Putting in a good word

In recent years, more Chinese publishers are trying to expand the boundary of publishing by not only bringing good content from authors to the market, but also initiating and creating projects centered on self-owned intellectual properties, or IPs－titles penned by staff writers or illustrators.

Waiting for My Daddy is one such IP book. Its publisher had set up a picture-book research center, which collected firsthand stories of the fight against the epidemic. It has award-winning writers and its own illustration team that have a loyal following among both children and parents, and has platforms to create other adaptations.

"From the beginning of every title, we explore its potential for audio editions, streamed lectures, videos or other adaptations. Then our respective professional teams follow up," Liu says.

It's a trend that publishers make full use of IP content on various platforms, as was shown at the 2020 Beijing Book Fair, a major event held in January. Many publishers produce their content on various platforms to cater to the needs of the market, such as online lectures, audio books or videos.

Such books include Freshman Readings in English, a best-selling collection by China Translation Publishing House. This is a replica of English textbooks from the National Southwest Associated University (1937-46). Another example is The English-Chinese Dictionary, by Shanghai Translation Publishing House, whose online series of lectures titled The Tidbit will be released, with the aim of attracting readers with vivid illustrations of the dictionary's entries and examples.