisitions, such as between Jiangxi Publishing Group and China Peace Publishing House, Jilin Publishing Group and Chinese Business Association Publishing Co., Ltd., and Beijing Normal University Publishing Group and Anhui University Press. Going forward, M&A and market capitalization are likely to be the two strongest trends in the Chinese publishing industry. Market capitalization will determine the price of the M&A and motivate companies to pursue high-quality resources. Over the next five years, several major publishing companies are expected to break into smaller entities and thereby redistribute their resources. However, there are several challenges that will surface. The M&A activities will create some big companies, raising the fear of industry monopoly. Large publishing enterprise, after being listed through governmental support, will exert tremendous influence and bargaining power. They may go on to form new alliances and make new rules. But this will cause the big publishing enterprises to have more clout. So while the growth of publishing enterprises is good and beneficial to the overall industry, that growth also sparks fears that some enterprises will become too big and too powerful. Presently, there are no forces to counter the rapid rise of major publishing enterprises and any disadvantages that they may cause. One industry insider has gone so far as to say that small and niche publishers will die in the face of these emerging large enterprises. And this, he said, will create big trouble, especially when the market has only so few (loud) voices as it is.

But Gong Shuguang is convinced that the emergence of big powers in the publishing industry will not diminish the richness of Chinas culture and literature. This is because, after all has been said and done, the industry is still going to bow to market forces of supply and demand. As long as there are varied demands, the supply will retain its diversity.

Market forces at work

The market capitalization of various state-owned enterprises has brought about one significant change: the balance of executive power against free market forces. Presently, these two forces have combined to push Chinas publishing industry forward. According to Gong Shuguang, the central government has already divided the publishing industry into three different levels. The first level is made up of four or five national publishing groups with the same number of provincial groups. These companies will occupy 70% of the book market. The second level contains small professional publishing groups, with 10% of the market share, while the final level comprises miscellaneous publishing institutions, including privately owned publishing companies. For Cheng Sanguo, chief advisor of Baidao New Publishing Institute, the areas controlled by executive power textbook publishing, for instancewill continue to exist for the foreseeable future. So, state-owned publishing enterprises will be further classified into three groups. The first group deals with textbook adoption and publishing business. The second group focuses on general books in addition to some textbooks, while the third group is made up of listed companies that are the result of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). As a matter of fact, M&A in the Chinese publishing industry is no longer news. There have been many mergers

The Development of Digital Publishing

The most popular book on CMRe adChinas mobi le phone e-reading platformhas been viewed more than 1.2 billion times, makes a profit of RMB15 million, and earns the author RMB1.7 million, said Wang Jianzhou, president of China Mobile, at the Beijing International Book Fair forum on August 31. This is exciting news for the Chinese digital publishing industry. But it is disheartening to note that the book is of poor quality, and is published by Cloudary Corporation, an online community-driven literary platform. Last year, GAPP issued several guidelines to accelerate the development of Chinese digital publishing industry, and lay down rules and tips on developing e-books. This year, the number of e-books for mobile phones has increased rapidly and many e-commerce Web sites have started to offer e-books. These provide a good foundation for the development of the industry, but much still needs to be done. Offering e-books on mobile phones remains one of the most attractive e-publishing models. Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information
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Technology, released on July 25, show that the number of people reading on mobile phones has increased by 229%, to 57 million, within the last six months. Even though mobile-based e-reading was made available only within the last year, every month the platform boasts 45 million readers and earns RMB0.1 billion. I also read on my mobile phone, said Xi Guohua, the new secretary of the Party Leadership Group and vice-president of China Mobile, at the contract-signing ceremony between his company and GAPP on June 5. The contract is not unique. On June 21, 2010, GAPP had a strategic memorandum of cooperation to promote digital publishing with another telecommunication company, China Telecom. On July 5, Liu Binjie, director of GAPP, and Wang Jianzhou, president of China Mobile, signed a memorandum o f c o o p e ra t i o n t o d e ve l o p d i g i t a l publishing industry in Beijing. According to the memorandum, GAPP will work with China Mobile to provide the required technology and digital services to Chinese publishing companies. GAPP will also help publishing houses collaborate with China Mobile, assist CMRead in building and operating the digital reading platform, and get more e-books onto CMRead. Xi Guohua said that China Mobile, as a major strategic partner of GAPP, will provide the necessary support to get Chinas digital publishing industry up and running while operating within the countrys legal framework and market rules.

Private hands in the e-book industry

This year, the biggest news in the digital publishing industry concerns Chinas biggest e-commerce company, Jingdong Mall, an online retailer. The n e w c o m p a ny t h a t e m e rg e d fro m this buy-over is called 360buy, and it is going all out to provide discounts on printed books while putting more e-books in its mix. Meanwhile, two other well-known book and electronics retailers, Dangdang and Joyo Amazon, are quietly building up their e-book services as well. In August, Li Guoqing, general director of Dangdang, announced that the company is moving into the e-book arena, and will work on reducing the price of e-readers that it offers through its Web site by about RMB500 (about $80). The latter is likely to increase sales of the e-reader and encourage more e-book sales. Dangdang and Joyo Amazon have already collaborated with many publishers and are moving aggressively into the e-book segment. Li Guoqing said that his company is working on streamlining e-book pricing and profit-sharing with publishers. Basically, Dangdang gets 40% while the publisher gets 60%. Negotiations to get the pricing right have started. Dangdang is hoping that publishers will price their e-books reasonably, as high prices that are too high will of course drive away customers. Joyo Amazon has stricter terms than those offered by Dangdang. It takes 55%, with publishers getting 45%. Joyo Amazon controls the pricing also. In fact, once the agreement is made between Joyo Amazon and the

publisher, the latter must provide the retailer with all content and digital rights. Additionally, if Joyo Amazon creates the digital format, the profitsharing ratio will be adjusted to 60:40, as Joyo is beating the production costs. Over at 360buy, there is no clear indication yet if it will move into the e-book market. But many industry watchers say that it is just a matter of time. Suffice to say that with these t h re e b i g e - c o m m e rc e c o m p a n i e s looking into e-book retai l ing, the Chinese digital publishing industry will get a considerable boost.

Flourishing digital publications

Besides partnering w i t h t e l e c o m munications companies, GAPP has also established various initiatives to help publishers build their digital publishing units. In July 2011, GAPP approved nine new national-level digital publishing units in addition to those in Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Hunan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Tianjin, and Guangdong. More publishers have sent in their requests and proposals, and are awaiting approval from GAPP. In total, GAPP is looking to create around 10 national digital publishing basesor digital parksby the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2015. GAPP is determined to increase the gross output of Chinas digital publications, with a target for the segment set at 25% of the countrys total book market. By 2020, GAPP aims to make sure that all publishing houses digitize their lists and have more digital products and services in the market. However, several provinces have been acting according to their own five-

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Privately Owned Houses and Government Support

Privately owned publishing companies are fast becoming a new force in Chinas book industry. There are more than 5,000 such companies right now working on book packaging. Such companies do not have the right to publish books, but by partnering with state-owned publishing enterprises, they can grow and play a major role in the industry. In recent years, private or independent publishing companies have been given a tremendous boost by the
One of China's largest digital publishing cloud computing centers, the Tianjin National Digital Publishing Base, began operations in August.

government. Instead of focusing on simple production of books, they have broadened their business models to include media production and digital publishing.

year plans. Shanghai, for instance, has a buzzing digital publishing and new media industry. At Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau, its 12th FiveYear Plan contains, among others, the establishment of an expert group to promote digital publishing industry. Shanghai has also placed digital publishing at the top of its to-do list. In fact, the Shanghai provincial government has supported numerous e-publishing projects, including Xinhua e-Bookstore and e-schoolbag. By the end of 2015, Shanghai aims to have three to five leading digital publishing companies with annual revenues exceeding RMB2 billion, and to grow the digital publishing market to hit RMB70 billion. Over in Hunan Province, one of Chinas important cultural centers, digital publishing is also an item in its own Five-Year Plan. In fact, the provincial government wants to develop print and digital publishing simultaneously, and to have digital publishing revenues hitting RMB5 billion by 2015. More than 100 projects are

in the pipeline at its digital publishing base, and these include products for mobile phone, educational products, and e-commerce initiatives. Overall, the Chinese digital publishing industry will no doubt change and grow over time, thanks to government support and the inevitable introduction of new technologies. For now, there is no clear leader among the publishing companies in terms of digital publishing, and the income from digital products remains insignificant. Admittiedly, progress so far has been rather slow, especially compared with the rapid rates of change in other countries. However, as is clear, the market potential is huge. Certainly, the Chinese industry can learn a good deal from overseas publishing companies, whose industries are far into their own digital revolutions in both products and e-commerce. As the digital parks and the pioneering provincial efforts continue, there is great potential for growth.

