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Academic, children's and STEM books dominate 'upbeat' BIBF as more UK publishers attend
The 2024 Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) saw an increased number of UK publishers attend, with STEM titles, academic books and children’s publishing in demand.
Publishers reported having “back-to-back meetings” throughout the fair, which saw over 1,600 exhibitors gather between 19th and 23rd June 2024 in BIBF’s new Olympic Park venue. This year, 27 UK companies attended the fair to meet with Chinese publishers and learn about trends in the market, representing a 25% increase from last year’s fair.
Both larger publishers and independents highlighted the prevalence of titles across subjects like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as the Chinese government continues to prioritise STEM education for students.
“We continue to see strong sales for non-fiction, especially for STEM topics and new children’s editions from best-selling or expert adult voices,” said Alice Grigg, Penguin Random House (PRH) Children’s rights director. Kate Wilson of Nosy Crow, who also considers the arts to be among these popular subjects, added that the publisher’s “partnership with the University of Cambridge, which focuses on STE(A)M subjects, was a winner” this year.
Nancy Traversy, the co-founder and c.e.o. of Barefoot Books, also noted the demand for STEM series, while adding that sustainability titles, which are in high demand in the UK and the US, are also starting to gain traction in this market. Traversy explained that there is similarly an increased interest in picture book series, particularly interactive designs, while standalone titles in this area are more difficult to sell. However, Wilson noted a decline in the demand for books aimed at children of pre-school age, which is, in her view, in part linked to China’s plummeting birth rate. When it comes to selling rights into the Chinese market, she attributes the decrease in demand to the cost of production, as books for younger readers are often made of board and include expensive interactive features.
“The children’s book market is tough in both Chinese and English in China, but two of Nosy Crow’s properties, Pip and Posy and Bizzy Bear, continue to be bestsellers, and we are expanding our range of titles for both,” Wilson added. “The interest in packs and series is driven by the sales channel shift away from e-tailers like Dang Dang to social media platforms like Chinese TikTok, where influencers promote packs and series often at heavily discounted prices. Pretty much every Chinese publisher and export customer we’ve met complained about squeezed margins.”
The rise of short-form videos was discussed widely during the fair, with publishers considering their impact on getting books into the hands of readers. “I think the way that books are sold in China has changed dramatically from 2019 to 2024,” said Amy Joyner, rights and licensing director at Kogan Page publishing. “From what we gather, online selling, video selling, short videos, WeChat — the different communication channels — are all paramount now, so it’s about understanding where our books fit into that.”
Books on mental health have also seen an increased popularity in the Chinese market, across children’s and adult publishing. Joyner said that Kogan Page has seen a high demand in titles exploring mental health at work and personal development. Meanwhile, Traversy highlighted the rise of mindfulness titles, as well as social and emotional learning books for children, which were not so popular when she attended the fair before the pandemic. Social and emotional learning picture-books for preschoolers were also spotlighted by Grigg, who said that the PRH Children’s team is “excited about the opportunities” in this area.
Publisher Sanjee De Silva was at the fair showcasing Sweet Cherry’s Every Cherry imprint, which releases books for readers with special educational needs and disabilities. “It has been encouraging to see the reaction to the list by the Chinese publishers who need no explanation about what these books hope to achieve,” he told The Bookseller. “I’m pleased that neurodiverse books are being sought after, with our ADHD and Every Cherry Symbols books being the most popular during presentations.”
Children’s and middle-grade fiction were also on the up at this year’s fair. “We had more interest expressed in fiction than we saw pre-pandemic, and our expanding Unicorn Academy programme, which is the basis of — and tied in with — the startlingly successful Netflix series, generated a lot of interest,” Wilson said. “We also saw growing appetite for fiction and graphic novels as declining birth rate pivots publishers to cater for the larger middle-grade reader demographic,” Grigg added.
