Following his talk at the 2014 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE, 台北國際書展) yesterday, Pablo de la Vega of New York’s Indent Literary Agency was quickly swarmed.
“Ask him if I can e-mail him my manuscript,” a woman standing second in a growing line says in Mandarin. Behind her, another woman nods. “Mine, too.”
Each year, TIBE is a major hotspot for rights buying and selling. For local authors of original children’s books, TIBE offers a portal into foreign markets — as well as a lifeline out of what is one of the more challenging segments of Taiwan’s book industry.
Photo: Enru Lin, Taipei Times
A TOUGH SELL
Despite private and public awards aimed at supporting local authors, as well as trade fairs like TIBE, the children’s literature sector is working with a small domestic market that only continues to shrink due to a low birthrate.
Other factors chip away at the market, including an increasingly tech-savvy and tech-preferring youth set and the phenomenon of cross-generational child-rearing, says Tony Peng (彭隆志), who manages GoForEnglish, a nationwide children’s monthly.
Photo: Enru Lin, Taipei Times
“Some parents need to work in Taipei and leave their children with grandparents in the south,” he says.
“Those kids tend to watch a great deal of TV and don’t develop the habit of reading.”
Another factor that hurts the children’s lit industry is the preference for imported picture books, according to the manager of Children’s Publications (青林國際出版).
Photo: Enru Lin, Taipei Times
The 20-year-old publishing house seeks out and publishes a small stable of local authors. But the titles that sell best are translated imports, so those dominate the catalog, says manager Ada Huang (黃佁禎).
Huang says Japanese picture books are popular on the strength of their cute illustrations. American books do well, too.
“Peter Rabbit sells the best. We also have Beatrix Potter book sets over there that come with toys and other extras. That adds value,” she continues.
Photo: Enru Lin, Taipei Times
“It’s a fact that the market is shrinking. Part of it’s because people are quite selective now and sensitive to value. Those who are willing to purchase are a minority. Moms go to the library and borrow a book and that’s that,” she says.
ADDING VALUE
Over the years, the editorial board has tended to choose titles with the goal of offering more than a book.
Photo: Enru Lin, Taipei Times
“We try to appeal to the mom, who’s commonly the decisive factor in a purchase. Moms don’t want just a book. They prefer a book that teaches anger management, or a book that educates a child on maintaining good social relationships,” Huang says.
Last year, Children’s Publications’ bestselling item was a trio of French hardbacks: Herve Tullet’s The Game of Light, The Game of Let’s Go and The Game of Mix and Match. The three books offer a somewhat thin storyline, made up for by extreme interactivity — the pages are installed with touchable objects and games. They’re tough, made to stand up to eager children’s hands.
“On this page, you can train your kid’s hand-eye coordination. And this one,” Huang says, flipping to a page populated with cutout fish, “lets you shine a flashlight through it to make little fish shadows on the wall. It is pretty fun.”
Pan Asia International (泛亞國際文化), a local publishing house for picture books and monthly magazines, has taken another approach to adding value. It has launched a free e-magazine service for subscribers to its flagship monthly Earth Citizen (地球公民).
Earth Citizen’s sister publication, Little Explorer (小小地球人), is billed as a way to give global perspective (國際觀) to children under eight. The new venture comes with a reading pen that recites text when a child presses it to sensor points on the magazine.
“Of course the idea is that parents will read it with the child. But if mom is too busy, then this is okay, too,” says the publishing house’s Liu Hsueh-chen (劉雪貞).
GREENER PASTURES
Faced with a dwindling market, some local authors are looking outward. A few have hit on great success. Notably, Jimmy Liao (幾米) broke into the UK with Walker Books; Chen Chih-yuan’s (陳致元) Guji Guji made the New York Times bestsellers list.
Yesterday at TIBE, de la Vega advised local authors to make their overseas foray with books on ethnic traditions, holidays and legends of Taiwan. Target the realities of other countries, like the US, which has a diverse demographic and citizens with immigration experience that want their children to learn about their roots, he says.
Miriam Martinez, a publisher in Mexico, also urged local authors to use the distinctive traits of Taiwan.
“I think for me, it’s very interesting to read about how democracy is viewed here. Nowadays this is an important subject,” she says.
Now in its 22nd year, TIBE brings together 68 countries at Exhibition Halls 1 and 3 from now to Monday.
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