The right to publish will take some time to happen

Since 2009, a series of guidelines have been issued that offers private publishing companies a way to recognition and operational legitimacy. Officials from various government bodies all indicate their support for private pu b l i s h i n g . D u r i n g t h e National Peoples Congress and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference in 2011, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce put forth a proposal to gradually open publishing rights to private publishing houses. Its intention is to promote and support such publishing entities. Several suggestions were made in the proposal. Firstly, issuance of ISBNs can be made after GAPP has evaluated the private publishing house that will handle the specific publication. Secondly, GAPP can set the strategic
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plan for the development of private publishing companies in order to define the industry and bring these companies into the governments national and local five-year plans. This way, the government will be able to offer more support to private publishing houses and build a regulatory framework that promotes fair competition within the book industry. Experts from both stateowed and private publishing companies have unanimously agreed that it is a matter of time before private publishing companies are given the rights to publish. So the central government might as well set the path and point them to the right direction. The growth of privately own publishing houses is obvious to all. Since the establishment of Beijing Publishing Innovation Park a year ago, for instance, 32 companies have moved into it. Six are digital publishing companies and the rest, traditional publishing houses

including Beijing Tiechu Culture and Book Co., Ltd., Beijing Time New Classics Co., Ltd., Ltd. and Beijing Thinker Culture and Communication Co., Ltd.. The park offers favorable rental and tax policies. Private publishing companies within this park can have their name printed on books that they publish. Granting limited rights to private publishing companies is a good start to fair competition and the growth of the overall book industry.

December, Hunan Tangel Publishing made its appearance at the Beijing Book Transaction Fairone of Chinas top three exhibitions for the book industryand created a lot of buzz. Chairman Xiao Zhihong said that the company would hit annual revenue and profit margin of RMB2 billion and RMB100 million, respectively, within the next three years. He is striving to build the company into a first-class provider of publications and cultural products for the youth market. The success and growth of Hunan Tangel has prompted many others to follow suit. Chen Liming, general manager of 10-year-old Beijing Classic & Wise Culture Development Co., Ltd., is planning to complete the companys financing plan within the next five years. Beijing Thinker Culture Communications, Shanghai 99 Reader Culture Industry Co., Ltd., and Beijing Mediatime Books Co are all planning to go down the same path. Last year, a few private enterprises gained capital injection from outside the book industry. Shandong Century Jinbang Book Co., Ltd. received RMB1 billion while Xiron Culture obtained R M B 1 0 0 m i l l i o n fro m t h e ve n t u re capital company Dinghui. Shen Haobo, president of Xiron Culture, believes that obtaning capital injection is necessary in the development of any given industry, and that by attracting such investments, the publishing industry will become more competitive and stable. Collaborating with state-owned publishing enterprises is another way forward for private publishing houses. Several collaborations have emerged

Capital injection creates bigger and stronger privately own publishing companies
Recent months have seen private book enterprises expanding in size through public listing, financing, and collaboration with state-owned publishing companies. The listing of Hunan Tangel Publishing Co., Ltd. is one such example. A f t e r i t s s u cc e s s fu l l i s t i n g o n the Shenzhen Stock Exchange last

A building in the Beijing Publishing Innovation Park. S10 Sept.26,2011

in the past few months. On January 7,

Beijing Jiuzhou Yingcai Books Planning Co., Ltd. and Beijing Publishing Group Co., Ltd. established Beijing Education Holding. Less then two weeks later, China South Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd. and Beijing Booky Publishing Inc. signed a strategic cooperation agreement to set up China South Booky Publishing Inc. Collaborations between stateowned and private enterprises aside, these new companies are expanding their scope beyond traditional publishing. A case in point: Beijing Fonghong Media Co., Ltd., which was Chinas first collaboration between state-owned and private enterprises, h a s b e e n w e l l fu n d e d a n d i s n o w reorganized into two companies Chongqing Decision Books & Media Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Ifengspace Media Co., Ltd.. The goal of spinning off into two companies is to diversify their platforms for content, going beyond print. From single-book collaboration in the past to project cooperation and now capital-based agreement, stateowned and private book enterprises have witnessed a major shift in the book industry. Such cooperation combines resources, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts, said Bao Hong of China Press and Publishing Institue. Huang Junqing, chairman of Booky Publishing Inc, believes that the future development of the Chinese publishing industry will be highly centralized. Private publishing enterprises must become big and strong if they want to gain a foothold in the cultural industry. Such collaboration gives private companies legitimacy and a proper identity. Then, the companies will have the foundation

and framework to expand into other areas, such as film, television, and digital publishing. At the same time, some private publishing companies have focused their attention and resources on producing blockbusters in order to maximize profits. And blockbusters can then translate into successes in other media. Beijing Thinker Cos executive director Wang Xiaodong said, The book rights for hit TV series Tie Lihua and movie Let the Bullets Fly belong to us, and it is natural for us to move onto film- and TV-based projects. Both Fonghong Media Co., Ltd. and Booky Publishing Inc are preparing to set up their own media production companies by leveraging their content. For privately owned publishing enterprises, digital publishing offers yet another promising field. Even though there are lots of uncertainties about digital publishing, especially about its profitability, digital publishings impact on traditional publishing is obvious to everybody. In order to survive and grow, we are willing to try new ways to forge our future, said Mao Wenfeng, chairman of Jiangsu Keyi Publishing & Distribution Group Co., Ltd.. Many private publishing companies have already placed digital publishing at the top of their agenda. In March, Jiangsu Keyi Group Co Lt and Jiangsu Sanyuan Education Co., Ltd. signed an agreement to invest RMB200 million to jointly introduce new technologies to the educational sector and take their first step into digital publishing. Shandong Spark International Media Group has even announced that digital publishing would determine the companys survival, as seen from its new slogan, Survival

of spark lies in digital. Lu Jinbo, general manager of Wan Rong Book Development Co., Ltd., said, The Internet has changed China in the past 10 years. And digital publishing will change the face of the book industry in the same way over the next 10 years. As such, our company will gradually increase our digital products to stay relevant. Privately owned publishing enterprises are constantly evolving and expanding. Their new offices and presence in newly established industrial parks are indicative of their growth and development. Jiangsu Keyi Group, for instance, is building a cultural and creative park in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing. In Guangdong Province, Zhihong Education Group and i ts partners are constructing Impression Qidu Cultural Industrial Park in the hightech development zone in Zibo, while Everight Publishers Co., Ltd. is establishing a Creative Industrial Park in Dongguan. As well, Jinxing International Education Group is constructing Jilin Education Publishing Industrial Park in Tiedong district in Siping. These industrial parks are almost all financed by t he s e pr ivat e e nt e r pr i s e s w i t h support from the local government. For private publishing companies, the right to publish is a restriction. But the right to publish is tied to national policies and governmental principles, and that is beyond private enterprises control. However, the government has given them sufficient room to grow and develop. For now, the best way forward is for these privately owned companies to improve themselves and make their marks. said Bao Hong.
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China Publishing Group: Focusing on Long-Term International Strategy

Reported by Feng Wei Translated by Yang Guishan

Mis The Love under the Hawthorn

China Publishing Group will prioritize four categories of books when recommending Chinese works for selling rights to overseas partners. Said Liu, The first category belongs to bestselling and high-quality books that have been produced by our major publishing companies. The second one involves series by famous authors or well-known personalities. The third category are books about the developments and changes in modern Chinas economy and politics, and the last category are books about China itself. Rights sales have increased significantly at China Publishing in recent months. The Love Under the Hawthorn

Tree (published by The Peoples

Literature Publishing House), New

Problems in Chinas Copyright Challenge (The Commercial Press), Grandmas Quotations (Zhonghua
Book Company), and Robin Li:

Baidus King of Search (Modern

Press). With the help of our overseas subsidiaries in more than 10 countries, we have also held a series of book fairs in May and July in the U.S., Hong Kong and Macao to celebrate the centennial of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution," said Liu. "This is the second time our group organized such event outside of China. The first onecalled Exhibition of Excellent Books from
Liu Bogen, v-p, China Publishing

Tree, for instance, has been sold to 11

countries, including the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Greece, Sweden, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan, and is now available in 10 languages. (The big screen adaptation, directed by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, premiered several months ago under the name Under the Hawthorn

China Publishing Groupwas held in 2007. We have also taken advantage of Xinhua Bookstores U.S. branches to create the buzz for big events such as these book fairs, Liu added. In order to form a truly global and wide-ranging international program to spread Chinese culture and literature, China Publishing Group will focus on two specific goals: increase rights sales while adding more overseas branches, and improve accessibility to Chinese culture while popularizing major works, added Liu. What we have achieved in the past nine months is just the very beginning of our efforts.

