This week, our Editors-at-Large bring us updates on book fairs, industry trends, and tk. From the impact of censorship on book fairs in Hong Kong, to the domination of Scandi-noir in Sweden, to a celebration of a beloved publishing house in Mexico, read on to find out more!
Charlie Ng, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Hong Kong
The 35th Hong Kong Book Fair took place from July 16 to July 22, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. This year’s theme, “Food Culture.Future Living,” aimed to explore culinary traditions and histories, connecting food cultures and lifestyles. As part of the event, the “Theme of the Year Seminar Series” featured a variety of sessions with authors and speakers dedicated to discussing food cultures from various perspectives. Topics included the historical significance of culinary traditions, the link between nutrition and health, and future trends in food consumption. Despite its rich programming, the fair experienced a notable decline in visitor numbers, with attendance dropping approximately 10% from the previous year. Organizers from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported that around 890,000 visitors participated, down from 990,000 in 2024. This decline followed the disruption caused by Typhoon Wipha, which forced the fair to suspend activities for an entire day. Some exhibitors expressed dissatisfaction with the situation as there was a significant drop in sales attributed to the typhoon’s impact on the peak business day.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong literary group the House of Hong Kong Literature announced the cancellation of its own book fair, originally scheduled for July 18-27. The non-profit organization expressed regret for the abrupt decision, which stemmed from unspecified reasons that were beyond the organizer’s control. Co-founder Tang Siu-wa mentioned that the cancellation affected their fundraising efforts, especially as profits were intended to support their relocation. In recent years, independent publishers and bookstores in Hong Kong have increasingly organized alternative book fairs to counter perceived censorship by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The HKTDC had explicitly rejected applications to join Hong Kong Book Fair from publishers that published books on pro-democracy movements or asked exhibitors to remove sensitive titles from their shelves. Moreover, the “Reading Everywhere” independent book fair co-hosted at Hunter Bookstore, located in Sham Shui Po, faced scrutiny from the pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po, which alleged that the event fostered “soft resistance” against the government. The bookstore’s director, Leticia Wong, defended the fair, stating that the selection of books focused on local authors and was not intended to conceal any titles. Some other businesses in the same district were also accused of “soft resistance,” including a pen shop that sold ballpoint pens featuring local-concept designs, which won an award in 2019, and a café with graffiti of a frog on the wall, interpreted as Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character that gained symbolic meaning as a pro-democracy icon during the 2019 protests.
Linnea Gradin, Editor-at-Large, reporting from SwedenIt’s no secret that the Scandinavian countries are masters of the crime genre. There’s even a name for it: Scandi-noir. Swedish crime thrillers are immensely popular both domestically and abroad. Swedish-penned crime is also making a name for itself on streaming services like Netflix, with no less than three series making it to the list of most streamed shows in the last six months — The Åre Murders, based on Viveca Sten’s books set in the wintry ski-resort of Åre, is on spot 24 with 32,6 million views; The Breakthrough, based on a real-life crime that went unsolved for 16 years before the introduction of new DNA tracing techniques, is on spot 27 with 29,3 million views; and The Glass Dome, written for TV by crime thriller queen Camilla Läckberg (among others), is on spot 41 with 20,4 million views.
The continued rise of Scandi-noir comes at a time when literary fiction and translated fiction is fighting for its place in the small Swedish market, driven out by more audiobook-friendly genres like crime and feel-good. And the market is only getting smaller, as industry outlet SvB reports that the number of Swedes that read at least once per week has steadily been decreasing since the 1980s, with no signs of the trend reversing — though audiobook services continue to thrive.
Among those reaping the rewards of this transition to audiobooks as the primary reading format is streaming-giant Storytel, who has recently paired up with a popular running podcast to offer a book club over the summer, in hopes of reaching a new market of listeners — listeners who are likely to add hours of streams as they go for their runs.
But all hope is not lost for the more niche and translated fiction, as a new publisher enters the ring: Fyren Publishing, a publishing house dedicated to translated middle grade fiction. A bold and welcome move in an otherwise pretty stagnant literary scene.
René Esaú Sánchez, Editor-at-Large, reporting on Mexico
Back in 2020, Ediciones Era, one of Mexico’s most influential publishing houses, had planned a series of activities to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Like so many other cultural events, however, the pandemic forced those celebrations into silence. Now, five years later, Era has finally resumed the festivities, this time in honor of its 65th year.
Founded by the prolific painter Vicente Rojo, Ediciones Era might seem modest at first glance. Its headquarters are tucked inside a small house in Mexico City’s Colonia Roma, a space that continuously hosts readings, conversations, and presentations. It’s also where I’ve had the chance to listen to and meet writers like Fabio Morábito, Coral Bracho, and Elsa Cross.
Yet this small house has long been a powerhouse of Mexican literature. Since its inception, Ediciones Era has been home to some of the country’s most iconic voices, including Octavio Paz and José Emilio Pacheco, whose first poetry collection, Los elementos de la noche, was published by Era in 1963. Ediciones Era was also one of the first publishers to give space to Indigenous languages in Mexican literature. Miguel León-Portilla published several translations of Nahuatl poetry here, making Era not only a space of aesthetic creation, but also a crucial site for translation and cultural preservation.
To mark its anniversary, the editorial house has gone beyond just cake (literally) and readings: it has brought together memory, art, and print in Alas de papel, an exhibition held at El Colegio Nacional. The show features 56 books, including first editions and original works by Vicente Rojo. It’s a fitting venue: many of the authors Era published (Paz, Pacheco, Carlos Fuentes, Salvador Elizondo, Miguel León-Portilla, Alfonso Reyes) were also members of El Colegio Nacional. The exhibition is, then, a tribute to a publishing house and to an entire constellation of literary and intellectual legacy.
Celebrating a publishing house may seem insensitive in a world so saturated with crisis. But to honor a press is to spotlight the invisible stories behind every book: the careful decisions, the arguments over commas and titles, the passion that shapes a manuscript into a printed object.
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