Science leads the way at Shanghai International Children's Book Fair

Science and STEM fiction ruled at the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair with the country's presses also interested in illustrated non-fiction, UK publishers say.

The UK was again well-represented at the fair with its own pavilion that was packed with visitors throughout the three-day event.

At the Hachette Children's Books stand, rights executive Eshara Wijetunge said it had been busy, although with slightly less footfall than previous fairs. “Last year it was swarming like bees round a hive,” she said.

Although the Chinese publishers seemed less interested in fantasy titles, Wijetunge said they were after fiction that dealt with science, alongside non-fiction. Before the fair, she received an offer for The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf, offering a child's perspective on the refugee crisis, and the same publisher has now bought follow-up, The Star Outside My Window, which deals with domestic abuse.

She said: “That was amazing because I didn't expect The Boy at the Back of the Class to be sold here. It shows there are some publishers who are looking for something else, something different. Non-fiction has been doing well for the last couple of years but it's nice to see interest in new things.”

Kate Wilson, m.d. Of Nosy Crow, agreed the market seemed to be changing slightly. She said: “China remains a hugely important market for us and we're selling a lot here. There's still a lot of hunger for non-fiction and particular series, those are still the lead things. But more people are willing to look at fiction now than we've seen before.”

The Body Book and I Cosmo by Carly Sorosiak, thanks to its Waterstones Children's Book of the Month hook, had generated interest and there was enthusiasm for books focusing on real life and managing emotions, she explained. However, Wilson said many Chinese publishers had been at Frankfurt this year and so the team had sold most of its books into the market earlier in the year.

At the Walker Books stand, Caroline Muir, director of foreign rights, said the fair had been “really strong” although tight restrictions on ISBNs and a knock on effect from discounts by e-retailers were concerns. The company, which has already seen huge success in China with Guess How Much I Love You, was attracting interest in picture book The Boy and the Gorilla alongside non-fiction titles like illustrated categorisation book One of a Kind.

She said: “We've had lots of interest in illustrated non-fiction, particularly some of the titles we've got on the environment and recycling, also picture books that deal with emotions and feelings, tacking children through difficult times in life.”

“This is the second time Bologna have been the organisers and I feel, even from the start, it made a huge difference in the fair's professionalism and we're seeing how it's evolving into something larger.”

The Shanghai event is a mix of professional and public zones which, by the end of the final day have merged completely. Steve Bicknell, owner of Maverick, brought along 1,200 books to sell to Chinese punters but his main purpose was to find a buyer for his reading scheme. By the second morning, he already had “10 or 11” publishers interested.

“The hard work starts when we start to talk to them when we get back. With so many publishers in China, trying to sort out who are the serious ones and the state-owned ones can be difficult. You have to do your research.”

“Packaging a lot of books together is the way to sell in China – they like to take series,” he added.

Tricia Macmillan, m.d. Of Zero to Ten, which represents around 20 publishers, had a rammed schedule and also spoke to scores of people walking up to the stand.

“It's just so exciting, everyone's always interested in STEM, science and reading schemes," she said. “This is our fifth fair and we see huge value in it. These two days are very busy and are probably the most important days in the whole calendar year for us.”

Ruby Tuesday m.d. Shan White arrived for the publisher's first Shanghai fair and was having lots of interest in her firm's Science Essentials and Fundamental Science series. “They buy the whole set,” she said. “We've had four of five different language rights sold, and an offer on a reading series.”

She added: “We've got less meetings here because we don't have that many Chinese contacts but the publishers here just seem to walk up anyway. At Frankfurt, London and Bologna they seem more nervous to come up and pick up a book.”

It comes as fair organisers say the event is expected to nearly treble in size by 2022 and expand to a five days.