One of the national entities in the Chinese book industry, China Publishing Group, takes its role in promoting Chinese culture and literature abroad very seriously. Liu Bogen, vice-president of China Publishing Group, recently said that his group would seek to leverage the companys publishing resources while continuing to boost Chinas goout, or international, program. The year 2011 marks a new milestone in China Publishing Groups ambitious efforts. In the first half of this year, the group sold the rights to more than 100 titles, including Ai
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Tree .) This book is one of the groups

two bestsellers in terms of rights sales. The other title is Yu Dans Confucius

from the Heart , originally published by

Zhonghua Book Company. When it comes to choosing books for export, classical works that are presented in attractive formats are our first choice. Works that focus on fundamental values such as honesty, kindness and inner

beauty come next. And even though we prefer to export bestsellers that do well domestically, we have to consider the international audience, looking for titles that can straddle both markets, added Liu. Recent months have also seen China Publishing Group taking another big step in its going-out program by exploring synergies within its own publishing companies. In 2010, Peoples Literature Publishing House, known for its long-established relationships with various multinational publishing houses, was chosen to spearhead the groups copublishing program. The program is aimed at putting together writers, illustrators, translators, and publishers from China and various countries to produce high-quality works. Peoples Literature Publishing House and its partners will invite the best writers from China and from the partners countries to create two titles under the same theme or format, and bind the works in one volume. This will then be published in China and the partner country in two languages. A case in point: In August 2010, a Sino-Greek publishing cooperation was signed to produce and distribute two childrens books in a cultural exchange project. According to the agreement, two childrens books will be published: one written by a Greek author and illustrated by a Chinese illustrator, and the other written by a Chinese author in collaboration with a Greek illustrator. Both books, in one volume, will be published simultaneously in Greece and China, and this, it is hoped, will help bring both ancient cultures together. Another important step taken by China Publishing Group is to establish
China Publishing headquarters. Sept.26,2011 S13 Liu Bogen meets delegates from Wolters Kluwer.

joint ventures with top publishing companies around the globe. Last year, it set up four joint venture publishing companies with Xinhua Bookstores: C h i n a P u b l i s h To h a n I n c ., A u r o ra Publishing Limited, and two branches of Xinhua Bookstore (in Brooklyn and Manhattan). China Publish Tohan, for instance, is a joint effort by China Publishing Group, China N a t i o n a l Publications Import and Export Corporation (CNPIEC), Japans Tohan Corporation, and China Media Group Corporation (Japan). Fifty-one percent of this joint venture company is owned by China Publishing Group. Presently, China Publishing Group has established 28 overseas branches in countries such as the U.S., U.K., France, G e r many, and Japan. We will continue to cooperate with

major international publishing groups to promote Chinese culture," said Liu. "In the case of joint venture cooperation, we work on the premise that we will hold the majority shares." Liu said the company plans to increase its overseas branches to 40 within the next five years. We are still at the initial going-out stage. Our plan is to cultivate and produce excellent works for an international audience instead of just focusing on selling rights and reaping short-term profits. Making profit itself is less important than doing business internationally and promoting Chinese culture and literature abroad.

Globalization of China Education Publishing & Media Group

Reported by Ren Dianshun Translated by Yang Guishan

Press, Higher Education Press, and Language and Literature P r e s s a n d i s o n e o f C h i n a s larger publishing groups. Higher Education Press itself ranks #40 in a list of the top 50 global publishers in 2010, announced by

materials are used throughout Chinas elementary schools. Higher Education Press, as indicated by its name, focuses on books for higher education, vocational/technical education, and adult education. Language and Literature Press belongs to the Ministry of Education (under the National Language Committee) and is the only publishing house in China to specialize in Chinese course books. It plays an important role in the development of the Chinese language as well as Chinese education in China. It is estimated that China Education Publishing & Media Group publishes well over 8,000 titles per year. Its 2010 sales hit RMB6 billion, with a net profit of RMB900 million. According to Li Pengyi, the group has more than a 50% share of the elementary education market and 70% of the senior high education segment. It also covers around 30% of the higher and vocational/technical education segment. Besides these three publishing houses, China Educational Instrument and Equipment Corporation, the largest importer and exporter of its kind in C h i n a , h a s a n a n n u a l t u r n ove r o f RMB1 billion. And China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation is the only company of such scale and type of operation in China. China Education Publishing & Media

Publishers Weekly (July 4, 2011).

This ranking is the highest ever achieved by a Chinese publisher.

The formation of China Education Publishing & Media Group

The ceremony celebrating the groups formation was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on December 18, 2010. It was a momentous occasion marking the
Li Pengyi, President

establishment of the biggest and strongest publishing and media group that China has ever seen. Overall, this group, a governmentowned cultural enterprise, is the sum of several companies. In addition to Peoples Education Press, Higher Education Press, Language and Literature Press, the companies China Educational Instrument and Equipment Corporation, and China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation, are part of the group. Peoples Education Press has been in the business for more than 60 years and specializes in course books, teaching materials, and educational texts. Its

For Li Pengyi, a famous publisher and President of China Education Publishing and Media Group, the ultimate goal of his career is to develop the company into a truly international entity and a leading educational publisher in the world. To achieve this, he plans to seek financing through public listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and opportunities in the overseas markets. First, some background information about China Education Publishing and Media Group: It comprises three main companiesPeoples Education
S14 Sept.26,2011

Communist Party of China official and State Councilor Liu Yandong (right), with Director of General Administration of Press and Publication Liu Binjie (left), at the inaugural ceremony of the China Education Publishing & Media Group.

Instrument and Equipment Corporation enjoy long-term relationships with various countries around the world. Once the group is listed, Li Pengyi plans to find like-minded international businesses for collaboration or acquisition, and to strengthen the focus on educational and STM publications. Holdings Co., Ltd., was registered with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on March 31 of this year and is now run as a stock corporation. According to Li Pengyi, the group is now preparing for public listing in the A-share market, hopefully in 2012. to Asian, European, and American publishers. One series launched by Higher Education Press, Experiencing Merger and acquisition is the preferable method because it allows us to realize three goals simultaneously: investment in overseas entities, internationalization of the group, and learning from international partners on ways to manage our company in a more professional manner, said Li . Li believes that the go-international strategy of Chinas publishing industry can be realized through three steps. Let me use the sea and a ship as metaphors. Firstly, we should go to the sea using a borrowed ship, in which case we enter the global markets through copyright sales. Secondly, we use a ship made by ourselves. In this case, we establish companies overseas and build our own brand. Thirdly, we use a ship bought from others, which means that we buy established international companies through capital investment. So the process of going international at China Education Publishing and Media Group, added Li, requires three important steps: the full integration of different entities within the group, public listing to obtain capital, and the execution of a properly designed global strategy.
Sept.26,2011 S15

Chinese , has become the first Mandarin

teaching material used in several countries, including Thailand, Australia and the U.S. (in Chicago). In Thailand,

Experiencing Chinese has been selected

Overseas collaboration
P r i o r t o t h e g ro u p fo r m a t i o n , Pe o p l e s E d u c a t i o n P r e s s , H i g h e r Education Press, and Language a n d L i t e ra t u r e P r e s s a l r e a d y h a d well-established relationships with multinational publishing companies such as Pearson Education, Springer, Reed Elsevier, Oxford University Press, and Cambridge University Press. Member companies of the group have been actively exploring additional ways to go international, publishing course books on Chinese as a second language, and importing and exporting high-quality STM journals and books for use in the educational sectors. In recent years, Peoples Education Press has developed several outstanding teaching materials, such as Standard

by its Ministry of Education for more than 500,000 students in about 600 primary and secondary schools. Frontiers, a series of journals in English, is the result of collaboration between Higher Education Press and Germany s Springer Group. These journals function as a cross-disciplinary platform to communicate the latest research and development in a number of fields. To date, 24 journals are being published both online and in print, with 17 covering natural sciences, engineering, technology and life sciences, and seven focusing on social sciences. As part of the agreement, Springer handles overseas distribution of the journals, while Higher Education Press takes care of publication and production. Meanwhile, China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation and China Educational

