OpenBook's China Bestseller Lists for July 2017: Fiction and Nonfiction

As our monthly China Bestseller Lists for July go to press, OpenBook’s executive publishing conference during Beijing International Book Fair week, has put the 2016 value of the Chinese books market at some US$21 billion.

She Hong Jun of CITIC Press Group speaks at OpenBook’s Summit for Senior Executives of the China Publishing Industry. Image: Trajectory

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

China’s Kids’ Book Sales Estimated at US$2.4 billion

Slipping from No. 9 in June to No. 20 in July, the ‘Chinese Classical Poetry Quiz Show’ book is a tie-in with CCTV’s ‘China Poetry Conference’ series, credited by some with raising interest in the nation’s poetry.

In a conference event staged near Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) by the Chinese industry-data research firm OpenBook, the company put forward an estimate that in 2016, bookstores in China sold between 70 billion and 80 billion RMB in books (between US$10.5 billion and US$12 billion).

And when textbooks and group publishers are included, OpenBook’s analysts said, they’re estimating the Chinese book market in 2016 had a valuation of between 120 billion and 140 billion RMB (between US$18 billion and US$21 billion).

The event on Monday (August 21), OpenBook’s Summit for Senior Executives of the China Publishing Industry, was timed to coincide, of course, with BIBF and drew chief executives and editors from the 200 top publishing houses in China.

James Bryant, CEO of US-based Trajectory, which works in partnership with OpenBook, tells Publishing Perspectives that Fu Dawei—the CEO of children’s publisher Tomorrow Press—has reported that country-wide total children’s book sales in China in 2016 came in at some 16 billion RMB (US$2.4 billion).

Compare that to the 2006 figure that Fu Dawei cited of 1.8 billion RMB (US$270 million), and you get an idea of the kind of growth curve the young-reader sector has experienced in 10 years in the huge nation.

Guo Jingming’s novel ‘Rush to the Dead Summer’ was made into a television series that finished its run on Hunan TV in July. the book is about young friends and spans a 10-year plot line. It was at No. 7 in overall fiction last month. With the show’s run ending, it’s at No. 13 this month.

In terms of the broader industry, She Hong Jun, general manager of CITIC Press Group, ranked by many observers as China’s leading publishing operation, told the OpenBook audience that they’re exploring the concept of functioning as something akin to literary agents for their most popular authors. At this point, he said, CITIC organizes speeches and classroom-style lectures featuring its authors and readers pay to attend.

And here’s an intriguing insight: those live author events, She Hong Jun said, are generating more revenue than book sales.

These are some of the news items coming out of Beijing this week as the fair and its surrounding events go forward and as we put together our monthly bestseller lists from the Chinese market, a project of OpenBook, Trajectory, and Publishing Perspectives. Here’s more information about the Trajectory-OpenBook partnership that’s making it possible for us to bring you these monthly looks at the Chinese markets. Our first report in this series looked at June’s numbers. Today, we have July’s updates.

Charkin Honored at the Great Hall of the People

As we go to press, we’re informed by BIBF that six writers, seven translators, and seven publishers have this week been honored with the China Books Special Contribution Award for overseas publishing. In a ceremony at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, the award recipients have included Bloomsbury’s Richard Charkin, just featured on Friday (August 18) in a feature here at Publishing Perspectives.

Zhou Meisen’s ‘In the Name of the People’ is at No. 17 in the July overall fiction chart from OpenBook. It was at No. 3 in June. The television series based on the book–about bringing corrupt officials to justice–has aired some 55 episodes.

And just to quickly review how OpenBook and Trajectory process the market information that feeds our monthly lists, this data is estimated by OpenBook to represent some 30 to 40 percent of the total sales activity in China. OpenBooks draws point-of-sale data from a total 3,115 stores located in 1,247 cities. These stores include:

Traditional bookstores
Supermarkets
Campus bookstores
“Professional” stores, which are said to be small stores with a specific industrial or trade focus
Airport stores

In addition, OpenBook is drawing data from online bookstores of two main types:

The “Tmall” stores, of Alibaba (Tmall described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
Ten independent online bookselling retailers

The Yilin Classics series figures frequently on China’s charts. Entering the OpenBook overall nonfiction list at No. 10 in July (and No. 5 in the foreign author nonfiction list) is Essays of Francis Bacon.

