This year’s Beijing International Book Fair, which ran from June 15–18, hosted 2,500 exhibitors and more than 200,000 visitors. The 29th edition was the first in-person event after nearly four years and the atmosphere inside the exhibition hall was upbeat. Business during the four-day run was brisk with a total of 1,889 copyright deals signed, of which 502 were for import. We’ve rounded up children’s book-related highlights from fair. All photos courtesy of BIBF.
The lively mood inside the exhibition hall was matched by blue skies and bright sun outside the China National Convention Center, the new BIBF venue, which is much more modern and closer to the city center.
Artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, virtual reality, blockchain, and new technologies pertaining to publishing and books were the main topics discussed at the well-attended PubTech Conference. Overseas speakers at the forum included Guido Herrmann, senior v-p at Wiley; Henning Schoenberger, v-p of content innovation at Springer Nature; and Niels Peter Thomas, president of Springer Nature’s book division.
Visitors had fun experimenting with immersive 5G-driven VR content. Recent years have seen more technology companies in digital content creation, video-sharing platforms, gaming, and edutainment participating in BIBF. This year, such companies included Bilibili, China Literature, NetEase Games, and Tencent Games.
Parents and children tried a high-tech and immersive approach to appreciating ancient music. By wearing special headphones and following on-screen prompts, participants stepped on corresponding positions on the elevated platform to play, and learn about, ancient music.
The 1,800-square-meter BIBF Picture Book Exhibition offered original picture books from 15 countries. Book launches, author signings, and readings were also held in the area to offer more interactions between the audience and picture book creators.
Children and parents alike were fascinated by the complex pop-up books at the Picture Book Exhibition.
The BIBF Art Book Fair was a new event that covered an area of 700 square meters with a focus on architecture, art, fashion, and design books.
There were 14 country pavilions, including those from Germany (pictured here), Italy, Japan, Korea, the U.K., and the U.S. But few American and European/U.K. publishers attended or had their own booths this time; the June dates were smack in the middle of the summer holiday period in Europe and a busy month of book events in the U.S.
Quarto was one of the few U.K. publishers exhibiting at BIBF this year. Companies such as Arcturus, Nosy Crow, and Usborne used the Publishers Association/U.K. pavilion.
At Nosy Crow, managing director Kate Wilson (l.) and senior rights manager Lena Petzke saw strong interest in the science titles associated with the company’s just-announced exclusive children’s publishing partnership with the University of Cambridge.