Chinese , My Mandarin , and Follow Me

and Learn Mandarin , and sold the rights

Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group: Realizing Potential through Restructuring
Reported by He Wenjing Translated by Yang Guishan

Pa r ty s Po l i t b u ro a s w e l l a s s t a t e c o u n c i l o r L i u Ya n d o n g . The Politburos standing committee member also called to congratulate the company. At the inaugural meeting, Liu Binjie, director of General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), said that the establishment of China Science a n d Te c h n o l o g y P u b l i s h i n g & Media Group will help to kickstart the transformation of Chinas current science and technology publishing industry that has long b e e n c h a ra c t e r i ze d b y s m a l l scale operations with scattered resources and low competitiveness. He wants to see the publishing
Liu Jianyao, President

authors and academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Over the past two years, after restructuring and consolidating its list to focus on science, technology, medicine, education, and social sciences, China Science Publishing Group now boasts 260 academic journals. Its growth between 1996 and 2000 has been in the double digits. So far, it has published 14,637 titles, with an average title increase of 9.6% per year. Its 2010 total assets were valued at RMB1.26 billion, while its net assets, sales revenues, and net profit were at RMB0.83 billion, RMB0.98 billion, and RMB0.15 billion, respectively. Compared to the previous year, its total assets, net assets, sales revenue, and net profit have increased by 114%, 200%, 96%, and 198%, respectively. In the 2010 Publishing Industry Analysis Report released by GAPP, China Science Publishing Group was ranked #5 in terms of overall scale of operation. The group has jumped three slots within a year, helped no doubt by its ambitious growth and development. Posts and Telecom Press, and Publishing House of Electronic

group stepping up to the plate to advance scientific research both at home and abroad, improve its competitiveness and lead the country in science and technology publications, especially in helping to realize the national going-out strategy. This new publishing group has China Science Publishing Group in its fold, with Posts and Telecom Press, and Publishing House of Electronic Industry Press as its stakeholders. China Science Publishing Group is known for its many well-regarded

China Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd., is the youngest publishing media group in China, having been established only this July. It is also one of the three largest national publishing media groups in China. The significance of its establishment is evident from the publicity received during its inaugural meeting, which was attended by several members from the Communist
S16 Sept.26,2011

The inaugural meeting of China Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group.

Industry Press, are also ranked high on the GAPP report, mostly due to their specialization and market strength. With these three publishing entities in its stable, China Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group is now working on combining internal resources, merging the operations, and integrating various publishing assets owned by the Chinese Academy of Science, other central ministries and government a g e n c i e s . E v e n t u a l l y, t h e g r o u p w i l l h a n d l e a l l o f C h i n a s s c i e n c e and technology publicationsin book, journal, database and digital formatsand will take charge of imports and exports as well as printing of the publications. Given its new structure and bigscale operation, it is not surprising to hear that China Science and Technology

Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd., is busy working on its market capitalization plan. Rumors have it that the company will have its initial public offering by the end of this year. If that happens, then the group will have even more capital to further restructure and expand its operations. Liu Jianyao, President of China Science and Technology Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd., said that the group will focus its efforts on launching a major science and t e c h n o l o g y re s o u rc e s p l a t fo r m i n order to consolidate its market presence. To date, it has launched a Science Library platform that will generate around RMB1 million for the company. Next on the groups to-do list is a Science eStudy series. Within the next five years, digital publishing is expected to become a major part of the group, and various initiatives are currently being put in place to integrate different resources, expand R&D efforts and build overseas markets. Meanwhile, the group is working on a cooperative publishing platform that will be shared among its three major entities, and is planning to extend its digital services to cater to different subjects and levels of interest. Its goal, ultimately, is to create a group that is equally strong in both traditional publishing and digital offerings.
Sept.26,2011 S17 Some titles from China Science a n d Te c h n o l o g y Publishing & Media Group.

China South Media: Breaking into International Markets

Reported by Yang Guishan

China South Publishing & Media Group launched its initial public offering at the Shanghai Stock Exchange on October 28, 2010.

Established on December 25, 2008, China South Publishing & Media Group Co., Ltd. (or China South Media, in short), has positioned itself as the leader in the Chinese publishing and media industry. It made history when its initial public offering last October at the Shanghai Stock Exchange raised the largest capital ever recorded in the industry. According to its 11th five-year plan, China South Media is taking significant measures to strengthen and promote its international strategy through enhancing collaboration and joint ventures with overseas organizations. A series of awards, such as National Key Cultural Export Enterprise, Progress in Copyright Export Award, and Award for Outstanding Progress in the Promotion
S18 Sept.26,2011

of Chinese Books, is being used to advance and speed up its going-out, internationally focused strategy.

and distribution channels. In 2006, two million sets of The Complete Works of

Wu Guangzhong were exported, bringing

in close to RMB1.5 million, and setting the highest sales record for a single work for the province. Several other exports have made history as well. Math , an educational title published by Hunan Education Press, for instance, has been exported to Taiwan. It is the first book used in mainland China that has been selected for adoption in Taiwan. Another educational title, History , from Yuelu Publishing House, is used in Sangmyung University in Korea, and became China South Medias first textbook to be adopted by a foreign university. Co-publishing plays an important part in China South Medias going-out strategy. One of its major co-publishing

Quality, not just quantity

In recent years, exports of rights and printed books at China South Media have been growing steadily. Its rights deals have increased by more than 50% in each of the past three years, hitting 191 in 2010. Meanwhile, the quality of its titles has also improved by leaps and bounds. Between 2009 and 2010, a dozen titles from China South Media were selected for the Chinese Classic International Publishing Projectthe most from any local publishing group. Each year, many titles published in Hunan Province are sold all over the world through China South Medias operations

projects is the World Classical Music series, which is jointly developed by Hunan Literature & Art Publishing House and Schott Publishing Group. It is regarded as a bridge linking Chinese and Western cultures. Another copublishing project, Eulenburg Version:

international strategy through different methods of collaboration. This year, China South Media has started inviting overseas authors to join its publishing programa move that would further enrich its list and increase its profit. Meanwhile, the company is busy promoting the English edition of

Digital products and more

China South Media has embarked on several projects that would leverage its content and help to transform the company from a traditional publisher to one that is in tune with the Google/iPad/ Twitter era. Together with Huawei, the world's second-largest telecommunications solutions provider, China South Media has built a platform to market and sell its digital products globally. Leveraging o n b o t h p a r t i e s o p e ra t i o n a l a n d technological strengths, this platform may allow China South Media to become a huge player in the global market for digital reading. During the process, an RMB300-million joint venture was established to reorganize Beijing-based Tianwen Digital Media & Technology Co., Ltd. Today, Tianwen uses Huaweis 15 mobile platforms to distribute electronic newspapers to more than 320 million customers including those from Indonesia, Ghana, Syria, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. It is now Chinas largest news network with the biggest number of overseas users.

The Worlds Top 50 Classical Orchestras ,

is now available in three languages English, German, and Chinesewith Schott Publishing handling the German and English editions. This series success has prompted both publishing houses to agree on producing 200 titles together at the rate of 20 per year.

Faces of China through the Eyes of an American Principal internationally with

Hanban (National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) and the Confucius Institution. Aside from book and rights exports, China South Medias printing business has taken a presence in the U.S. and France. In the rst half of this year, Hunan Tianwen Xinhua Printing Group took over Parisbased book-printer Kryum Print. Almost at the same time, Hunan Book Company also expanded its business to take on packaging printing. One of its first overseas projects, bringing in sales in excess of US$4 million, involves printing for an American food company.

T h e C o m p l e t e Wo r k s o f Wu Guanzhong from Hunan Arts Press

is a very successful export as well. Published in both Chinese and English with the English edition available in both print and electronic formats this unique title has been sold to many Southeast Asian publishers and its rights bought by several European publishers. The Korean edition of Just

When We Were Young Pioneers and City of Love ,

p u b l i s h e d w i t h A re e s e e m Press, is another co-publishing success.

