Taiwan literature a tough sell abroad

Over the past two decades, award-winning local movie directors such as Ang Lee (李安) and Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) have been paramount in the promotion of both Taiwan and its movie industry abroad. Thanks to their work, audiences around the world have been made aware that the Chinese and Taiwanese film industries are as alike as chalk and cheese.

The success in distinguishing Taiwan in film has not been repeated, however, in the literary realm. Taiwan's many writers and publishing houses have long found it difficult to entice overseas readers to immerse themselves in a book penned by a Taiwanese writer or illustrated book drawn by a Taiwanese artist.

Scholars of Taiwan studies say the country's literature is among the most diverse in Asia, because of its many influences -- Aboriginal, Dutch, Hakka and Japanese -- but its publishing houses have often struggled to make their mark internationally.

To stoke greater international interest in Taiwan through literature, the Government Information Office (GIO, 新聞局) established the "Best from Taiwan" series late last year. Unveiled at the recent Taipei International Book Exhibition (台北國際書展), selection for inclusion in the series will be made annually and is open to any local publishing house, according to the GIO.

For the inaugural "Best of Taiwan" series, a committee of 12 leading figures from the local publishing industry short-listed 37 works from a total of 472 books submitted by local publishing houses. The GIO hopes that the series will generate international copyrights and promote Taiwan overseas.

Chosen publications cover four categories -- fiction, non-fiction, illustrated/children's books and comics. The books range from literary works penned by established authors like Huang Fan (黃凡) to those of first-time authors like Lanyu-based Thao tribe writer Siabenciboaiya. Other selections include non-fiction titles, such as A Guide for Urban Bird-watching (都市賞鳥圖鑑) and Taiwan Family Cuisine (家常台菜).

"We are confident that the `Best of Taiwan' series will stoke some interest amongst in at least one or two foreign publishing houses," said Juno Wang (王文娟), vice editor-in-chief at Unitas Literary Monthly (聯合文學).

Established 20 years ago, Unitas has long been a stepping-stone from which local authors like Ang Li (李昂) and Hsu Kuo-neng (徐國能) have launched successful careers. With 10,000 subscribers, the magazine is considered by many to be Taiwan's leading literary monthly.

Government not the answer?

But not all of the publishing houses whose works were chosen to represent Taiwan by the GIO are as upbeat about the series.

According to Claudia Chen (陳師蘭), Chief Editor for Persimmon Cultural Enterprise (柿子文化事業有限公司), the best way to promote Taiwan's publications is for individual publishers to promote their own works rather than being reliant on the government to do so.

"I think it will offer very little in the way of opportunities for us. As a new company with limited experience of publishing abroad I feel that the best way for us to sell and promote our products abroad is to participate in book fairs on the international scene personally," Chen said.

One company that has enjoyed some success with local works abroad is the Yuan-Liou Publishing Company (遠流出版公司). First published locally in the mid-90s, the company's colorful kids books, The Mouse Bride and Chinese Zodiac have since been translated into English, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. And while the books are certainly far from being considered bestsellers, they have proven a minor hit among Chinese-speaking populations in the US and Canada.