The
Beijing Book Fair Preview WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015
MEET OSCAR-WINNING FILM CONCEPTUAL ARTIST AND BOOK ILLUSTRATOR OF TOLKIEN’S
LORD OF THE RINGS INTERVIEW INSIDE
The Beijing Book Fair – Wednesday 26th - Sunday 30th August In this issue:
Beijing Forum to Tighten UK-China Creative Ties Q&A with Alan Lee China Opening Up to the World
12-14 APRIL
The Publishing Landscape in China Understanding Demand for British Writers in China Doing Rights Business with China
THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015
Beijing Forum to Tighten UK-China Creative Ties Building brands and improving dialogue between the British and Chinese book industries will be among the themes of a new forum at the Beijing International Book Fair on 27 August. The first ever ‘China Creative Industries Forum’ has been put together by The London Book Fair and the China Publishing Group, and forms part of activities for the UKChina Year of Cultural Exchange, an initiative to strengthen ties between the creative sectors in both countries. Guest of honour at the Forum will be acclaimed book and film illustrator Alan Lee, who will discuss his work on JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series which this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of The Return of the King. It will act as a case study of how book content can be transformed into valuable, worldwide multimedia property that endures long after its creation. Other sessions at the Forum include keynotes on dialogue between the UK and China from Yu Cike of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; Carma Elliott of the British Council; and Tan Yue of the China Publishing Group. The theme of crosssector brands will be picked up by Jo Lusby of Penguin China, who will look at the exploitation of children’s character Peppa Pig in TV, books, games and other areas; and Chinese writer Feng Tang. Sessions will be chaired by Jacks Thomas, Director of The London Book Fair. Thomas said: “China is a fascinating and fast-moving market with an enviable appetite for embracing the opportunities that the combination of books and digital technologies offer. The London Book Fair is very
fortunate to partner with CPG that not only has great heritage in publishing but also a great commitment to digital advances. Alan Lee’s insights will be a fantastic reminder of the way that great books last forever— from page to screen and everything in between.” Tan Yue said: “I am delighted to co-host this China-UK Creative Industries Forum with the London Book Fair. In the Internet-plus era, publishing—as an integral component of cultural and creative industries—is no longer a single, closedloop industry chain, but rather a complex and diversified value chain. I am convinced that we can work together to add a glorious new chapter to the publishing industry.” China Creative Industries Forum — Full programme 3pm Networking and refreshments 3.25pm Introduction from Jacks Thomas, London Book Fair 3.30pm Keynote: The China-UK dialogue with Yu Cike, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; Carma Elliott, British Council; Tan Yue, China Publishing Group 4.20pm Books That Travel Across Borders and Platforms: Case Studies of Success with Jo Lusby, Penguin China; and Feng Tang, author 5.15pm Tolkien’s The Return of the King: From Birth to 60th Birthday of a Global Book Brand with Alan Lee, illustrator 5.45pm Closing remarks 5.50pm Photo opportunity with Alan Lee 7pm Drinks reception with UK Trade & Investment, UK Publishers Association and The London Book Fair
Guide to key speakers Carma Elliott is China Director at the British Council, having taken up the job in 2013. She was a British diplomat for 23 years until 2010, including roles in China, and previously worked at China’s largest international NGO, the Half the Sky Foundation. Alan Lee is a world-renowned illustrator whose work includes imagery for editions of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the series. He is a former winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal for Rosemary Sutcliff’s Black Ships Before Troy (Turtleback). Jo Lusby is Managing Director of Penguin Random House North Asia. She joined the company in 2005 and has since established offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul. She oversees local publishing in English, Chinese and Korean, and the sale of imported books from the US and UK from her base in Hong Kong. Feng Tang is an acclaimed Chinese novelist. He is the author of a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about growing up in Beijing during the 1990s, called Give Me a Girl at Age Eighteen, Everything Grows and Beijing, Beijing. He also holds a doctorate and an MBA. Jacks Thomas is Director of The London Book Fair. She took up the role in 2013, having previously worked in publishing at companies including Victor Gollancz, Simon & Schuster and Reader’s Digest, and as chief executive of Midas Public Relations. Tan Yue is President of China Publishing Group Corporation. He has previously worked in the Phoenix Publishing & Media Group Corporation and in various cultural roles in Jiangsu province. In 2012 he was named Publisher of the Year by China Press and Publishing Press and Person of the Year in Culture Industry of China. Yu Cike is Director of the Copyright Management Department of China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. He is also Vice Chairman of the China Intellectual Property Society, Vice Chairman of the Copyright Society of China and Executive Director of the Internet Society of China.