Faces of China through the Eyes of an American Principal Year of the Rabbit
from the China Show series that was launched in the U.K. is made possible through the collaboration between Hunan Electronic, Audio, and Video Press, European Publishing House, and Author House. A new title, The

Year of the Dragon , will be published

soon. These examples showcase China South Medias ability to enhance its
At the book launch for "Fine Arts in the Era of Mao Zedong" at the Beijing Fair. Sept.26,2011 S19

China South Media has also signed a strategic agreement with McGrawHil l Educational Publishing Group to share publishing resources and distribution channels. The agreement further identified subject areas such as geography, history, music, and art as those with the most copublishing potential. A series of gerontology titles that has been published through this joint effort is now listed in Chinas international going-out program. On the digital publishing side, Tianwen Cartoon Company (a China South Media subsidiary) and Japans Kadokawa Group have come together to set up Tianwen-Kadokawa Cartoon Company in Guangzhou. By leveraging Japans more mature manga publishing industry, this joint venture is focused on promoting original graphic novels and light novels, and converting such works into multimedia products, thus accelerating Chinas entry into the global cartoon/animation industry. Hunan Audio and Video Publishing House also ventures overseas with its collaboration with the Confucius Institute in Korea. Its first co-publishing project, Charming Mandarin: Reading

Strengthening human resources

In order to create marketfo c u s e d p r o d u c t s a n d d i ve r s i f i e d marketing channels for its goingout strategy, personnel with the right attitude and talents need to b e r e c r u i t e d . A c c o r d i n g l y, C h i n a South Media has established international divisions both at its headquarters and its branch offices, and these are now staffed by many talented multilingual speakers with proven expertise in publishing and marketing. They form a team with a good collective understanding of how business is done internationally. At the same time, China South

overseas retail outlets and sales channels in order to streamline the process of exporting printed books. In the future, overseas branches of C h i n a S o u t h M e d i a w i l l t a ke ove r export and distribution functions, especially in global publishing hubs s u c h a s F ra n k fu r t a n d N e w Yo r k . Currently, the company works with nine major retailers to distribute its titles in countries such as the U.S., Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and Malaysia. C h i n a S o u t h h a s s u c c e s s fu l l y expanded its international presence by focusing on product quality, and mar ke t ne e ds . Ove r t he n e xt f ive
China South Publishing & Media Group headquarters.

Media has set up various awards and incentive schemes to encourage more copyright sales and international copublishing projects. Goals have been set for annual performance based on criteria such as the number of rights s o ld, the quali ty of co-publishing projects, and the revenues generated from such projects. The evaluation results directly impact the subsidiarys annual performance and are reflected in the yearly income of the manager in charge. The company has also strengthened its relationship with

years, China South Media intends to increase its R&D investment on international markets and expand its digital publishing market. More collaboration with overseas retailers is being planned, while its printing business is being primed to take on more international projects. The company is also working with both local and central governments to get export subsidies or exemptions, and other types of assistance in various areas to help it penetrate tougher markets in Europe, the U.S., and Japan where more investment is expected.

Stories and Learning Mandarin , is the

first digital publication that China South Media has developed with an overseas organization. Through its many collaborations, China South Media now has more channels and opportunities to penetrate international markets. Right now, the company is preparing an international Web site that will serve as a communications platform for overall international strategy.

S20

Sept.26,2010 Sept.26,2011

Market Analysis: on Bestslling Translations in China

By Beijing OpenBook Co., Ltd. Translated by Yang Guishan

This market analysis covers only market bestsellers in translation, and is focused on three genres: ction, nonction and childrens books. The data comes from Beijing OpenBooks denitive book retail monitoring service. Set up in July 1998, this service collects information on book sales in big and medium-sized cities, and crunches the data to determine general trends of the national book market and quantify changes in the publishing industry. Translated titles have long been considered the blue chips in Chinas book market, as they are received favorably by the public, especially if the titles are already blockbusters back in their domestic markets. Besides bringing rich foreign culture and new ideas to China, translations often inspire Chinese publishers to create titles of their own and improve the generaly quality of their list. In short, translations help to promote and develop the Chinese book market. According to Beijing OpenBook, translated titles accounted for 20%25% of the top 100 bestsellers in China since 2008. Last year, the number of translated bestsellers dropped slightly, from 28 to 21, but it went up to 24 in the rst half of 2011. Generally speaking, as Chinese publishers obtain more knowledge of overseas markets while developing the local book industry, the selection of translated titles has gotten more in line with market demand, while the quality of the translations has improved.

Table 1: Top 100 bestselling translations in China (2008 to June 2011)

Year 2008 2009 2010 Up to June 2011 Number of translated titles 28 25 21 24 Homegrown titles 72 75 79 76

Chart 1: Origin of the top 100 translated bestsellers in the rst half of 2011

Chart 2: Main genres of the top 100 translated bestsellers

Translated bestsellers by country of origin

The U.S., with 29% (or 29 of the Top 100 in the first half of 2011), remains the main source of
Sept.26,2011 S21

Table 2: Top 10 translated fiction for the first half of 2011

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ISBN 9787544249867 9787544247269 9787508044019 9787544253994 9787544247252 9787020069828 9787020078127 7208061645 9787532742929 9787544807395 Title 1Q84: Volume 3 (hardcover) 1Q84: Volume 1 (hardcover) Encounter of the Unknown Self One Hundred Years of Solitude 1Q84: Volume 2 (hardcover) The Da Vinci Code The Lost Symbol The Kite Runner Norwegian Wood Twilight: Breaking Dawn Price(RMB) 39.5 36 29 39.5 36 26 38 25 23 39.8 Publisher Nanhai Publishing Nanhai Publishing Huaxia Press Nanhai Publishing Nanhai Publishing People's Literature Publishing People's Literature Publishing People's Literature Publishing People's Literature Publishing People's Literature Publishing Author Haruki Murakami Haruki Murakami De-Fen Zhang Gabriel Garcia Marquez Haruki Murakami Dan Brown Dan Brown Khaled Hosseini Haruki Murakami Stephenie Meyer

Table 3: Top 10 translated nonfiction for the first half of 2011

No. ISBN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9787544143158 9787801706409 7501217890 9787507419887 9787108032911 9787561345948 9787802444522 9787501194964 9787535765444 9787506036603 Title The Art of Speaking of Cai Kangyong Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment The Greatest Salesman in the World (hardcover) The Secret Watch A Complaint Free World We All Have A Disease Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn't Add Up The Grand Design A Compass to Fulfillment (Revised edition) 48 26 Hunan Science & Technology Press Oriental Press Kazuo Inamori Stephen Hawking 32 39 24.8 36 35 China City Press Joint Publishing Shaanxi Normal University Press Modern Press Xinhua Publishing Rhonda Byrne Long Yingtai Will Bowen Zhu Deyong Joseph E. Stiglitz 16.8 World Knowledge Press Og Mandino Price(RMB) 25 28 Publisher Shenyang Publishing Modern China Publishing Author Cai Kangyong Tal Ben-Shahar

translations for China. Austria is next, mostly due to the popularity of Thomas Brezinas popular Tiger-Team series for children. Interestingly, translations from the U.K., Japan, and Taiwan account for roughly 13% each, or 13 titles. In the past couple of years, titles from Japan and Taiwan have been on the rise because geographic proximity and shared cultural background makes Japanese and Taiwanese authors much easier to promote to mainland Chinese readers.
S22 Sept.26,2011

Translated bestsellers by genre

In the first half of 2011, the number of fiction and nonfiction among the top 100 translated bestsellers were even, at 23. Sales-wise, fiction and nonfiction titles are just as close 21.16% for fiction, and 22.31% for nonfiction, as percentages of the total sales of the top 100 imports. Childrens books represent the biggest chunk of the list with 30 titles, and 32.53% of the total sales.

Fiction
Most of the fiction titles on the bestseller list for the first half of 2011 are familiar to Chinese readers. Only a few are new publications. H a r u k i M u ra k a m i , w h o i s a l re a d y popular for Norwegian Wood that was published in 2010, has three other booksthe three volumes of 1Q84 on the list. The other new book for this period is Gabriel Garcia Marquezs One Hundred

Ye a r s o f S o l i t u d e , a w o r k t h a t i s
highly regarded as a commentary on the society and history of Latin America. It is the first authorized C h i n e s e ve r s i o n a n d i t d o e s ve r y well in the market, which goes to show that classics such as these do work if translated well and marketed properly.

