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De Gruyter at Beijing International Book Fair 2019 as a Platform for Publishing Professionals

Van Gogh Presentation, Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China, September 1, 2011 | © Courtesy of Huygens ING/Flickr.
Van Gogh Presentation, Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China, September 1, 2011 | © Courtesy of Huygens ING/Flickr.

Between August 21 and 25, 2019, De Gruyter and Sciendo representatives took part in the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), Asia’s biggest publishing industry event.

A Blog Post by Lervinia Swee.


The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) is organized by China National Publications Import & Export Corporation (CNPIEC). This year, the fair has registered representation from 95 countries with more than 2,500 exhibitors. The highlights this year were children’s book titles and digital publishing offerings with large sections of the fair devoted to this emerging sector.

In Hall 4, where overseas publishers were clustered, De Gruyter occupied 2 stands next to Sciendo. In the exhibition hall, up to 1600 foreign publishing organizations from around the world were represented. Additionally, some nations encompassed by China’s Belt and Road initiative, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, have made debut appearances at the event.

From left Wang Xin (Sciendo), Michael Du (Country Manager), Liu Fei Fei (Content Editor), Ben Ashcroft (Vice President, Commercial), Lervinia Swee (Marketing Manager), Max Meng (Sales Manager), Zhang Rui Xue (Sales Support), Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China, August 21-25, 2019| © Courtesy of Lervinia Swee.

From left Wang Xin (Sciendo), Michael Du (Country Manager), Liu Fei Fei (Content Editor), Ben Ashcroft (Vice President, Commercial), Lervinia Swee (Marketing Manager), Max Meng (Sales Manager), Zhang Rui Xue (Sales Support), Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China, August 21-25, 2019| © Courtesy of Lervinia Swee.

The BIBF is touted as the one-stop platform for publishing professionals to explore trends, opportunities and demonstrations of new technologies. However, not every booth has been buzzing with customers this year. But for those that were had several things in common. These included marketing activities (SAGE representatives were giving out roses to passers-by, other publishers were running contests through their WeChat accounts), the arrangement of appointments with potential customers and celebrations of one sort or another  (Taylor & Francis representatives brought in a large cake for the 100th edition of the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics).

Ben Ashcroft, Vice President, Commercial, De Gruyter, has attended the BIBF and held back-to-back meetings with local publishers and agents over the first two days of the fair. On 22 August, the De Gruyter team was out in full force  for the public session where Ben Ashcroft spoke about the history of De Gruyter and its expansion plans for China, attended by 35 visitors, which represents a decent turn out.

Written by by Lervinia Swee

Edited by Pablo Markin


Featured Image Credits: Van Gogh Presentation, Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China, September 1, 2011 | © Courtesy of Huygens ING/Flickr.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Pablo Markin (August 28, 2019). De Gruyter at Beijing International Book Fair 2019 as a Platform for Publishing Professionals. The DGO Blog. Retrieved March 16, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/132wh


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