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WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015
THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
Q&A with Alan Lee Alan Lee is a renowned book and film illustrator whose work includes HarperCollins’ centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson’s hugely successful film adaptations of both that series and The Hobbit. He is a former winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal for Rosemary Sutcliff’s Black Ships Before Troy (Turtleback). Alan is a guest of honour at the ‘China Creative Industries Forum’ in Beijing and discusses his work on Tolkien’s books there at 5.15pm on Thursday 27 August. How did you approach your illustrations for Tolkien’s books? How closely were they drawn from his writing, and how much from your own inspirations? The text is always the most important, and the first thing to consider. As an illustrator I have to create within a context formed by the words, and by what I can discern as the author’s intent and wishes. There is a desire not to impose my vision too strongly—to find spaces in the narrative and be aware that I have to complement the text, rather than replicate the author’s carefully created descriptions and dramatic high points. But I also have a long-standing fascination with the same source material that inspired Tolkien, like Scandinavian myths. That material is a joy to work with, and the woodlands, mountains and the rest of the natural world that Tolkien loved so much are a constant source of inspiration too. How did working on the Lord of the Rings films compare to working on the books? How different are the skills and practices of the two? In a book you are just illustrating a moment in the story, and it usually means there will rarely be more than a couple of drawings with the same setting. In the edition of The Lord of the Rings (HarperCollins) that I had the pleasure of illustrating, there were two pictures showing Rivendell. In a film, especially visually rich ones like Peter Jackson’s adaptations, there will be hundreds of drawings done to cover every aspect of the design, including wide views, architectural details from different angles and props, and some of these will be drawn several times to give the director a choice. The drawings are detailed but can be quite rough as well; once they communicate enough information for the next stage in the making of the object to proceed, they are grabbed by the sculptor or set draughtsman and work goes ahead while I start on the next sketch.
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Over the course of your career, what work are you most proud of? In film, I think it may be the design of Edoras and Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings. In books, it is probably the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings. How is your work received in China? Do you have much sense of how you are viewed or followed there? I don’t know yet. I’ve met some very enthusiastic and lovely fans so far, and am looking forward to meeting more in the next 12 days. It is wonderful to be here. Do you follow the book illustration and art scene in China? Are there any artists and illustrators you particularly admire? I think there are some tremendously talented illustrators in China, and contemporary art is at a fascinating stage here. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of it, and being inspired by newer artists as well as the amazing wealth of traditional art. I want to see as much as I can while I am here. How well do you think book illustrators in general are recognised now? Do they get proper credit for their work, or are they still overshadowed by recognition of authors? Generally the balance is about right. It may be a little harder for illustrators to gain attention as there is so much competing material on the web now, and much of it becomes anonymous as it is thoughtlessly shared without the artist being credited. I don’t know how this can be rectified.
Alan is a guest of honour at the ‘China Creative Industries Forum’ in Beijing and discusses his work on Tolkien’s books at 5.15pm on Thursday 27 August. The Return of the King is published by HarperCollins.
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THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
China Opening up to the World China’s publishing market has ‘opened up more and more in recent years’. There have been several dimensions to this opening up—from reforms to Chinese government policy on state publishing, ISBN distribution and copyright protection, to concerted engagement efforts from organisations such as the British Council, the UK Publishers Association, London Book Fair, Arts Council England, as well as British publishers and literary agents. Contributing factors include: 2001 – China enters the World Trade Organisation; state publishers are directed to become more competitive in order to operate in international markets. 2004 – The Confucius Institute, promoting Chinese language learning and teaching, and the understanding of the Chinese culture internationally, is set up by Hanban (Office of Chinese Language Council International). 2005 – Penguin China sets up its China office, the first foreign trade publisher in China. 2009 – China initiates the ‘Go Out’ Policy (also referred to as the ‘Going Global’ Strategy) to promote Chinese investments abroad. China Classics International (CCI) is one of the major initiatives set up as part of this policy by the GAPP (General Administration of Press and Publication), to ‘bring Chinese culture to the world’. 2009 – London Book Fair (with the British Council and the UK Publishers Association) begins three-year lead-up activity programme preparing for China to be the London Book Fair ‘Market Focus’ in 2012. 2010 – Chinese state-run publishing houses gradually transform into commercial enterprises. ‘Increasing copyright sales to China show that an interest in foreign books is growing.’ 2010 – Memorandum of understanding on Strategic Cooperation on Copyright is concluded between the UK Intellectual Property Office and the Chinese National Copyright Administration. 2012 – China is ‘Market Focus’ at London Book Fair. 2013 – Increase in the number of Chinese publishers taking stands at London Book Fair following ‘Market Focus’ year (a key objective met by LBF). 2013 – Beijing Book Fair reports 50% more UK representatives. 2013 – Chinese government merges GAPP and State Broadcasting Film and Television Administration (SARFT) into State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT)— responsibilities included ‘promoting the digitizations of publications and supervising online and mobile publication, including books’ placing ‘a greater emphasis on promoting Chinese press and publications, radio and television abroad’. 2013 – China announces it will open the nation’s first intellectual property court in Guangdong.
