China’s Shanghai Children’s Book Fair Names 2024 Dates

The 11th Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair has announced its dates and some of its plans for its 2024 iteration.

On the exhibition floor of the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair, 2023. Image: CCBF

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

See also: Our China Bestsellers series is here.

Dates for 2024: November 15 to 17

Preparing now for the show’s 11th edition, organizers of the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF) are announcing dates of November 15 to 17 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.

The company, for our report today, cites an output in the children’s sector of some 40,000 titles annually in China, with aggregate print runs of more than 800 million copies, more than 300,000 titles on the market, and sales said to surpass 20 billion RMB (US$2.8 billion). The country’s huge population figures include, organizers say, some 367 million minors in China’s overall readership.

Publishing Perspectives readers will recall that in November we pointed out a 10-year partnership for the Shanghai fair with BolognaFiere and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF, April 8 to 11). The program in China is guided by Donna Chai, general manager of BolognaFiere China, with the benefit of the Bologna fair’s operation. On the Italian end of the partnership is the Bologna fair’s director, Elena Pasoli.

Image: Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair

Shanghai’s BolognaFiere Partnership Continues

The fair this year has announced plans to include five key focal areas in its exhibition’s design, with a clear emphasis on awards programs,

• A Bologna Prize Lounge
• A Strega Prize Lounge
• An Asia Pacific New Entry Lounge
• The traditional rights center
• A new “Original Edition Books Center,” intended to showcase specific titles “available for direct import and distribution in China”

Related article: Shanghai’s Children’s Book Fair at 10: A Fifth Year for Its Bologna Partnership. Image: CCBF

In figures provided to us for this announcement, the fair’s administration reports that last year’s iteration of the fair drew 478 publishers and other children’s content companies from 25 nations and territories, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. 

Stands on the exhibition floor reportedly represented 155 companies, and 323 Chinese publishing and related-industry members were involved in the show’s activities.

A total 42,733 attendees were counted at the public-facing fair, with 19,086 of them listed as industry professionals.

In advance of this year’s fair, early-bird rates for stands are scheduled to run through May 31. International inquiries are directed to the show’s Italian associates at ccbf@bolognafiere.it.

Shanghai’s fair is endorsed by the Shanghai  Press and Publication Administration, and organized by Shanghai Xinhua Distribution Group; China Education Publishing and Media Group; and China Universal Press and  Publication. The fair is co-organized by  is also co-organized by Ronbo BolognaFiere Shanghai and supported by BolognaFiere.

At Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair’s rights trading center, 2023. Image: CCBF

More from Publishing Perspectives on the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair is here. More from us on China’s market is here, our closely followed China Bestsellers series produced in association with Beijing OpenBook is here, and more on children’s books is here. More on the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is here, more on its generalist-publishing program Bologna Book Plus is here, and more on the third wing of Italy’s operation at BolognaFiere, the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids, is here.