-
Children's Books in China 2018: A Wide-Ranging Selection of Original Works from China
With nearly 100 Chinese publishers and at least half that many illustrators attending the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in March, a big contingent will be representing the land of 1.38 billion people. Most of the publications they are bringing to the fair focus on common themes and age-old plots expressed through the best and most unique of China’s traditional art styles. The result is original works that are quintessentially Chinese but also universal, contemporary, and engaging.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: IlluSalon Nurtures and Promotes Illustrators
IlluSalon, the biggest international illustration platform in China, works with around 4,000 illustrators from more than 50 countries. For Hou Mingliang, founder of IlluSalon and host of the Global Illustration Award (as well as president of Kids Media), young and professional illustrators–with good education and training–are changing the face of the Chinese illustration industry.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Key Colours Competition China: A Unique Model
The €7,500 grand prize of the inaugural Key Colours Competition China, which was awarded in August 2017, went to Wang Yuwei’s Mr Cat and Little Fairy; five other books received honorable mentions. All six works will be published in Chinese by Beijing Yutian Hanfeng, with print runs ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 copies, and in Dutch and English by Belgian publisher Clavis, with 3,000 copies for each edition.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Survival in China: The Bear Grylls (Middle-Grade) Story
As of February 2018, 12 volumes of Bear Grylls’s Mission Survival series have been published in China, with overall sales exceeding 6.8 million copies. The numbers are a surprise to many, including some at the Jieli Publishing House, though not to editor-in-chief Bai Bing.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Promoting Wordless Picture Books in China
“The more words, the better” is a general truism of the Chinese children’s book market. Chinese parents and educators always want more words for children to learn and more paragraphs to relay additional information. A book’s value often is tied to the quantity of text on its pages.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Thinkingdom Children’s Books
“Helping every kid to become a book lover” is the motto at Thinkingdom Children’s Books, which was established in 2002 to translate classic and award-winning children’s books. Less than one year later, it published two well-known authors: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window) and Shel Silverstein (The Giving Tree, The Missing Piece, and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O).
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Jieli Publishing House
The phrase “in the right place at the right time” seems tailor-made for Jieli. Its Usborne China imprint, launched in January 2017, came at an opportune moment when the Chinese market was ready for higher-priced toy- and game-based board books and novelty titles.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Hunan Juvenile & Children’s Publishing House
Hunan Juvenile steadfastly pursues its goal to be “a kid’s best friend” by introducing quality content from far and near. Last year, the 36-year-old publisher released more than 600 new titles, including originals such as China’s Silk Road picture books, literature titles such as Tang Sulan’s Little Lotus and Stories Told by Mei Zihan, and the Wide View pop-science series. A total of 23 titles won various awards in China, and annual sales exceeded 400 million copies.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Social Media Marketing: Working the Platform
The past few years have seen social media, propelled by the all-purpose WeChat app and the Weibo microblogging service, become an indispensable promotional and sales channel in the Chinese publishing industry. Critics point to challenges facing publishers who depend on social media marketing. Advocates, meanwhile, view the current dip in effectiveness of social media marketing as evidence of a period of adjustment common to any new channel.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Joint Ventures in China: The Dos and Don’ts
There are several high-profile joint ventures (JVs) in Chinese children’s books publishing. The earliest was Children’s Fun Publishing, a collaboration between Posts & Telecommunications Press and Egmont Group initiated in 1994. Next came Hachette-Phoenix, which was cofounded by Hachette Group and Phoenix Publishing Group in 2010. This was followed by Macmillan Century, set up by Macmillan Group and 21st Century Publishing House in June 2011. And last November, Bayard Bridge, a JV between Bayard Group and Trustbridge, was established.
-
Children’s Books in China 2018: Xinjiang Juvenile Publishing House
XJPH’s books featuring Afanti (a Uighur protagonist) and the Mongolian epic Jangar are vivid reminders of what is possible from a publisher located in the vast Chinese interior, which borders eight countries and harbors 47 ethnic groups.
-
Children’s Books in China 2018: Tomorrow Publishing House
Most overseas publishers are familiar with the reputation of Tomorrow Publishing House, which was founded 35 years ago and has translated more than 1,000 titles. Credited for putting several local authors—Yang Hongying, Cao Wenxuan, Wu Meizhen, and Yu Yujun, for instance—on the international map, this is also the publisher that turned Eric Carle, Roald Dahl, Tove Jansson, and Erich Kästner into household names in China.
-
Children’s Books in China 2018: New Buds Publishing House
Small but beautiful” is our publishing motto, says editor-in-chief Ma Yuxiu of New Buds. “We have scaled down our annual output in recent years, opting instead to focus our resources on creating unique content.”
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Guangdong New Century Publishing House
This is the Chinese home of the Wimpy Kid series, which made its first appearance in China in 2009 and has since sold more than 9.2 million copies. The decision to ignore market skepticism (this comics-style series with American humor and school culture was initially deemed unworkable in China) has been the right one, says chief editor Huang Chunqing of GNCPH.
-
Children’s Books in China 2018: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
This company needs little introduction, having collaborated with more than 500 international publishers since its inception in 1979. It is also China’s largest foreign language publisher and its third largest in terms of sales.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Flying High with Winnie the Witch
In April 2018, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) will publish Winnie and Wilbur: The Naughty Knight, the 18th title in the Winnie the Witch series. Plans are also in the works for illustrator Korky Paul to do a three-week tour of China, giving several lectures, including one to 3,000 primary school teachers in Guangdong Province.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: Top 10 Children's Books in China - A Quick Market Analysis
The two biggest online book retailers in China are Dangdang and JD, which combined take up nearly two-thirds of the market. However, despite serving the same readership, their top 10 bestseller lists tend to differ greatly. Interestingly enough, for 2017, their charts share not even one title.
-
Children's Books in China 2018: All Our Coverage
The 2018 Special Report on children's publishing in China, plus related coverage.
-
Events Highlighting Chinese Publishers and Content Creators at Bologna
With China as the country of honor at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this March, a citywide program to celebrate Chinese arts and culture, as well as top authors and illustrators, is already in motion.
-
Children’s Books in China 2018: Beijing Dandelion Children's Book House
The contradictions embodied in the folk symbol of the witch captured the attention of Sally Yan, founder and editor-in-chief of 11-year-old publishing company Beijing Dandelion. “The witch is a popular figure in Western classics: sometimes as the protagonist; other times, in the periphery. The Western witch can be bad or good, frightful or funny—there is no specific mold to cast her. Not so in Chinese folktales and oral traditions. The Chinese witch is bad and scary, never lovable or even the slightest bit endearing. Chinese kids often equate her with a monster or demon. Why? That is my question and the reason behind this new book from Peng Xuejun,” Yan says, flipping through a copy of Granny Xiu and Peach-Blossom Fish.
Browse archive by date:
