By Olivia Snaije ARLES: “Asia is vast enough to be our only concern” is the motto of Editions Philippe Picquier, the French publishing house based in Arles, France. With more than 800 titles in their catalogue, the Editions Philippe Picquier has been publishing material ranging from classical and modern literature to detective stories and children’s books by Chinese, Japanese, Korean …
Bonus Material: Working with Chinese Publishers
By Olivia Snaije Establishing contacts with Chinese publishers can seem daunting, but Chen Feng of Editions Philippe Picquier says all publishers have at least one in-house person who speaks English and can deal with requests from abroad. Among the better-known publishers she suggests: Guangxi Normal University Press, Beijing BBT No. 26, Xinghua Dongli Hepingli Dongcheng District 100013 Beijing Contact: M. Jie Zhiyong …
Saving Face
Editorial by Edward Nawotka Ever since the controversy surrounding the appearance of Chinese dissidents Bei Ling (貝嶺) and Dai Qing (戴晴) at the symposium “China and the World – Perceptions and Realities” last month, the media has pilloried the Frankfurt Book Fair, suggesting that the organization is compromising its values and support of free speech. What is disheartening to observe …
Bonus Material: Ex-FBF Director Weidhaas on Frankfurt’s Guest of Honor Program
By Peter Weidhaas Each year since 1988, the Frankfurt Book Fair has invited a Guest of Honor to the Book Fair, giving a country or a region the opportunity to present its own literature and culture on the brightly illuminated stage of the Fair. Starting in 1976, the Fair had focused on a specific topic every two years, including “Children …
Global Trade Talk: NYPL’s 500,000 Books on Demand; China’s Big Media Ambitions; Lost Symbol in Spanish
By Edward Nawotka On Friday, The New York Public library announced that it is offering half a million of its public domain titles on demand, via digital service provider Kirtas. What’s new about the model is that the library won’t have the book digitized, until a copy has actually been purchased in advance. “ New technology has allowed the Library …
German Buch News: Praise for Google Settlement Delay; Frankfurt as a Refuge
By Siobhan O’Leary The Börsenverein (German Publishers and Booksellers Association) and VG Wort held a press conference yesterday in Frankfurt to discuss the implications of the postponement of a Google Settlement “fairness hearing” originally scheduled for October. The Boersenblatt reports that Alexander Skipis, chief executive of the Boersenverein, was delighted about the rejection of the Settlement in its current state …
Can Sina’s Chinese Twitter Clone Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
By Lilian Feng BEIJING: For years, Chinese businessmen have copied various internet ideas from the US, and modified them for the local market. They have YouTube. We have Youku. They have Facebook. We have Xiaonei…and Kaixin and 51 and Sohu Bai, and Sina Space, just to name a few. Some launches have worked and many have failed. Today, the hot …
Bonus Material: Games, Only Children Drive Social Networking in China
By Lilian Feng & Edward Nawotka Social networking has proved immensely popular in China. And, as in much of the world, it is the young and Web savvy who are driving the trend. The most popular SNS service provider in China so far, Kaixin, boasts over 20 million users since its launch at the end of 2007. Users are especially attracted to …
German Buch News: Uyghurs at FBF, Are Books Recession Proof?
By Siobhan O’Leary Die Welt reports that one of China’s daily newspapers, Huanjiu Shibao (Global Times), is sending a message to the organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair telling them there will be consequences if Rebiya Kadeer, the President of the World Uyghur Congress, attends the Fair as planned. The article also reportedly states that China was not only snubbed …
Bonus Material: Chinese Dissident Artist Ai Weiwei to Attend FBF
By Edward Nawotka Spiegel reports that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is now recovering in Munich from surgery to treat a brain injury likely linked to a beating he endured in Sichuan in August while reporting on the fatalities of school children in last year’s earthquake. We described this project in an earlier edition of Publishing Perspectives. Ai told Spiegel that …