China has some 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them, Trajectory’s Bryant clarifies for us, are government-owned. Private publishers are required to purchase ISBNs for their titles from a publishing company that is government-owned—which, in other words, creates a system in which all ISBNs are in one way or another registered through government channels. The government approves each book published in China.

Our China rankings are in four sections:

OpenBook’s overall fiction bestsellers
OpenBook’s overall nonfiction bestsellers
Fiction bestsellers by non-Chinese authors
Nonfiction bestsellers by non-Chinese authors

OpenBook’s Overall Fiction Bestsellers in China, July 2017

June 2017 Rank	July 2017 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787544270878	Apr-14	Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
2	2	9787544258609	Jan-13	Journey Under the Midnight Sun	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
5	3	9787208061644	Apr-06	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
4	4	9787544267618	Jun-14	The Devotion of Suspect X	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
10	5	9787500601593	Aug-05	Red Crag	Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan	China Youth Press
6	6	9787550013247	May-15	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
9	7	9787544253994	May-11	One Hundred Years of Solitude	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
17	8	9787530211267	Sep-11	The Common World	Lu Yao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
14	9	9787506365437	Jun-10	To Live	Yu hua	The WriterÕs Publishing House
11	10	9787530212004	Feb-12	The Common World (3 volumes)	Lu Yao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
13	11	9787536692930	Jan-08	The Three-Body Problem	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
15	12	9787559603340	May-17	Home of the Sleeping Mermaid	Higashino Keigo	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
7	13	9787540475741	May-16	Rush to the Dead Summer	Guo Jingming	Hunan Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	14	9787559602398	May-17	The Legend of Wu Kong	Jin Hezai	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
Not Ranked	15	9787544760843	Aug-16	Jane Eyre	Charlotte Bronte	Yilin Press
25	16	9787020090006	Jul-12	Fortress Besieged	Qian Zhongshu	People’s Literature Publishing House
3	17	9787530216194	Jan-17	In The Name of People	Zhou Meisen	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
20	18	9787540455958	Jun-12	The Shadow Thief	Marc Levy	Hunan Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	19	9787544760782	Aug-16	Gulliver’s Travels	Jonathan Swift	Yilin Press
19	20	9787020098095	Jun-13	Fortress Besieged	Qian Zhongshu	People’s Literature Publishing House

OpenBook’s Overall Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, July 2017

June 2017 Rank	July 2017 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
Not Ranked	1	9787020116133	Jun-16	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	People’s Literature Publishing House
5	2	9787549550173	Jan-14	Seeing Off	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
3	3	9787550263932	Nov-15	Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)	Gao Ming	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
2	4	9787508672069	Jan-17	Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
15	5	9787544710817	Jun-10	Souvenirs Entomologiques	Jean-Henri Fabre	Yilin Press
6	6	9787108042453	Sep-12	We Three	Yang Jiang	SDX Joint Publishing Company
4	7	9787508660752	Feb-17	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
12	8	9787549564125	Apr-15	Dear Andrea	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
17	9	9787535447340	Feb-14	The Poignant Culture Traveling	Yu Qiuyu	Changjiang Literature & Press Co.,Ltd.
Not Ranked	10	9787544711623	Mar-11	Francis Bacon’s Essays	Francis Bacon	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	11	9787544765176	Aug-16	Fu Lei’s Letters for Home	Fu Lei	Yilin Press
11	12	9787549550159	Jan-14	My Child, Just Take Your Time	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
Not Ranked	13	9787544763981	Jun-16	Fu Lei’s Letters for Home (Revised Edition)	Fu Lei	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	14	9787201089140	Jan-15	Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk	Lu Xun	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
8	15	9787508671505	Dec-16	Speak Well: Fresh And Interesting Speaking Skills	Ma Weiwei, Huang Zhizhong, Zhou Xuanyi	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
16	16	9787213046339	Nov-11	Facts of Ming Dynasty (1)	Dang Nian Ming Yue	Zhejiang People’s Publishing House
7	17	9787503560620	Mar-17	Ask	Ding Jie	Central Party School Press
Not Ranked	18	9787539999883	Mar-17	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon	Er Hunzi	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	19	9787530214787	Apr-17	The Stories of the Sahara	Echo Chan	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
9	20	9787101117479	Feb-17	Chinese Classical Poetry Quiz Show Vol.1	CCTV “Chinese poetry conferenc” column group	Zhonghua Book Company

Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers in China, July 2017

June Ranking	July Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787544270878	Apr-14	Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
2	2	9787544258609	Jan-13	Journey Under the Midnight Sun	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
4	3	9787208061644	Apr-06	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	United States of America	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
3	4	9787544267618	Jun-14	The Devotion of Suspect X	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
5	5	9787550013247	May-15	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Britain	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
6	6	9787544253994	May-11	One Hundred Years of Solitude	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
7	7	9787559603340	May-17	Home of the Sleeping Mermaid	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
Not Ranked	8	9787544760843	Aug-16	Jane Eyre	Charlotte Bronte	Britain	Yilin Press
8	9	9787540455958	Jun-12	The Shadow Thief	Marc Levy	France	Hunan Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	10	9787544760782	Aug-16	Gulliver’s Travels	Jonathan Swift	Britain	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	11	9787544762519	Dec-16	How the Steel Was Tempered	Nikolai Ostrovsky	Soviet Union	Yilin Press
9	12	9787201116693	May-17	My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry	Fredrik Backman	Sweden	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	13	9787544760874	Oct-10	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Jules Verne	France	Yilin Press
11	14	9787544285148	Oct-16	Malice	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
12	15	9787544285643	Dec-16	Salvation of a Saint	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
15	16	9787544244190	Mar-09	The Alchemist	Paulo Coelho	Brazil	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
10	17	9787539971810	Apr-15	The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry	Gabrielle Zevin	United States of America	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	18	9787544761680	Dec-16	The Old Man and the Sea	Ernest Miller Hemingway	United States of America	Yilin Press
13	19	9787544266222	Oct-13	After School	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
17	20	9787544277723	Jun-16	Tokio	Higashino Keigo	Janpan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.

Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, July 2017

June Ranking	July Ranking	ISBN</td>	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
Not Ranked	1	9787020116133	Jun-16	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House
1	2	9787508672069	Jan-17	Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
3	3	9787544710817	Jun-10	Souvenirs Entomologiques	Jean-Henri Fabre	France	Yilin Press
2	4	9787508660752	Feb-17	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
11	5	9787544711623	Mar-11	Francis Bacon’s Essays	Francis Bacon	Britain	Yilin Press
9	6	9787301109489	Oct-06	A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol. 1)	L.S.Stavrianos	United States of America	Peking University Press
16	7	9787544760850	Jan-17	Michelangelo / Tolstoy / Beethoven	Romain Rolland	France	Yilin Press
10	8	9787301110522	Oct-06	A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol. 2)	L.S.Stavrianos	United States of America	Peking University Press
7	9	9787535732309	Nov-01	A Brief History of Time	Stephen William Hawking	Britain	Hunan Science & Technology Press
Not Ranked	10	9787020116133	Jun-16	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House
4	11	9787514208788	Jul-13	The Willpower Instinct	Kelly McGonigal	United States of America	Cultural Development Publishing House
Not Ranked	12	9787544704564	Jan-08	Souvenirs Entomologiques (Illustrated Edition)	Jean-Henri Fabre	France	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	13	9787544731799	Oct-12	The Story of My Life	Helen Keller	United States of America	Yilin Press
6	14	9787544762885	Ape 2016	84, Charing Cross Road	Helene Hanff	United States of America	Yilin Press
8	15	9787101054491	Feb-07	1587, a Year of No Significance	Ray Huang	United States of America	Zhonghua Book Company
5	16	9787308161459	Aug-16	The Silk Roads: A New History of the World	Peter Frankopan	Britain	Zhejiang Eniversity Press Co.,Ltd
14	17	9787508650890	May-15	Who Moved My Cheese?	Spencer Johnson	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
Not Ranked	18	9787544761031	Dec-16	Stray Birds	Rabindranath Tagore	India	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	19	9787800875830	Sep-99	How to Win Friends and Influence Others & How to Stop Worrying and Start Living	Dale Carnegie	United States of America	China Development Press
15	20	9787530209073	Feb-09	Walden	Henry David Thoreau	United States of America	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House

Publishing Perspectives’ interview with Beijing International Book Fair director Liying Lin is here.

About the Author

Porter Anderson

Porter Anderson is a non-resident fellow of Trends Research & Advisory, and he has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives. He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller. Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com, CNN International, and CNN USA. As an arts critic (National Critics Institute), he was with The Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and the Tampa Tribune, now the Tampa Bay Times. He co-founded The Hot Sheet, a newsletter for authors, which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman.