2023 China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair Concludes

On November 19th， the tenth China Shanghai International Childrens Book Fair （referred to as “Shanghai Childrens Book Fair”） officially came to an end. Over a decade-long journey， with unchanged original intent， the number of exhibitors has grown from 154 in the first year of 2013 to 478 from 25 countries and regions this year， significantly enhancing the domestic and international influence of the Shanghai Childrens Book Fair.

This year， the fair returned to the World Expo Exhibition & Center， covering an area of 25，000 square meters. Numerous publishing and distribution organizations displayed over 30，000 new and exquisite products， and 329 events， including professional exchanges， new book launches， reading promotions， city link-ups， and live online broadcasts， attracted 42，733 enthusiastic attendees worldwide， including 19，086 professionals.

The childrens book rights trade is on an upward trend.

Among the 155 international exhibitors， countries like Italy， the UK， France， Canada， Belgium， Austria， and South Korea appeared in national pavilions. Prominent international publishing and cultural organizations such as Frances Bayard Group， Belgiums Clavis Publishing， Italys Corraini Edizioni， Frances Gallimard， the UKs Hachette Childrens Group， Macmillan Publishers， and Oxford University Press showcased their latest premium childrens books. Publishers who have won the annual Best Childrens Publisher of the Year award at the Bologna Childrens Book Fair， such as the USAs Abrams， Australias EK Books， South Koreas Gloyeon， Canadas Les 400 coups， Mexicos Petra Ediciones， and Indias Tara Books， along with overseas publishing and cultural organizations like Japans Hakusensha and Chiles VLP Agency， engaged in exchanges and negotiations on copyright trade and international cooperation with Chinese publishing institutions at the Shanghai Childrens Book Fair.

Domestic publishing institutions and enterprises related to childrens content also brought their latest products， conducting over a hundred copyright trade negotiations and related exchanges with international counterparts， achieving remarkable results. The Shanghai Juvenile & Childrens Publishing House （referred to as “SJCPH”） organized several copyright-related activities， showcasing recent copyright achievements. Following the authorization of the Arabic edition， Five Thousand Years Up and Down （New Era Edition） successfully signed a contract for the traditional Chinese electronic version， with publishers from Russia， France， and Malaysia showing great interest. SJCPH also displayed new achievements in cross-media and cross-industry integrated copyright strategies， having signed full-rights agency agreements for Five Thousand Years Up and Down （New Era Edition） and Children of Saihanba， completed licensing for the Ten Thousand Whys Series of stage plays and theme parks， and a large-scale childrens puppet show for The Postman of Brolo Town. East China Normal University Presss New Interpretations of the Classic of Mountains and Seas Series of Picture Books were licensed for Nepali and Arabic editions. Additionally， the “Wenming International” copyright trade service platform， developed by China Education Media Groups China Education Import and Export Corporation， was concurrently unveiled， forming a strategic partnership with the Shanghai Childrens Book Fair， aiming to promote the development of Sino-foreign copyright trade and inject new vitality into the childrens book market. Both parties will complement each others strengths， forming a synergy to help more excellent childrens books reach the global market and open new channels for international exchange in the childrens book publishing industry.

Insightful analysis of industry trends shows great potential in the childrens book niche. Combining the latest international industry developments and trends， official professional forums at the book fair were consistently full. Insights into the current and future developments of the industry revealed that while competition in the childrens book niche is intense， there is significant potential. The Shanghai Childrens Book Fair attracted many publishing industry luminaries. The forum highlighted comprehensive progress in Chinese childrens publishing in thematic publishing， science popularization， original childrens literature， and early childhood literature. Chinese childrens reading standards have made significant strides. The international standing of Chinese childrens publishing has notably improved， with original childrens books and authors increasingly going abroad and Chinese childrens book authors and publishers frequently appearing internationally.

Domestic publishing institutions showcased their robust capabilities at the Shanghai Childrens Book Fair， covering thematic publishing， toy books， picture books， childrens literature， science encyclopedias， graphic novels， parenting， and more. Mingtian Publishing House presented numerous premium books and invited famous authors like Zhang Pincheng， Shen Shixi， and Qin Wenjun to bring a splendid reading feast to young readers. Hunan Juvenile & Childrens Publishing House brought nearly 300 new and key book categories， including annual premium books like Fire City 1938， British Childrens Comic Encyclopedia， The Story of Stupid Wolf， and Cai Gaos World of Picture Books. CITIC Childrens Books and Duan Zhangs Take Art Studio made their first attempt at the holistic operation of the “Doudou Town” IP， creating a three-dimensional， joyful， and erudite cultural town at the book fair. Additionally， domestic publishing institutions hosted 55 new book launches.

“This book fair also provided us with another excellent opportunity for face-to-face interactions with authors， copyright holders， industry colleagues， and readers. We achieved results in brand promotion， copyright trading， and book sales，” said Bai Ruxue， marketing director of CITIC Childrens Books.