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.
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.