Cai, a popular and eloquent TV host in Taiwan, takes full advantage of his talent to write an entertaining yet practical book that went straight to the top of the chart. Another title,

Childrens books
Translated childrens titles always take up several slots on the top 10 chart but there were very few titles on the list in the first half of 2011. Bestsellers such as Totto-Chan : The

We All Have a Disease , is written by

famous Taiwan cartoonist Zhu Deyong using simple yet witty illustrations t h a t h av e fo u n d favo r w i t h m a ny fans. Joseph Stiglitzs Mismeasuring

Little Girl at the Window , Charlottes Web, and the new version of Thomas
Brezinas Tiger-Team series have been there for a long time. But it is common knowledge that childrens titles require a lengthy promotional period to attract children and their parents. This genres popularity, however, means that local publishing companies can grab more market share by establishing a good reputation i n b u y i n g a n d t ra n s l a t i n g q u a l i ty childrens titles.

Nonfiction
There is more variety in translated nonfiction, with top titles in areas such as psychology, science. and business. Psychology self-help titles are popular and account for more than half of the top 10 titles. Only three out of the top 10 are new titles . The #1 bestseller in this genre is

Our Lives : Why GDP Doesnt Add Up,

on the relationship between the GDP and living standard, also does well. It is obvious that nonfiction titles by celebrities and established authors as well as those on practical topics tend to sell well, while classics such as

The Greatest Salesman in the World

are great reads that would carry from one generation to the next.

The Art of Speaking of Cai Kangyong .

Table 4: Top 10 translated childrens books for the first half of 2011
No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ISBN 9787544250580 7532733416 7544222977 9787534259692 9787534259715 9787534259647 9787534259678 9787534259739 9787534259722 9787534259746 Title Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (hardcover) Charlotte's Web Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (paperback) Der Teufels-Dampfer & Die Insel des T-Rex Im Donner-Tempel & Rtsel um das Schul-Skelett Lichter im Hexenmoor & Das Geheimbuch fr Gespenster Jger Das Geisterflugzeug & Das Amulett des AuBerirdischen Unsichtbare Ungeheuer & Die Suche nach dem Teufelsfisch Der Alptraum-Helikopter & Der entfhrte Pharao Der Fluch des Pharaosr & Das Geheimnis der grnen Kanister 13.8 13.8 13.8 13.8 13.8 13.8 13.8 Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Zhejiang Juvenile & Children's Publishing Sept.26,2011 S23 Thomas Brezina Thomas Brezina Thomas Brezina Thomas Brezina Thomas Brezina Thomas Brezina Thomas Brezina 17 20 Shanghai Translation Publishing Nanhai Publishing Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Elwyn Brooks White Price(RMB) 25 Publisher Nanhai Publishing Author Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Chinese Classics International Publishing Project: Introducing the Best Books to Overseas Readers
Reported by Lu Jing Gui Xiaofeng, born in Kunming in 1944, graduated from the Chinese Department of Shanghai Fudan University. Currently, he is the president of China Redactological Society and Vice President of the Publishers Association of China. He was former Vice Director of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). In recent years, Gui has committed himself to research on Chinese culture and was recently served in teaching posts at a number of universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, Fudan University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He is deputy director of the expert committee of the Chinese Classics International Publishing Project under the auspices of the GAPP.

Gui Xiaofeng

Spearheaded and funded by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), Chinese Classics International Publishing Project is aimed at encouraging and supporting the publication of export-oriented titles, and pushing Chinese publishers to go international. China Publishers sat down with Gui Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Projects expert committee to get the latest news on this special initiative. When the project was launched in October 2009, the response from the publishing industry was been overwhelmingly positive. Are you seeing the same kind of response for this years project? China Redactological Society is mainly responsible for receiving Project proposals from publishing houses,
S24 Sept.26,2011

doing initial review and organizing expert evaluation. As of May 5, the expert committee has received 297 project proposals. These came from 109 publishing houses, 27 of which are based in Beijing. Last year, 116 publishing houses submitted a total of 328 titles. Based on my observation, the quality of titles proposed for the project has improved significantly. We use the strict guidelines set out by the projectcovering content, range of topics, reputation of publishing house, and so onto review and select titles for the expert committee. This project only funds books. What are the main criteria for book selection? The project guidelines specify that books will go in either the Chinese Academic Classics series or the Chinese

Literary Classics series. The Academic Classics series is further divided into philosophy, political law, economy, military, history, language, literature a n d a r t , a n d g e n e ra l w o r k s . T h e Literary Classics series, on the other hand, covers poetry, the novel, drama, essays and anthologies. Proposals that do not fall into any of the subdivisions are automatically disqualified. The guidelines also indicate that proposed titles must be targeted at the international market with plans for rights sales and co-publishing. Accepted proposals must then be published by the end of a specified calendar year. What does this years crop of titles look like? Our selection process turned up 244 titles183 academic titles and 61 literary worksfrom a total of 297

proposed titles. A total of 94 publishing houses are represented in this years project. Overall, this is a slight decline from last year's project, in which there were 280 titles from 103 publishing houses. This year, 141 titles, or 57.8% of the selected total, have been recommended for funding, whereas last year, the numbers were 147 titles, or 52.5%, respectively. At the end, the project decided to fund 47 titles, or only 33.3% of those recommended by the expert committee. Last year, 67.3% of the titles recommended were funded. O ut of these 47 titles, 41 are classified under Academic Classics series. There are five philosophy titles, nine historical titles, four in political law, six for economics, four for literature and art, and 13 general works. The remaining six titles are classified under Literary Classics, and these are all novels.

The evaluation process is mostly focused on quality, right? What other principles are at work here? We are required to choose titles that reflect Chinese culture, represent China and its cultural image, and are projected to attract foreign readers. In order to meet these standards, we have 24 experts in a committee that is further divided into four different groups: two Social Science groups (Group A and Group B), Literature, and General. Group A reviews mostly titles on philosophy, history, language, other social sciences and general natural science. Group B is responsible for titles on political law, economy, culture, education and sports. Literature Group reviews classical titles, contemporary works, art theory, and selected general titles. The last group, General Group, is made up of experts in publishing, copyright, publicity, and translation,

and they evaluate the 244 titles based on their specialty before offering their recommendation to the other three groups. All 24 experts pay special attention to various aspects, such as content quality, potential for export, authors academic status, and book design. Could you tell us how the basic process of the review work? The first step is the group review. Each group reviews the materials and has a discussion about what has a good chance to make the final list. Suggestions, including funding suggestions, are proposed for each project that is recommended for financial support and submission the the Excpert Committee. Specialists from each group also have to review other groups projects to prepare for the final voting. Then comes the second step. The person in charge of every group reports to the committee about the works under review, complete with the list of suggestions and some of the problems that emerge. After discussion by the whole committee, the final list is formally submitted to the committee and voted on by secret ballot. Therefore the experts play a huge role. The review process is deep and very specific. There are many meetings, and written evaluations to consider and discuss, including observations on those projects that are recommended for funding,

Type for Chinese characters carved from wood, on display at Frankfurt.

w h i c h l a y s a solid foundation for

Sept.26,2011 S25

committees final vote. The General Group also contributes a lot, particularly with its invited experts from the Copyright Value Evaluation Project Office of Protection Center of China (CPCC). These specialists analyze the copyright issues for each project. Whats more, the person in charge of every group undertakes elaborate preparationswriting the report outline in advance, hosting preliminary discussions, that lead up to the meeting. Final ly, every expert gives a thoughtful vote after much consideration. As I have said, the passing rate was lower this year than last, a result I think of the rigorous standards and the healthy airing of different opinions. Previous titles under this project have been introduced to 20 countries and translated into 14 languages. What is the plan for this years titles? We are planning to export these titles to 22 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Oceania. The titles w o u l d t h e n b e t ra n s l a t e d i n t o 1 4 languages, including English, German, and Spanish. There has been one major change recently: previously, most of the titles were translated into no more than two different languages, but those selected in 2010 that have now been translated are available in multiple languages. The Love under

countries and is now available in nine languages. Another title, History of the

Communist Party in China: 19212011 ,

from Foreign Language Press, will be co-published in seven language editions. The project has been instrumental in promoting cultural exchanges and copublishing efforts between China and other countries. Any particular aspect of the Project that you think should be changed or improved? This project has definitely increased the influence of Chinese culture on the world stage. It fosters stronger cultural exchanges and better bilateral ties with foreign countries. The experts for this project all agree that the selected titles must not only be authoritative and broad in scope but also help overseas readers understand the real China. For instance, the author of From Changan to Rome actually traveled the whole length of the Silk Road to assess its impact on the trading route and its role in spreading various cultures. It is an exhaustively research title that combines personal experience and up-to-date research. There are certainly areas about the project that can be improved. Fo r i n s t a n c e , w e c a n b r o a d e n t h e selection scope, contract publishers to work on specific titles, introduce more contemporary literary works, and so on. Nothing is perfect, after all. As the project matures, we can expect it to evolve according to market needs and
Some titles that have been selected in the Project.

the H aw t ho r n Tre e f r o m Pe o p l e s
Literature Publishing House, for instance, has been exported to 11
S26 Sept.26,2011

industry changes.