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WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015
The Publishers Association
Exhibiting from the UK at Stand E2.E12 will be: Andrew Nurnberg Associates International Ltd Arcturus Publishing Ltd Bramblekids Ltd
Laurence King Publishing Ltd
Button Books Carlton Books Ltd
Michael O’Mara Books
Elwin Street Ltd Gardners Books Ltd Haynes Publishing I.B. Tauris
Koros Press Ltd/Auris Reference Ltd
Miles Kelly Publishing Ltd Phaidon Press Sweet Cherry Publishing Ltd
Ivy Publishing Ltd
Thames & Hudson Ltd
Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd / Singing Dragon
The London Book Fair TSO (The Stationery Office) Ltd
Kogan Page Ltd
World of Books
The London Book Fair 伦敦书展
Creative Industries Forum 创意产业论坛 Maximising Books and Brands In A Multimedia Age 跨媒体时代，优化图书品牌价值
in partnership with
China Publishing Group (CPG) 合作伙伴：中国出版集团
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THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
Snapshot of the Week – 21 August 2015 Roger Tagholm reports
Chinese publishers are increasingly looking to global markets and to new ways to maximize their sales, with rights playing a key role in this quest – all of which is good news to foreign publishers at this week’s Beijing International Book Fair, which starts this week and wraps up over the weekend (30 August). Michael Healy, International Relations Director at Massachusetts-based Copyright Clearance Center recently said: “There is a growing demand for Chineselanguage content outside China, especially in the areas of science, technology and medicine and we have found rights holders in China very interested to explore the revenue opportunities from re-use of their content.” In other parts of the world, there were some interesting comments from HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray following its results for the year ending 30 June 2015. Harlequin helped revenues rise by 16% (without the acquisition they fell 2%) and although sales of both ebooks and digital audio accounted for 22% of consumer revenue in the year, Murray observed that ebook sales were slowing. This was combined with a rise in sales
Venue: at The Kempinski Hotel 地点：凯宾斯基酒店，北京 50 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang, Beijing Date: on Thursday 27th August 3 – 6pm 时间：8月27日，15:00-18:00 With Guest of Honour Alan Lee 特邀嘉宾英国著名插画大师艾伦李
Refreshments will be served 提供英式下午茶
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through physical bookshops, he said, adding: “It looks like the market has become more stable.” As if to underline this slowing of digital, Waterstone’s announced a new London store. It will be on Tottenham Court Road and will be the first major, stockholding bookshop ever on this stretch of road (some websites – notably the Independent – erroneously listed Foyles as being on Tottenham Court Road, which is like saying the Strand Bookstore is on Fifth Avenue). It will be interesting to see how many – if any – Kindles the new store displays, since it is fair to say that the white heat of its original 2012 deal with Amazon to sell its readers has cooled considerably. Yet for every story of the digital slow-down, another will crop up demonstrating the creep of digital. An interesting Wall Street Journal piece looked at the rise of phone reading and quoted research by Nielsen, which showed that of 2,000 people surveyed in December, around 54% of ebook buyers said they used their mobiles to read the titles at least some of the time. In 2012 a similar study reported just 24% read on their phones. Nielsen also said that in the first quarter of 2015 the number of people who did most of their reading on their mobile was 14%, compared with 9% in 2012. At Simon & Schuster, Atria publisher Judith Curr said: “The future of digital reading is on the phone,” but she added: “It’s going to be on the phone and it’s going to be on paper.” If your company has the word ‘Hummingbird’ in its name, then pretty much any time this year has been the perfect time to make an announcement. California-based Humingbird Digital Media – owned by US wholesaler American West Books – announced its platform that will allow indies to have their own app and customised storefront to sell ebooks. It is a little like the UK’s Hive service, developed by wholesaler Gardners in 2011. The White House has released President Obama’s summer reading list. It includes the publishing novel All That Is by the late James Salter, a fascinating read for anyone in the books business. Some of the characters are amalgams of familiar figures, particularly of those who came to London or New York during the rise of Nazism. ‘The most talked about British publisher was Bernard Wiberg [who]…had been a German refugee and had come to England just before the war without a penny…He began by publishing books that were in the public domain, but doing them handsomely and marketing them with style.’ This has echoes of Paul Hamlyn and Lord Weidenfeld. Three lots of congratulations: to the writer and poet C K Stead who has been named Poet Laureate of New Zealand; to the organisers of the fifth National Bookshop Day in Australia which saw its highest ever participation among bookstores; and to SF doyen Brian Aldiss who turned 90 this week and is still writing everyday.
