Shortage of writers hurting local literary scene, publishers say as Hong Kong Book Fair opens
Hong Kong Free Press
Two Hong Kong publishers have said a shortage of writers – both up-and-coming and experienced – posed a challenge to the local literary industry, as the annual book fair opened on Wednesday.
Publishers Breakthrough and Boundary Bookstore told HKFP on Wednesday that the shortage of local writers had added to existing business woes, such as the rising cost of printing and a changing readership that saw fewer people buying books.
The publishers were among 760 exhibitors in this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair, which will run until next Tuesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
“Content creators have various platforms to choose from nowadays, they can make videos or publish their work on Instagram,” Leanne Liu, a publishing manager of Boundary Bookstore, told HKFP in Cantonese.
“In fact [writers] cannot really make a profit publishing a book unless it sells about a 1,000 copies,” Liu added.
Boundary Bookstore was founded in 2022, and this year mark’s the independent’s second consecutive year at the book fair, which Liu said was a great opportunity for the new business to gain exposure.
As well as publishing works from local manga artists to veteran poets, Boundary Bookstore brought four new titles to this year’s event.
But Liu said it had not been easy to find writers willing to pen new works, adding that as a new publisher she struggled to manage the workflow involved – from editing to design to marketing – without the help of industry veterans.
“We can only rely on our experience of [having published] one to two books. There are not many people we can ask for advice when it comes to matters such as improving design or using higher quality paper for print,” she said. Despite the saying “never judge a book by its cover,” Liu said that good design was key to sales.
Breakthrough, a non-profit Christian youth services organisation that has been in publishing since the 1970s, faced a similar dilemma in retaining veteran writers.
Ng Wing-chi, a publication manager at Breakthrough, told HKFP that “some writers had left Hong Kong” and opted to publish elsewhere, which contributed to a drop in the number of books Breakthrough had produced in recent years.
Breakthrough primarily publishes works that focus on youth issues such as intra-family communication and growth, as well as fiction and books on mental health.
Ng also said that the organisation had been devoting its resources to nurturing new writers, but that the process would take time.
“Readership patterns nowadays are characterised by different niche markets, so it really takes time for a group of readers to learn about, and to become familiar with, new writers,” Ng said in Cantonese.
She pointed to the fate of the quarterly culture magazine Breakazine, which recently announced it would stop printing next year, citing rising costs of print and a decline in readership.
A booth on Wednesday showcased the latest edition of Breakazine, focusing on the precarity of freelance work, as well as past editions covering topics such as gender, mental health and local politics.
Ng said the readers of Breakazine were primarily “a specific type” that had been in decline, without elaborating.
But she also said that the team behind Breakazine had been discussing possible alternatives beyond print to disseminate its feature stories. Breakazine will publish its last edition next April.
‘Events capital of Asia’
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the book fair, Margaret Fong, the executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said the book fair would “[solidify] the city’s reputation as the events capital of Asia.”
“This year’s book fair… will stage more than 600 cultural activities on-site and off-site, inviting over 250 prominent Chinese and foreign-language writers and celebrities to host seminars, promoting literary exchange and connecting book lovers through literature,” Fong said in Cantonese.
The annual event unfolded under the theme of “Film and Television Literature,” with exhibitions featuring the literary works of renowned directors such as Wong Kar-wai and Ann Hui, as well as emerging filmmakers like Norris Wong and Ho Check-tin.
Organisers had said prior to the opening that exhibitors must comply with the Beijing-imposed national security law and the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known locally as the Article 23.
Some exhibitors on Wednesday did not display political titles that could be deemed “sensitive,” according to local media reports.
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