Special Book Award for Outstanding Overseas Friends

Reported by Lu Jing

The Fifth Special Book Award ceremony was held at the National Center on August 30. Party official and State Councilor Liu Yandong (center) and Director of General Administration of Press and Publication Liu Binjie (on her left) presented the awards to the winners.

Held at the National Center for the Performing Arts on August 30, the Fifth Special Book Award of China was the culmination of an effort that took two years of review and evaluation. Five individuals who have contributed to the promotion of Chinese culture abroad were selected for the award. The honors went to Stephen Bourne, CEO of Cambridge University Press; John Naisbitt, author/futurist a n d o n e o f A c c e n t u r e s 5 0 g l o b a l

management masters; B.R. Deepak, translator and vice-professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University; Lizuka Yutori, translator and professor at Chuo University in Japan; and Kristofer Schipper, sinologist and professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Chinese culture, and that was duly honored. Stephen Bourne, for instance, established the Cambridge China Library (CCL) in 2009 to translate and publish Chinese classics into English in order to promote literary exchanges and discussion between Chinese and Western readers. He set up a special editorial team of experts from China, the U.S., and Europe to select and recommend Chinese works for
Sept.26,2011 S27

The 2011 award winners

The five winners may come from different parts of the world but they all have the same goal: to help spread

t ra n s l a t i o n . A m o n g the projects selected are the Cultural China series (30 volumes, from China
Stephen Bourne

numerous research articles. Perhaps his most remarkable work is the first-ofits-kind translation of Chinese Classical

300 works from about 130 writers have been made available, including writings by Yu Hua, Tie Ning, Wang Anyi, and Shi Tiesheng. Yutori also has written numerous research papers on modern Chinese culture and art. According to Yutori, there is very little active translation of Chinese going on in Japan, only a few university professors and researchers who translate works that they are interested in on their own time. Therefore its not easy for Chinese works to
Lizuka Yutori

Poems from the 11th to 14th centuries.

Available in Hindi, this book showcases the beauty of Chinese poetry and cultural heritage. Both China and India are countries with long histories and old civilizations, and I feel so deeply that Chinese culture has not been spread enough, and its essential that more people learn about China, said Deepak at the news conference of for the Special Book Award. Deepak has a l s o t ra n s l a t e d t h e works of Ji Xianlin, China's famous writer, l i n g u i s t , e d u c a t o r,
B.R. Deepak

International Press),

A History of Chinese

Civilization (four volumes, Peking

University Press), and Introductory

Theory of Advanced Mathematics (four

volumes, Higher Education Press). So far, 10 volumes in the Cultural China series have been published, and the English edition of A History of Chinese

Civilization w i l l b e ava i l a b l e n e x t
January. More titles will be selected for CCL in the coming months. John Naisbitt whose name has long been familiar to Chinese readers, wrote
John Naisbitt

be translated in Japan. Translation is lonely

work with little pay and less gain. Im just one of those who is devoted to it. K r i s t o f e r S c h i p p e r, p r o f i c i e n t in eight languages and famous for p u b l i s h i n g T h e Ta o i s t B o d y a n d translating philosophers Zhuangzi and Lao Tsu (author of Tao

translator, essayist, and social activist, who

is proficient in 12 languages himself. Deepak kept in close contact with Ji during his study at Peking University and thought that Ji's work deserved to be translated for the India market. Deepak is aided by his Chinese wife, from Beijing, who he says helped him considerably in his translation work. L i z u k a Yu t o r i w h o i s t h e f i r s t Japanese winner specializing in translating of contemporary Chinese authors and research done on modern Chinese literature in Japanese. Modern

Chinas Megatrends in

2009. He and his wife have just released their latest title, Chinas Megatrends: The

Te Ching ) into Dutch,

established the Global Civilization Research Center and Library of the Western Belvedere
Kristofer Schipper

Chengdu Model , at the 18th Beijing

International Book Fair, which ran from August 31 to September 4, 2011. As for the other three winners, they are fluent in Chinese and have devoted themselves to the study of Chinese literature. Sinologist B.R. Deepak has been involved in the study, research, and development of Chinese literature and culture as well as on the relations between China and India since the 1980s. He has written six monographs, compiled two dictionaries and written
S28 Sept.26,2011

at Fuzhou University

in 2001. (This particular contribution has also earned him the Friendship Award from the state government.) In 2009, the nearly 80 -year-old Schipper took the translation work of Five Canons a large international sinology cooperation project organized by China's national leading group office

Chinese Novel , a quarterly publication

for which he serves as editor-in-chief, publishes works by contemporary Chinese authors in Japanese. More than

for promoting Chinese. Now Schipper t ra v e l s o f t e n b e t w e e n C h i n a a n d Netherlands, playing an important role in the cultural exchanges between the two countries.

for the recent award-giving ceremony, the focus is now on recognizing more diversified works from different fields as well as on improving the evaluation and selection process. T h i s ye a r s awa rd re v i e w a n d evaluation process was also carried out much earlier than usual. In fact, the department sent out letters to various embassies last December in order to provide ample time for proper recommendations of award candidates. Guidelines on selection of sinologists, authors, translators, and publishers who have made outstanding achievements in writing, publishing, or translating excellent works from China were also provided. The whole evaluation process is also becoming more transparent, objective, and fair. GAPPs international communication and cooperation department wrote to some embassies asking for names of potential candidates. The embassies promptly re s p o n d e d w i t h n a m e s o f s e ve ra l writers and translators. It was as a result of the new efforts to recognize important contributors from different

fields, that three more namesJohn Naisbitt, Stephen Bourne and Richard Levin (president of Yale University) were added to the candidate list. The department then collected works by these candidates and bound them into volumes for expert review and evaluation. The winners were duly selected. Effective this year, the Special Book Award will become an annual event with RMB50,000 prize money for each winner. These major changes fully reflect the Chinese government's determination to encourage more contributions from overseas friends while bringing the award in line with other international prizes of similar nature. GAPP is ramping up its efforts in acknowledgingand rewardingthose who are actively engaged in promoting cultural exchanges between China and other countries, and spreading Chinese culture throughout the world by making important works available in different languages.

Future plans for the Special Book Award

Established by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) in 2005, the Special B ook Award is an important part of the central governments drive to promote cultural exchanges between China and other nations. Its main objective is to recognize foreign writers, translators, and publishers who have contributed to the promotion of Chinese culture and the dissemination of Chinese works in overseas markets. It has been awarded every other year during the Beijing International Book Fair. To date, the award has been given to 22 people from eight countries. The winners include Howard Goldblatt (translator of Jiang Rongs Wolf Totem and A-lais Dust Falling Down ) and Robert Lawrence Kuhn (author of How

Chinas Leaders Think: The Inside Story of Chinas Reform and What This Means for the Future ). These award winners
play an important role in promoting bilateral understanding, respect, and development. Meanwhile, plans are afoot to improve the awards selection and e va l u a t i o n p r o c e s s . A s h a s b e e n reported from the news conference

Titles from the Museums from Cultural China series, the History of Chinese Civilization, and the Theory of Advanced Mathematics series.

Sept.26,2011 S29

Sino-Foreign Translation and Publishing Project: Promoting Cultural Exchanges and Collaboration
Reported by Lu Jing

In recent years, various government initiatives and programs have been established to promote Chinese culture abroad while at the same time introducing Chinese readers to different cultures and new works from around the w o r l d . I n 2 0 0 9 , fo r i n s t a n c e , t h e General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) launched the Chinese Classics International Publishing Project to promote translations and publications of works that focus on modern China. A year later, GAPP started a Sino-Foreign Translation and Publishing Project to promote literary exchanges and publishing cooperation with overseas partners. The objective of this new project is to translate the most important works from Chinaincluding literature and research in any fieldand to select outstanding works from overseas for

translation into simplified Chinese for the domestic market. So far, China has signed memorandums of cooperation with the Arab League and Cuba.