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THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
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The Publishing Landscape in China Sophie Rochester and Xin Lin The opportunities and entry points for writers to publish are changing radically everywhere as a result of digital disruption. In China, online literature platforms such as Cloudary and equivalent platforms in the West such as Wattpad are beginning to challenge traditional publishers in their role as gatekeepers. China is, however, much further ahead in trying to develop innovative business models and revenue streams around these online literature models, enabling some Chinese writers to make careers out of writing while bypassing traditional publishing channels. Specific genres such as Fantasy and Science Fiction are dominant on China’s online literature platforms, and there continues to be a gulf in the kind of foreign literature being bought by traditional Chinese publishers (such as prize-winning literary titles) and the genre fiction by amateur writers surfacing on online literature platforms. For British writers of full-length novels, or short story collections outside of the popular Chinese online literature genres, the traditional processes via bridging agencies still appear to be the most likely route to market. How non-fiction fits into these online literature platforms is still to be determined, and might offer an opportunity for British non-fiction writers of content aimed at particular interest groups. Cloudary has already demonstrated how it can develop clear audience groups around different genres of fiction, so for audiences to begin to form interest groups around non-fiction subject areas too is perhaps an inevitable development. The nature of China’s online literature platforms—with reader engagement being an integral part of the process— also means that, for the foreseeable future, the language barrier will make it difficult for many British writers to take advantage of engaging Chinese readers this way. However, mobile companies are looking to commission and license an increasing amount of content from publishers: this might be where British writers can create opportunities. This would mean that British writers would still need to go through the traditional routes to the Chinese market, most likely with representation of a bridging agency unless mobile companies begin to commission content directly from them. How the new State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television decides to control publication on mobile platforms—as yet undetermined—will have obvious bearing on this. At the same time, Britain is clearly not the only country keen to understand and penetrate the Chinese market for books. Lise Bertelsen, China-Britain Business Council explains: One of the things that I always say to people is China is being wooed by everybody— we are not the only people out there. So we have to have a very specific offering and be aware that not all of China is going to want this and maybe focus on a particular area or particular sector, which is a lot smaller. But you are still
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talking about relatively large numbers—because you are talking about a country which has a population of 1.3 billion, so you know there is a lot of potential in China. In addition, there is a growing interest because people are travelling. British cultural exports such as Sherlock and Downton Abbey have been famously successful in China, and it seems self-evident that China’s growing aspirational middle classes should be creating new and wider audiences for British cultural content. How British writers can exploit this change is more complex, however, than the examples of Sherlock and Downton Abbey suggest. Although the huge numbers of readers making use of Chinese online literature sites are impressive, what they are reading is particular: genre fiction, serialised for digital platforms, and written in Chinese characters, which works well for mobile devices. Commissioning foreign fiction writers to produce content for these platforms does not appear to be a priority in China at this moment. However, China’s new social media platforms with their sprawling reach into corners of China that have hitherto been impossible to penetrate might offer British publishers and writers a place to start to engage. In the same way that social media platforms are hosting content about British brands, there are ways in which British publishers and authors might be able to ‘seed’ content to Chinese audiences. These new direct-to-reader interactions could play an important role in cultivating new audiences for British writing. In addition, China’s emerging business models for translated writing might also offer a shortcut to getting British literary content into e-book format on China’s growing number of e-book retailer platforms. Amazon Kindle’s emergence on China’s e-book market may also push e-reader and e-book adoption, and with its vast experience in making the broadest range of books available to its customers, it may represent a lift in British e-book sales to Chinese readers. The issue of discoverability in the online environment, however, will be even more pronounced for British writers in China, having to negotiate numerous online platforms and to compete with self-published Chinese writers. Having a better understanding of taste, and where
“One of the things that I always say to people is China is being wooed by everybody – we are not the only people out there. So we have to have a very specific offering.”
