Frankfurt Book Fair: What drew you to a career in publishing? How have the books you have brought out been received in China?

Yong Shao: I have always been interested in reading and writing. After graduating I began to work as an editor in Beijing Science and Technology Press. I love the job, as it brings together my interests with my career.

Most of the books we publish have been well received in China, because we choose them from among the best international titles. I would say that the quality of these books is often better than the ones produced by Chinese writers and illustrators. Some of our titles are not that well received because the content of the books is seen as too western by the public. Maybe in the next few years this will change.

How would you say the book market is developing in China?

The Chinese book market is constantly being reformed. It is opening up and developing faster than before. New thoughts and views are, increasingly, being introduced by Chinese writers. The combination of a rapidly developing economy and a thirst for new knowledge make the Chinese book market an exciting one. As book publishers we have more room to maneuver than there is in the magazine or newspaper markets. The publishing industry in China definitely has a bright future, even though it faces strong competition from the internet and digital media.

What do you expect to gain from the Frankfurt Fellowship programme? What do you think the effect of China being the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 will have on the publishing industry in China?

I hope the Fellowship programme will provide me with new perspectives on the world’s book markets. I also hope it will help me find some titles that are suitable to introduce in China, so that a larger number of Chinese people can read some of the best titles from around the world.

I think being Guest of Honour at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair can provide the impetus for the Chinese publishing industry to develop faster. It will also help the Chinese government draw our book market closer to international markets, and will improve communication between Chinese publishing house and foreign ones. More foreign books will be introduced in China and more Chinese books will find their way abroad.

After I graduated from Heilongjiang Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I started working for Beijing Science and Technology Press. First, I was an editor in the Chinese traditional medicine department. In 2004, I set up a new children’s book department where 20 editors work today.. We deal with international rights from languages such as English, German, French, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and we also do original titles, publishing more than 300 new titles every year. In early 2009, I set up a new social sciences department for the publisher. I’m very interested in adult books, such as social sciences, literature, self-help in parenting and entertainment, and also in excellent children’s books.