However, there is still a “gap” when it comes to adult fiction, according to Doug Wallace, managing director of Andrew Nurnberg Associates International (ANAI). ANAI is mainly focused on children’s books at the fair, as well as “serious” nonfiction and academic titles, and some literary fiction, and Wallace explained that there is room for growth when it comes to fiction. The m.d. also attended the fair in 2023, when it had just returned following China’s drawn-out lockdowns, and said that this year’s event was “as busy” as it had been then, but that there is room for the fair to grow its scope even more. “We’re here, and we do a lot of business, but there are a lot of people who aren’t here, and I just think it’s got more to do.”
Publishers, editors and agents were faced with a changed market this year, and Jackie Huang, who helms ANA’s Beijing office, said that China only started to fully reopen after the pandemic last year. She explained that in 2023 publishers were still working on printing the backlog of books that had been delayed due to the Covid-19-induced closure of printers and bookshops. Huang said that the appetite for new titles has returned this year, as everything from printing to publicity and events is back to normal. “We’re so glad to see Chinese editors still hold very strong interest for translated books, both in children’s, adult and academic,” she added, “it gives us hope and confidence for the future.”
In children’s books, Traversy said that the demand for English titles has decreased among some of the larger Chinese publishers. She argued that this was likely linked to the fact that the Chinese government has been putting less emphasis on teaching children to read in English through after-school programmes. However, she explained that some smaller publishers have continued to drive the demand for English-language books, and that there are parents who still want their children to develop their English reading skills. “We are definitely selling rights to a very different Chinese book market to pre-Covid-19,” Grigg added. “Despite the challenges faced by Chinese publishers, the fair was busier and conversations were more upbeat than 2023, and focused on new opportunities and dynamic ways to navigate market shifts.”
On the academic side, Bloomsbury rights manager Isabel López Ruiz said that Chinese publishers have “become a bit more conservative” and are “being more selective”, especially in relation to translated titles. “I think pre-Covid-19, the market was maybe a bit more vibrant, in the sense that editors were willing to take more chances,” she told The Bookseller. López Ruiz highlighted the prevalence of history and philosophy books. “We obviously need to be careful with some issues, but the good thing about them is they know what they want and they know what they can license as well, because not all things can pass the test,” she explained. “They’re also quite interested in foreign perspective on China, so that’s interesting for us as well, because other countries aren’t like that sometimes, they don’t care what people think about them, but they’re interested in that.”
Academic publishing dominated the fair, and this year saw various collaborations take shape at BIBF. “In terms of numbers, there’s definitely a big number of UK publishers working with Chinese publishers,” Madame Lin Liying, the BIBF organiser and the president of the China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation (CNPIEC), told The Bookseller at the fair. “We’ve always seen a big number of UK publishers visiting, selling rights into the Chinese market, and doing very well. But in terms of scale, the academic side is much bigger,” she explained. “You’re looking at much bigger players, [including] Taylor & Francis (T&F), SAGE [and] Pearson.”
A T&F spokesperson said that visits to the publisher’s stand were back to pre-Covid-19 levels this year, potentially surpassing them. “It was noticeable that there was a greater number of foreign and international publishers exhibiting at the fair than last year, with a very full programme of signing ceremonies, author talks and fun activities, including at our own stand,” the spokesperson added. “We were particularly encouraged to see the large number of attendees visiting from outside Beijing and we now have many busy weeks ahead following up on the huge number of positive conversations we had with librarians, researchers, and representatives from Chinese publishers."
The enthusiasm for this year’s turnout was echoed by Rui Ding, the managing director of Oxford University Press (OUP) in Mainland China, who said there was a particular interest in science and culture books for children. “Attendees were interested in resources to help children in China learn to read and to understand the world around them, particularly related to science and culture,” Ding explained. “For example, we launched Talk about Science with Oxford in collaboration with one of the most popular local children’s publishers Rongxin. This latest strand of Talk about Everything with Oxford uses stories to captivate children on a wide range of topics.”
The 2024 fair provided the opportunity for UK publishers to meet with their Chinese counterparts, in some cases for the first time. Looking ahead to next year’s fair, and reflecting on the challenges faced by academic and trade publishers alike, Liying said that “the future is full of imagination”, and that she sees the potential to bring BIBF to “new, exciting” heights in years to come.