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11-17 APRIL 2016
specialist reader groups are meeting online, might help to launch more British names to Chinese readers. In the meantime, the traditional gatekeepers of China’s market remain powerful, with state publishers still usually preferring to buy rights for prize-winning British writers via an agent. Such practice is unlikely to be disrupted in the short term, not least because it is a much easier system for Chinese authorities to control. With this in mind, it is clear that consideration of the bilateral relationship between China and Britain is as important as ever, as literary agent Toby Eady explains: If Western publishers want to expand in China, they need editors like Jo Lusby of Penguin. I have watched her at work, her taste dictating her buying; watched her operation flourish. She speaks fluent Mandarin and understands publishing both inside and outside China. It’s the relationships she’s built over time that have helped Penguin China to grow. They are the same sort of relationships that make publishing successful the world over, relationships formed by meeting people face-to-face and learning their different tastes. As Western publishers, we need to work on building our relationships with Chinese editors, to find a successful way to make lasting business contacts with a working culture that is so vastly different to our own. With the growth of crowd sourced translations in China, an explosion in social media and a proliferation of Chinese online and e-book channels, British writers will undoubtedly find faster and more direct ways to establish and engage with Chinese reader audiences. How these audiences translate into revenue streams for British writers is less clear, however. If the commissioning of content for mobile devices continues to fall outside of the authorities’ normal ISBN processes, and if mobile companies continue to expand their commissioning pool, this might well create direct opportunities for British writers or publishers in the future. If China’s e-book market moves into a period of rapid growth, as predicted by distributors, and if this growth does begin to help the reduction of piracy with the support of Chinese government initiatives, then China represents a very exciting market for British publishers and authors. In anticipation of this eventuality, a wider group of British publishers and writers could begin thinking about how they would start building audiences with Chinese readers. A simple first step would be to establish social media profiles on China’s own social media platforms such as Weibo, WeChat and Douban, and to mirror the actions of traditional Chinese publishers in beginning to develop long-term reader engagement strategies. C
“ London Book & Screen Week is a wonderful, inspiring idea - it’s the perfect opportunity to galvanise the global creative community and bring all kinds of storytelling together”
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Extracted with permission from: The Publishing landscape in China: New and Emerging Opportunities For British Writers by Sophie Rochester and Xin Lin, The Literary Platform May 2015 The full report can be read here: http://bit.ly/TLP_ChinaReport
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KATE MOSSE www. londonbookandscreenweek .co.uk
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Understanding Demand for British Writers in China Sophie Rochester and Xin Lin In 2010, 13,274 titles were acquired through foreign rights deals and of these, 5,284 were from the US, 2,429 were from Great Britain, 1,766 from Japan, 1,027 from South Korea, 739 from Germany, and 737 from France. China acquired 16,115 book titles and 100 digital publications through foreign rights deals in 2012.
Demand for English Language Texts
In understanding current demand for British writers in China, it is important to distinguish between English language texts and translated fiction, education and trade, adults and children. According to Chinese publisher Shanghai 99, reading foreign fiction is still considered ‘elitist’. With China’s middle classes swelling in size, and improved levels of literacy, reading foreign fiction is an aspirational activity that could represent an opportunity for British writers. George Lossius, CEO of Publishing Technology PLC says: These are exciting times to be working in China. The new middle classes are booming, literacy rates are healthier than ever and there are several new digital trends that are already proving to be extremely noteworthy. China produces 20 million new English speakers every year, more than the population of many countries. This fact helps to explain the increase in sales of books in English in China. 14,708 export editions, mostly in English, were imported by China in 2012, up 7.2% on the previous year. These export editions are in addition to foreign titles that China acquired through foreign rights deals. Many British publishers now have offices in China, according to Jo Lusby, Managing Director of Penguin China, who is responsible for overall North Asia business for Penguin Books across sales, publishing and digital business, in local and English languages. For all foreign companies looking to work in China, establishing local publishing partnerships is essential in order to operate there. In 2013, prior to the Penguin Random House merger, Penguin China employed nineteen people in three cities, and worked by acquiring Chinese titles for international publication, establishing local publishing partnerships, and developing retail and distribution channels for English language sales, as well as seeking new digital channels and opportunities. Lusby explains: Many publishers have offices—Hachette, Penguin/ Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan–all have people here. Penguin works in three main areas— imported books from the UK and US, Chinese language partnership publishing, and English language books on and from China. We unite these three strands under the Penguin brand, both in print and digitally.
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Anticipation of a potentially enormous English-reading market is fuelling British publishers’ interest in export editions to China. Margie Seale of Random House (now Penguin Random House) explains: Sales of Random House’s global English titles in China are skyrocketing, particularly beyond traditional physical channels where the online retailers are highly successful and big players in anyone’s terms.
“China produces 20 million new English readers each year.”
