Beijing Book Fair – Will Western Publishers Profit in China?

The Beijing International Book Fair, which runs through September 3rd, is attracting an increasingly global audience, as the Chinese book market continues to boom.

Two questions are most relevant this year: What will happen with the e-book market in China (sales of ebooks and digital products hit 80 billion RMB ($11.8 billion) in 2009 – up from 50 billion RMB ($7.35 billion USD) in 2008), and how Western publishers will tap into this market.

We discussed some of the rights and royalties issues involved in the Chinese digital book market earlier this week, and after the Fair closes on September 3rd, we should have a slightly clearer picture of what the coming year will look like for Western publishers in China.