CCBF debuts in Shanghai

In the spring of 1997， at Bologna Children’s Book Fair， the copyright to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was bought by an American publisher without any hesitation. Since then， a magic wind swept across the world， with the Harry Potter series rising to the Publishing Hall of Fame..

Now Asia Pacific， a region boasting a huge population of young readers， is to welcome the debut of its own children’s book event. The first China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair （CCBF） is to take place at the Shanghai Mart Exhibition Center from November 7 to 9， greeting book fans and peers from home and abroad. Insiders are keen to witness the birth of any new super bestseller at this event.

Icebreaking in children’s book copyright transfer in AP

Statistics in the 2012 Publishing Industry Analysis Report show that in 2012， the titles of children’s books published in China increased by 9，000 or 40.4% over the previous year， higher than the overall average increase of 12.0%. Since 2013， 47，000 titles of children’s books have been filed at SARFT， accounting for 20.9% of total filed titles of the country. Now the continued strong momentum of children’s books represents a key part of China’s publishing industry. However， at present， China’s two major book fairs， Beijing book fair and Shanghai book fair cannot meet the demand of children’s book copyright trade.

According to an international organization’s research， there is a strong need for a big children’s book fair in the second half of the year apart from the major event in the first half of the year， i.e.， Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April. Already the venue for the F1 and the location of the new Disneyland and other world-famous brands， Shanghai is of particular interest to international publishers. Thus， the birth of CCBF， launched jointly by Shanghai News and Press Bureau， CEPMG， China Universal Press & Publishing Co. Ltd and organized by Reed Exhibitions as a sister event to Shanghai and London Book Fairs， is warmly welcomed as a potential big star.

The launch of CCBF ushers in the first major children’s book fair in AP covering books， audio/video， entertainment， and education products and linking up copyright trade， authors， and reading activities. According to Kan Ninghui， Deputy Chief of Shanghai News and Press Bureau， it is the hope of the organizing committee to make CCBF an equal to the Bologna event in five years， so that the children’s book copyright trade will see a new landscape whereby Bologna and Shanghai represent the west and east trade centers respectively.

A golden key to open up great possibilities in China and the world at large

Without a professional copyright trade platform， good works are ignored and postponed. CCBF is expected by the industry to be the golden key to open up huge possibilities for Chinese children book publishers to embrace the world and for foreign counterparts to make sortie into the Chinese market.

Enjoying the business buzz of Italian or German book fairs in China is greatly expected by domestic publishers. In the near future， it will come true. CCBF will surely introduce excellent children book writers in China to overseas publishers and agents.

Hubei Children Press and the six leading children book publishers in East China will join hands and launch the Yang Hongying Zone at the event. Yang is one of the hottest children book authors in China. Her leading work Diary of a Smiling Cat has been sold more than 20 million copies， a marketing feat awing the industry. The influence of her works is also growing beyond China， with Harper Collins and the Egmont Group buying up her copyright and publishing her works into multiple languages. It is expected that Yang’s works will expand to even wider international markets based on the strong copyright platform of CCBF.

“Now we are witnessing a boom of children’s books publishing in China，” said New Buds Publishing House’s President Ma Mei. “There are many players in the market. Globalization boosts cultural exchange. Children of the world think rather in the same way； therefore there is no huge cultural difference in children’s world. This fact helps boost the promises of both the import and export of children’s books.

New Buds Publishing House will showcase a range of new books at the event， including Chinese Ethic Groups’ Mythology Illustrated， Traditional Chinese Tales Illustrated， and Discovery Journey. The publishing house looks borward to new breakthroughs in terms of working with partners from other industries and better linking up with the global publishing industry.

For foreign publishers， the Chinese market offers huge potentials. In 2012， children’s books held 52 of the top 100 bestselling general books in China.

Though there are still several months away from the event in November， overseas enthusiasm is gaining strong momentum already. Dozens of children’s book publishers from UK， USA， Australia， Spain， India， Japan， Korea， Malaysia， including leading industry players such as UK Publishers’ Association， CENGAGE Learning， McGraw-Hill Companies， Oxford University Press， Harper Collins， Hachette S.A.， Xuele， Pearson， and Benessehave all registered with the event. While bringing with them leading international children’s titles， they also hope they can find out in this ancient oriental land something like the next Harry Potter.

World’s most beautiful children’s books selection launched amid strong expectation

Mo’s Mischief series published by Jieli， one of the event exhibitors， has been sold more than 20 million copies. The author Yang Hongying has taken over Mo Yan， the Chinese Nobel prize winner， as the most valuable author in the year， a signal that children’s books are seeing a golden age of development. Against this backdrop， to look for good titles and authors at CCBF， the vantage point of a strategically important AP region， is the natural choice of the industry.

CCBF launches the world’s most beautiful children’s books selection， whereby leading authors and publishers across the world will honor 20 titles based on content， design， overall quality， and unique features. These titles are sure to attract the attention of publishers and children book fans alike.

At present， famous children’s book publisher Hai Fei， Bai Bing， member of the Children’s Book Committee of CWA， children’s book writer Qin Wenjun have been invited as judges， and other judges are uncertain. Qin Wenjun said that one would always benefit from the habit of reading developed in one’s childhood. He hoped that more children can develop the habit of reading under the influence of CCBF.

The selection activity attracts leading players to the event， all bringing their latest works. The event also provides an opportunity for a face-to-face communication with leading publishers， authors， translators， illustrators from home and abroad. Welcome to witness a new booming season of the hottest children book titles.