Chinese Publishers and Foreign Fiction
The British Centre for Literary Translation, Britain’s leading centre for the development, promotion and support of literary translation, believes that many Chinese readers have sophisticated tastes in foreign fiction. Daniel Hahn, its National Programme Director, argues that many Chinese readers have ‘an impressive knowledge of really quality writers there’. There are a number of Chinese publishers specialising in translated foreign fiction, notably Shanghai 99, which ‘has been at the forefront of the private publishing movement since it was officially recognized by the Chinese government in April of 2009’. Shanghai 99 was established in 2004, and is today one of China’s fastest-growing publishers. It aims to publish ‘the greatest selection of foreign titles, including bestsellers, but also high-quality literary fiction, modern classics and narrative non-fiction’. It publishes around 400 titles per year covering literary and commercial fiction, some non-fiction and children’s books. British writers on its list include J. K. Rowling and Zadie Smith. According to Anna Holmwood, ‘there’s always space for (translated) literary fiction’, while crime fiction ‘isn’t very popular’. Sales figures for translated fiction, however, are reportedly surprisingly small, with Holmwood explaining that ‘a good seller would sell 20,000–30,000. If doing really well, it would sell 100,000 and if you’re getting to the million level, then there are very few who sell that well.’ Jing Meng, Manager of the General Administrative Office, Phoenix Publishing & Media Group, points out that after China began to open up its market, it was flooded with Western literature. While this sudden influx made reading ‘dynamic and diverse’, Meng also suggests that the range was confusing for Chinese readers, with ‘modernist and postmodern literature all flooding into China at the same time’.
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THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
China In 2012 Paper Republic’s annual report on the Chinese Book Market reported: Elements of the fantastic are much in evidence: popular foreign fiction includes Life of Pi and The Hobbit, both riding high on movie tie-ins; two older works by Gabriel García Márquez (the newlyauthorized translation of One Hundred Years of Solitude is rising on the charts); J. K. Rowling’s nonfantastic novel, A Casual Vacancy, is losing ground.
Demand for Non-fiction and Brands
Other popular non-fiction genres in China include high-quality, popular science and education, and aspirational literature—that is, lifestyle, psychology and self-help. With the fiction market— both Chinese and foreign fiction—severely disrupted by the amateur online literature market, some publishing ventures such as Douban Read, which launched with a view to publishing professional fiction, are now shifting their focus to non-fiction titles where demand appears to be greater. If you look at the Chinese book market, especially non-fiction content, you’ll find it very rare. Especially those with true (real-life) experiences in it, written by working professionals. We think this kind of non-fiction is in shortage and in need. So we think we can focus our short-term strategy on this kind of content. Richard Wiseman, the British philosophy writer, is one of China’s best-selling authors, with his book Rip It Up regularly appearing on China’s bestseller lists. Educational publishers looking to work in China face specific challenges because many of the traditional routes to market (schools and colleges) are closed to foreign content. In terms of other genres selling well in China, really big names and prizewinners are popular. The importance of brand in Chinese culture, especially in signifying taste and social status, and as an outlet for individuals to belong to a specific social group, should also be noted in relation to demand for foreign books. British brands with ‘heritage’ appeal such as Downton Abbey and Sherlock perform well in China for precisely this reason, though they must also contend with a consumer base that in many ways seems fickle and is happy to switch loyalties. The notion of creating ‘brands’ specifically around writers and lists is an ongoing publishing phenomenon, not restricted to China. Speaking in September 2011, Penguin (now Penguin Random House) UK’s Tom Weldon said: ‘Books are not dying, but adapting and innovating. Media is no longer about format, but content, and consumers want brands and experience.’
