Latest news with #HongKongBookFair2025
HKFP
23-07-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Lower turnout at Hong Kong Book Fair after Typhoon Wipha hit city
Around 890,000 people visited the Hong Kong Book Fair this year – a 10 per cent drop from last year's event, the organiser has said. In comparison, the book fair attracted 990,000 visitors last year. The Hong Kong Book Fair 2025, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai from Wednesday to Tuesday, was forced to close on Sunday due to Typhoon Wipha. Afterwards, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), which organises the annual fair, extended the opening hours on Monday. The organiser tried to put a positive spin on the lower turnout. 'Although the passage of the typhoon forced a full-day closure on Sunday, the three exhibitions still attracted 890,000 visits,' the HKTDC said in a statement on Tuesday. Visitors from mainland China, Japan, and Southeast Asia attended the book fair, the organiser also said. More than 860 visitors who took part in a survey commissioned by the HKTDC spent an average of HK$918, showing a slight increase from last year despite the typhoon-induced closure on Sunday, according to the HKTDC statement. One exhibitor was quoted as saying that the first three days exceeded projections by 30 per cent. However, local media reported that booksellers saw lower sales this year by around 10 to 20 per cent compared with last year. Some also said fewer people visited the fair on Monday than in the first few days. At least three independent publishers were barred from participating in the 2025 book fair. Two of them, Bbluesky and Boundary Bookstore, were ordered by the HKTDC to remove certain titles from their shelves last year.
HKFP
15-07-2025
- Business
- HKFP
14 independent publishers to join alternative book festival after some banned from Hong Kong Book Fair
A total of 14 independent publishers will take part in an alternative book festival this week after some of them were barred from participating in Hong Kong's official book fair, which opens on Wednesday. Leticia Wong, owner of Hunter Bookstore, said at a press conference on Sunday that the bookshop will co-host 'Reading Everywhere – Hong Kong Independent Book Fair and Bookstore Festival' from Thursday to Sunday, alongside other independent bookstores and publishers. While the book show will be held at Hunter, a series of talks on new titles will take place at different bookstores, Wong said. The exhibitors include Boundary Bookstore, an independent bookstore that began publishing in 2022; One Book Half, a publisher focusing on LGBTQ issues; and Bbluesky, a publisher established in 2000. The independent book fair has been held annually since 2023, and this year's event is set to attract the most participants. 'This year's book fair will be the largest in scale,' Wong said in Cantonese. 'It's probably because [the publishers] gained more confidence in this event after successfully organising it over the past two years.' Wong organised the independent book fair for the first time in 2023, inviting publishers who were excluded from the official Hong Kong Book Fair in 2022. Five publishers took part in 2023, while last year, the event attracted 10 participants. Hunter Bookstore is not charging the participants, said Wong. 'We want to make it simple, just providing a venue to showcase titles from different publishers.' Last year, however, the independent book fair was under pressure from government inspections. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) visited Hunter one day before opening, saying that the department had received a complaint over the use of the bookstore as a place of public entertainment without a required licence. Wong said Hunter Bookstore did not apply for that licence this year. 'The book fair is just selling books from different independent publishers, and that's what we are allowed to do as a bookstore,' Wong said. According to a survey conducted by Boundary Bookstore, the main distribution channels of Hong Kong independent publishers are online platforms and independent bookstores. Chan Wai-hung, founder of publisher Eleven Six Workshop, told journalists on Sunday that they published books on renowned novelist Jin Yong, written by prominent pro-democracy figure Margaret Ng. While the topics of the books are not related to politics, Chan said two local bookstore chains refused to sell them, with one citing 'legal concerns.' Banned from Hong Kong Book Fair Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025 will be held from Wednesday to Tuesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Founded in 1990, the Hong Kong Book Fair is the city's largest fair showcasing a wide range of publishers and titles. However, it has been accused of 'censorship' over the past several years, following the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law in June 2020. In 2022, the HKTDC turned down applications from at least three independent booksellers, Hillway Press, One of a Kind, and Humming Publishing. They had published books with the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest as their theme. In 2024, at least three exhibitors – Boundary Bookstore, Bbluesky, and one that refused to disclose its name – told HKFP that the HKTDC asked them to remove certain titles from the shelves. This year, the same three independent local publishers confirmed to HKFP that they had been barred from participating in the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025. In response to HKFP's enquiry about book removal, the HKTDC said on Friday that all exhibitors must comply with the Exhibitors' Manual and Rules & Regulations, as well as other Hong Kong laws, including the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance, and laws related to intellectual property.
HKFP
12-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
3 independent publishers barred from participating in Hong Kong Book Fair
Three independent local publishers, including Bbluesky and Boundary Bookstore, have confirmed to HKFP that they have been barred from participating in this year's Hong Kong Book Fair. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025 is scheduled to take place from July 16 to 22 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Leslie Ng, editor-in-chief of Bbluesky, told HKFP on Monday morning that the publishing company in January applied to join the book fair but the HKTDC sent them an email and a letter later that month, informing them of the rejection without any explanation. 'We participated in the book fair in the hope of reaching out to the general public, most of whom might not have the habit of visiting independent bookstores,' Ng said in Cantonese. 'This year, we lost an opportunity to meet readers who haven't heard of us before.' Leanne Liu, manager of Boundary Bookstore, told HKFP on Monday morning that the publishing firm was also prohibited from participating in the large-scale book fair. In a letter Liu showed to HKFP, the HKDTC said the publisher's application to join the event 'was not accepted.' The HKTDC did not provide reasons for the rejection, Liu said. Another publisher also told HKFP that their application to join the book fair was rejected. The publisher did not want to disclose its name. In response to HKFP's enquiry, the HKTDC said, 'In organising any event, it is not uncommon that some applications may not be successful. We do not comment on individual cases.' Warning from HKTDC Founded in 1990, the Hong Kong Book Fair is the city's largest fair showcasing a wide range of publishers and titles. During the book fair last year, the HKTDC asked Bbluesky and Boundary to remove certain titles from their shelves. Liu of Boundary Bookstore told HKFP in July that HKTDC staff informed the publisher that four titles should not be on sale at its booth, citing 'complaints.' The four titles included The Last Faith by Hong Kong veteran reporter Allan Au; a new novel written by Liu Wai-tong, a local poet; a collection of stories about Hong Kong children who emigrated; and novelist Leung Lee-chi's Everyday Movement. Liu said that if they were to take part in the book fair this year, Boundary Bookstore would not showcase the four titles again. Established in 2000, Bbluesky publishes a variety of titles including picture books for children, as well as works on community development, social changes and politics. It previously participated in the book fair every year from 2020 to 2024. Ng of Bbluesky told HKFP in July that they were asked to remove five titles from their booth at the book fair, including three written by Au – Turbulence, a travelogue; The Last Faith, which discusses media ethics; and 2047 Nights, a collection of essays. The remaining two were books by the late former pro-democracy lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun, both of which recounted his time in prison five years ago. Bbluesky eventually pulled four of the titles from its shelves but left veteran journalist Au's Turbulence, saying that the book contained no sensitive content. 'We were informed by HKTDC staff verbally last year that failure to follow the rules of the book fair would negatively impact our application to participate in the event this year,' Ng said on Monday. 'Therefore, we have been mentally prepared that we won't be allowed to participate this year.'