American author Khalil Gibran, and The

Cairo Trilogy by 1988 Nobel Prize winner

Naguib Mahfouz. Clearly, Arabic literature has already been promoted and read in China for many years. Likewise, The Analects of Confucius was translated into Arabic back in the 1930s. Translations of other ancient Chinese classics soon followed. Today,

Constructing a modern Silk Road

In M ay 2 0 1 0 , a m e m o ra n d u m of understanding on the China-Arab Translation and Publishing Project was signed by the GAPP and the Arab League. With this, selected Chinese history books and outstanding modern literary works will be published and distributed within the Arab Leagues 22 countries, effectively rebuilding a newer and modern Silk Road based on cultural exchanges. Statistics show that China has translated and published 669 titles, of which 565 are literary works, from the Arab League countries between 2001 and 2010. These titles include The Arabian

The Book of Changes (or I-Ching ), Tao Te Ching , Intrigues of the Warring States , and The Art of War are available
in Arabic. The same applies to the four great classical novels of Chinese literature: Dream of the Red Chamber ,

Water Margin , Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Journey to the West .
Meanwhile, contemporary Chinese works by authors such as Lu Xun and Lao She are gaining popularity among Arabic readers. At the Cairo International Book Fair in January 2011, director of the GAPP, Liu Binjie, said, Both China and

Nights , the complete works of Lebanese-

Chinese translations of some famous Arabian works, along with some Chinese classics translated into Arabic. S30 Sept.26,2011

Arab nations have very rich cultural heritages, and both parties have mutually agreed to further deepen and strengthen our cultural exchanges and collaboration. This process would require us to build a bridge, or a link, between the two cultures. Literary translation and publishing, I believe, is the key to unlock both parties cultural treasures and make them available to readers in China and in the Middle East. We will then be able to share knowledge and research in social, intellectual, scientific, and economic fields. According to the memorandum, both parties will focus on translating classics and contemporary Chinese literature as well as childrens titles. Over the next five years, both parties will translate and publish 25 titles each. Grants will be given to publishing houses that will translate and publish the selected titles. Both parties have also agreed to set up expert committeeswith each made up of five professionals chosen from government age nc ie s , p ub l is hing ho us e s , a nd academic institutionsto spearhead the project. These experts will evaluate the publishing houses that will handle the

translation and publishing, determine work schedule and budgets, supervise the process, submit progress reports, and so on. The memorandum also specifies that Peoples Publishing House will be the committees office in China. Algeriabased Arab Higher Translation Research Institute will be the other committee office. Meetings will be held annually to check on the progress of this collaboration.

the China-Arab agreement. Several months later, on July 13, Jiang Jianguo, vice-director of the GAPP signed a publishing memorandum with Cubas Book Committee during his visit to that country. This is Chinas first collaboration with a Latin American country on publishing matters. According to this memorandum, publishers from China and Cuba will attend each countrys international book fairs to facilitate cultural exchanges. T h e C h i n a - C u b a Tr a n s l a t i o n a n d Publishing Project will kick-start with both sides recommending titles for translation and publication, setting up grants to support translation activities, distributing classic works of Chinese and Cuban literature, and encouraging their publishing houses to increase copyright cooperation. The list of recommended books will be made available in the first quarter of 2012 ,and both countries will translate and publish five books each starting from 2013. On the whole, the Sino-Foreign Translation and Publishing Project will further promote cultural exchanges and collaboration between China and its overseas partners. It is certainly a big step forward in realizing Chinas goingout policy.

China-Iran and China-Cuba agreements

This year marks the 40th annive rsary of Chinas diplomatic relations with Iran. Several GAPP programs have been carried out to promote more publishing projects with Iranian publishers. GAPP also organized several publishing houses to actively participate at the 2011 Tehran Book Fair. Then, in May 2011, GAPP signed a memorandum of understanding on China-Iran Translation and Publishing Project to introduce more works to readers of both countries. This being the second project under the SinoForeign Translation and Publishing program, it contains the same objectives and processes as those in

Sept.26,2011 S31

Market Focus for the 2012 London Book Fair: China

Reported by Lu Jing Translated by Yang Guishan

The year 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the U.K. It is also the year Beijing passes the baton of the Olympics to the city of London. So the choice of China as the market focus for the 2012 London Book Fair seems most appropriate and natural. For China, it will be a great opportunity to showcase its culture and literaturei.e., its soft p o w e r t o fa i r a tt e n d e e s a n d t h e publishing community from near and far. The London Book Fair Market Focus initiative is an important chance for U.K. and international publishers to communicate with their foreign counterparts, and seek out and capitalize on new business partnerships. The China Market Focus and the associated cultural

program will place a spotlight on contemporary Chinese authors and on China as an important and growing publishing arena. The market focus program, which will be held in conjunction with the GAPP, is run by the London International Book Fair, along with the British Council, and will be supported with a series of cultural events as well. The China Market Focus cultural program at the 2012 London Book Fa i r w i l l b e g i n w i t h a h a n d o v e r ceremony from the outgoing Market Focus country, Russia. A series of cultural events will then take place until the end of 2012. During this period, the spotlight will be on contemporary Chinese authors, and China as an important player in the global publishing industry. The opening ceremony is one of the most important official events for the Market Focus c o u n t r y. I t w i l l be attended by Chinese and British p o l i t i c a l f i g u re s , representatives

two countries, and more than 600 members of the media from around the world. China will hold a variety of colorful events to put on display the beauty of traditional Chinese culture and literature. During the Market Focus period, the London Book Fair will schedule a series of high-level dialogues to further promote cooperation between China and the U.K., and enhance understanding on various topics including the connection between publishing activities and the economy; the current state of the arts, music, and entertainment industries, and the progress of digitization in the publishing industry, as well as the copyright p ro t e c t i o n a n d C h i n e s e l a n g u a g e teaching and learning. These dialogues are meant to explore areas beneficial to both countries and the publishing world at large. More than 30 cultural activities will be held including Sino-U.K. language education publishing forum, including a discussion about children's illustrators, a seminar on purchasing rights to Chinese titles, and so on. These activities will provide Chinese publishers with opportunities to communicate, cooperate, and interact with publishers from all over the world, and to further increase their presence in the

China-UK Literature in Translation Forum, sponsored by the General Administration of Press and Publication and the British Council, will be part of the opening activities for the 2012 London Book Fair. S32 Sept.26,2011

f r o m

m a j o r

publishers of the

international book market. Improving communications between Chinese writers and Western scholars is an important aspect of the Market Focus program as well. The introduction of contemporary Chinese writers and outstanding Chinese literary works to mainstream Western s o c i e ty w i l l b e a b r i d g e s p a n n i n g two different worlds of culture and literature. More than 50 Chinese writers, l i t e ra r y c r i t i c s , a n d s c h o l a r s w i l l participate in various activities to promote Chinese literature and culture. These events will take place just before the Book Fair and will carry on until the end of the year. Dialogues and panels incuding Chinese and British writers, scholars,

and literary critics, together with author readings, will touch on various fields, including literature, philosophy, technology, and economy. After the Book Fair, there will be continuing activities around Great Britain, such as the Wales Literature & A r t Fe s t i va l , t h e E d i n b u rg h A r t Festival, and Thames Art Festival (back in London). These will significantly broaden the exposure of Chinese literature to the British people. One of the most important segments of the Market Focus program is the translation, publication, and p r o m o t i o n o f t h e fo c u s c o u n t r y s most important literary works. This time, various events will be carried out to showcase Chinese authors and

works that have been selected, and promoted, for the international market. At the same time, bricks-and-mortar bookstores and online book retailers in the U.K. will also come together to promote these selected works and authors to the public. D u r i n g t h e y e a r, t h e L o n d o n Book Fair organizing committee will coordinate a series of cultural and arts exhibitions that throw the spotlight on Chinas long civilization and literary t ra d i t i o n . T h e s e w i l l c ove r m ov i e screenings, photo exhibits (on Chinese architecture and typical Chinese families), Chinese philatelic shows, and many others. These are aimed at promoting a better understanding of China, its people and culture in the U.K. and Europe.

Sept.26,2011 S33

S34

Sept.26,2011