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Demand and the Online Fiction Market
In the UK, fiction has performed exceptionally well in the e-book market. The PA Statistics Yearbook 2013 (PASY) shows that in a pattern repeated for the past four years, the two best performing digital sectors remained Fiction and Academic, making up 39% and 42% of the £509 million digital sales market respectively. In fiction, ‘the share taken by digital has leapt from 25% to 33% and by even more in some categories’. The market for fiction in China, however, is complex due to the ‘fiction vacuum’ created during the Chinese state publishing system before the ‘Go Out’ reforms in 2009, a thesis explored by Dr Lucy Montgomery and Dr Xiang Ren.This ‘vacuum’ nurtured a range of born-digital, direct-to-reader fiction platforms bypassing traditional publishing processes, and these fiction platforms have exploded in popularity with the shift to mobile. The kind of fiction being read and commissioned in the born-digital arena differs widely from that produced by the state-owned publishers. The Economist reported in March 2013 that ‘while many state publishers continue to stubbornly view literature as a vehicle for propaganda or self-improvement, online sites are driven by market forces and the interests of readers have encouraged niche genres, from teen romance to time travel. On the online literature platform Qidian, the top three ranked novels in January were a Chinese knight-errant novel, fantasy fiction and historical fiction.’ While there are many British writers of fantasy and historical fiction, the way in which these online and mobile stories are commissioned and delivered to Chinese readers is a process dominated by Chinese writers. Foreign writers are, however, using the Cloudary platform, with British writers making up nearly 6% of its writers in 2013. The closest equivalent to online literature in the English-speaking world is Canada’s Wattpad, a publishing platform reaching over 21 million readers per calendar month. What is clear about online literature platforms everywhere is that there is an expectation that writers will interact with their readers. This is where the opportunities for British writers on Chinese literature platforms might be logistically challenging, given that genuine audience interaction is in most cases impossible due to the language barrier. Extracted with permission from: The Publishing landscape in China: New and Emerging Opportunities For British Writers by Sophie Rochester and Xin Lin, The Literary Platform May 2015 The full report can be read here: http://bit.ly/TLP_ChinaReport
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THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015
Doing Rights Business with China Lynette Owen, Copyright & Rights Consultant For those unfamiliar with dealing with publishers in mainland China, tackling the market for the first time may seem daunting. This is the largest book market in the world by volume (444,427 new titles published in 2013 compared with some 208,000 in 2004 – a substantial proportion are textbooks). It is also a market which has entered the international copyright community relatively recently, signing the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention in October 1992 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty in June 2007. Prior to 1992 many western titles were translated, or in some cases reprinted in the original language, without permission or payment In some cases there were multiple unauthorised editions of the same work from a variety of publishers; ELT courses and dictionaries were particular targets. Since 1992 the situation has changed radically, although unauthorised editions haven’t been eradicated entirely. Chinese publishers have become major rights buyers, and travel regularly to international book fairs such as London, Bologna, Frankfurt and BookExpo America, where China was the featured country in 2015. The Beijing International Book Fair has become a major rights venue, drawing many western publishers. The structure of the Chinese publishing industry is also changing. For many years there were 582 state publishers, many of whom started with a rather narrow subject focus and a near monopoly in the area, e.g. Chemical Industry Press, Publishing House of the Electronics Industry and People’s Medical Publishing House.The largest publishers are located in Beijing and Shanghai but there are many regional publishers in the provinces and many university presses. All had administrative links to state organisations such as the appropriate government ministry, provincial administrations, the armed forces and universities. Over the years, most have broadened their range of interest and it’s now possible to license management books to China Machine Press and children’s books to Publishing House of the Coal Industry. Since 2004, the Chinese government has encouraged publishers to restructure themselves into marketoriented companies. Many banded into groups, of which there are now 36; some are regional and include book distribution companies, while some are organised by subject interest e.g. China Education Group; some groups have sought public listing on the stock exchange. However, all remain subject to the strategic direction of the State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT, formerly GAPP, the General Administration of Press and Publication) which in turn reports to the State Council. Although western companies are permitted to invest in the printing and distribution sectors, they are not allowed to establish or invest in publishing companies in China. In addition to the larger publishing entities, many private publishing companies have sprung up since
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1992, sometimes referred to as “second channel publishers” or “cultural studios”. For some years they operated on an unofficial basis but their presence was acknowledged by the Chinese government in April 2009, with some encouragement for them to partner with the official publishers. This is still necessary as they cannot acquire ISBNs directly. Chinese publishers acquire rights in a wide range of areas, from specialised STM and business titles, ELT materials and dictionaries, lifestyle and self-help through to fiction for adults and children. By far the largest number of titles translated in China are from the English language, with the USA ranking as the largest source, followed by the UK. Titles translated from Japanese, Korean, German and French lag some way behind. However, within the region many titles are acquired from Taiwan.
