Smart!BIBF @ Beijing International Book Fair

The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), Asia’s largest book fair, is set to go ahead on September 14-18, 2021 after postponement from August dates. According to the report issued by the Beijing OpenBook last month, in the first half of 2021, the retail book market in China was worth 36.14 billion yuan, with more than 1.77 million titles for sales and a year-on-year growth rate of 11.45%. With the publishing industry on the rise, there is more need for networking and more opportunities for publishers than ever.

Important Chinese publishing houses, international publishers based in China and related exhibitors will gather in Beijing for a five-day fair where BIBF hopes to build a bridge for overseas publishers to renew direct connections to the Chinese market. Over 2,200 Chinese and international publishers are anticipated to attend BIBF in either online or physical format.

In parallel with the five-day physical book fair, the digital edition of the book fair will be held via BIBF’s upgraded digital platform SMART!BIBF so as to facilitate the participation of those who may not be able to come to Beijing in person. SMART!BIBF will continue to be available throughout the year for publishers to get in touch with Chinese counterparts after the book fair.

BIBF International Publishing Forum is set to open on September 12. The forum this year will discuss the role of publishers and the publishing community in building a better future, with a special focus on how new technologies will empower new development in publishing, in particular for the Education and STM professional publishing sectors.

Fair Director Ms Liying Lin said, “We are delighted to welcome Chinese and locally based international publishers back to BIBF. We cannot wait to open this vibrant book industry event and we are delighted to be able to host events around Beijing for book lovers as part of BIBF’s Global Reading Festival.”

From August 24-29, BIBF hosted BIBF Global Reading Festival which saw a series of events taking place all around Beijing with poetry, book events and author readings at 20 bookstores across the city and live-streamed online.