01 perspective
Written by: Comment Editor
2020-04-01 08:00
Last updated: 2020-04-01 08:00The new crown pneumonia epidemic is raging and citizens have gathered less. Most of the exhibitions originally scheduled for February to April were postponed. However, not only the recent activities have been affected, but it is still unknown when the epidemic situation will end. Book fairs scheduled to be held from July 15 to 21 may also be "endangered." Many people in the publishing industry are not concerned about holding book fairs as scheduled. optimism.
Many people in the publishing industry are not optimistic about holding a book fair as scheduled. (Photo / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Exhibitor preparation takes time
The 2020 Hong Kong Book Fair Concern Group, which is composed of small and medium-sized enterprises in the publishing industry, collected eighty-eighth booth opinions. The survey results showed that nearly 40% of exhibitors wished to cancel the book fair, nearly 30% wished the book fair to be postponed, and eight adults hoped that the TDC could reduce rent by half. The Concern Group asked TDC to determine whether the book fair can be held as scheduled before May 15th, so that exhibitors can respond in advance and allow exhibitors to recover their participation fees.
The book fair is far away from the holiday. It may be too early for the public, but for exhibitors, time is very urgent. Many publishers in Hong Kong will adjust the book fair schedule when launching new books, so that new books can be published at book fairs with a large number of book publishers. It usually takes one to two months for new books to be published. Publisher earnings will be greatly reduced. And for some publishing houses, if the epidemic situation is not complete and the customs control measures have not changed, one is that foreign publishing houses cannot visit Hong Kong at all, and the other is that publishing houses cannot invite overseas writers to come. TDC should announce book fair arrangements as soon as possible to prepare publishers in advance.
Recalling the crowded "high-risk picture" of book fairs in previous years, it would be unwise to forcibly carry out under the epidemic. (Profile picture)
Online book fairs are dangerous
Citizens should not gather during the epidemic. Recalling the "high-risk picture" that the book fair was crowded in previous years, it would not be wise to force it under the epidemic. Citizens sit in their homes. For a while, the habits of online shopping and apps called takeaways have entered the lives of citizens. Perhaps transferring the book buying process online can bring a little dawn to the booksellers under the epidemic. TDC can consider seizing the opportunity to transform the book fair and open a new path for book sellers online during the epidemic.
However, the road ahead for "book fair online" is not smooth. Refer to Taiwan's example for a glance. In response to the epidemic, Taiwan has announced the suspension of the 2020 Taipei International Book Fair. The industry evaluates the possibility of online book fairs, but Lin Xunmin, chairman of the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, said that while the performance of physical bookstores declined during the epidemic, online bookstore sales No significant increase was seen. The process of guiding citizens from brick-and-mortar bookstores to online book purchases during the epidemic was not as logical as general online shopping platforms.
After all, many visitors walked into the book fair, hoping to see the authors and participate in the event, or they might want to take advantage of discounts and scan into cheap books. However, buying books online cannot close the distance between readers and authors. During the epidemic, citizens' demand for books is difficult to maintain as high as masks and food for a long time, which makes online sales of books insufficient to offset book fair losses. In this regard, the TDC can work with the Innovation and Technology Commission to develop online exhibitions to give citizens the opportunity to sit at home and visit the exhibition. During the period, it can also assist authors to communicate with readers online, so that the nature of the "online book fair" does not flow online. Buy book platform.
How do the bitter online novels behind the book show scenery writers stand out?
[Hong Kong Book Fair 2019] Large-scale book awards should be set at the book fair that fosters culture
01 perspective
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