Making contact with Chinese Publishers
Working with Chinese publishers has become much easier over the years. For those reluctant to make direct contact, or who don’t plan to travel and are perhaps concerned with language and communication issues, a number of foreign subagents are active in the market, most notably the Taiwan companies Bardon Chinese Media Agency and Big Apple-Tuttle-Mori (with offices in Beijing and Shanghai respectively), and the Andrew Nurnberg Agency in Beijing. There are also a number of state-owned agencies. All tend to specialise mainly in trade titles. Publishers wishing to make direct contact with potential Chinese partners will find that most of the larger publishers field excellent and well-informed English-speaking staff; the first point of contact is likely to be a Rights Manager, who will respond initially to titles offered as well as promote rights in Chinese titles. Chinese publishers are now usually quick to respond to promotional mailings and keep up to date with western publishers’ website offerings, although they have expressed concern at the difficulty and time taken to track the correct rightsholder for some trade titles if they are passed from the original publisher to an author’s primary agent to a regional subagent. When licensing translation rights to mainland China it should be remembered that the main language is Mandarin, but there are also minority languages such as Tibetan and Uyghur. Mainland China uses “simplified” Chinese characters, whereas markets such asTaiwan, Hong Kong and Macao (the latter two now special administrative regions of the PRC) use complex or “traditional” characters and should not be included in mainland licences. Other
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WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 AUGUST 2015
markets which use simplified Chinese characters (Malaysia and Singapore) can be licensed quite separately; a translation licence granted to a publisher in the PRC should be for the Chinese language (simplified characters) for sale in the mainland territory of the People’s Republic of China only, excluding Hong Kong and Macao. Financial terms can be modest and it is wise to alert authors to market circumstances as expectations can sometimes be unrealistically high. Book prices remain very low by western standards, with an average book price equivalent to US$4 – 8, although prices are gradually rising. Whilst print runs of translations of international bestsellers such as the Harry Potter titles can be substantial, many print runs are as low as 3,000 – 5,000 copies and not all books will run to further printings. ELT course materials and dictionaries can have large and frequent print runs, either reprinted in English at prices appropriate for the market or in bilingual versions; this reflects the huge drive to learn English in China, and some British ELT publishers have worked in partnership with Chinese publishers to develop language-teaching materials especially tailored for Chinese learners of English. Low book prices can mean that very lavish illustrated western titles may not be viable for co-edition licensing and some western publishers of such books have been reluctant to make them available on an arm’s length licensing basis. Although many western publishers now print their own books and copies for co-edition partners in China, these are normally produced by designated printers in an export zone, so copies produced there cannot be transferred to a partner within China. Some publishers appear to have found a way of working with Chinese publishers whereby they retain some control over the coedition printing quality.
Areas of Sensitivity
It should not be forgotten that some topics remain sensitive in China and could affect the licensing possibilities for some titles, or result in cuts to the text in licensed editions – both Bill and Hillary Clinton’s memoirs encountered this problem. Topics include references toTaiwan as an independent state, coverage of the status of minority nations within China, some religious and sexual topics, and coverage of recent history and politics in China and the immediate region. It’s always wise to discuss potential problems well in advance of finalising a licence contract as it may be that the author concerned will not countenance alterations or cuts to the text; illustrations and maps can also prove problematic. Other practical points to bear in mind are a realistic schedule for publication and – particularly for specialised books – details of the translator to ensure that they are experienced in the field. Some authors have been known to request samples of the translated text for checking, especially in areas where there may be problems in translating technical terminology.
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THE BEIJING BOOK FAIR PREVIEW
Chinese publishers often find it easier to remit payment in US dollars rather than in sterling or euros. Payment can be very slow by comparison with other markets, partly because all licence contracts first have to be registered with the licensee’s local copyright bureau. If the ownership of copyright is in the name of the author rather than the publishing house, evidence will have to be supplied to confirm the publisher’s authority to handle the deal, either in the form of a notarised letter from the author or a copy of the relevant sections of the author-publisher contract. It’s wise to emphasise to all Chinese licensees the need to supply regular sales and royalty statements, and it will facilitate payment if an invoice is provided for all payments due – advances, lump sums or ongoing royalties. An alternative method of working, sometimes employed by multinational publishers with offices in the region is the co-publication model whereby the Chinese licensee commits to a minimum first print run at an agreed unit price, with sales projections for future years. The licensed editions are published under the joint imprint of the western and the Chinese publisher. Some publishers require the Chinese publisher to purchase hologram stickers for the first printing in a move to deter unauthorised editions.
Rights in Chinese titles
While Chinese publishers have become major buyers of rights in the last twenty years, over the last decade the Chinese government has been keen to redress the balance of rights trade and in 2004 the then GAPP, together with the State Information Council, established the Going Abroad programme to encourage the sale of rights in Chinese titles, with subsidies available. STM publishers are already publishing many specialist journal articles by Chinese academics, and publishers such as Elsevier and Springer are distributing Chinese journals produced in English. There’s been understandable interest in titles in the field of Chinese traditional medicine as well as illustrated books on Chinese history and culture. Some publishers such as Foreign Language Press and China Youth Press, produce high-quality illustrated books in western languages and are seeking foreign partners. The major Chinese language publishers have established partnerships with companies such as Macmillan and Pearson for Chinese teaching materials. China was one of the very few markets relatively unaffected by the recent economic recession, and despite the falling rate in China’s GDP growth to 7% in early 2015, the rights market is buoyant. Personal contact is crucial to establishing long-term working relationships and western publishers to the Beijing International Book Fair should find good business there. Lynette Owen’s book, Selling Rights 7/e (2014) is available from Routledge (ISBN 978-0-415-83564-0, £47)
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