Ongoing success of Dutch literature in China
PRESS RELEASE - The interest of Chinese publishers for Dutch literature is as substantial as ever. At the Beijing International Book Fair held at the beginning of September, the NLPVF presented for the 4th consecutive year a brochure specially compiled for the Chinese market.
This year, in connection with the Olympic Games, the most important book fair in Asia was not held in Beijing but in the neighbouring city of Tianjin. Just as in previous years, the Dutch booth attracted a steady flow of Chinese publishers, partly due to the brilliant collection of titles which have become available in the past few years and which assigned the booth a somewhat Chinese character.
In the coming weeks, the rights to many titles will be formally requested from the Dutch publishers. The total number of titles sold in the past four years has now reached more than a hundred, covering works of fiction, non-fiction, juvenile and children’s literature. Translations of works by Louis Couperus, J.J. Slauerhoff, Henk van Woerden, Stine Jensen, Willem Otterspeer, Koen Vergeer and Bas Haring have recently appeared, while the coming months will witness the publication of titles by Cees Nooteboom, Harry Mulisch, Abram de Swaan, Fik Meijer, Leonard Blussé and Bert Keizer among others. This time, there was great interest in Margriet de Moor, Anna Enquist, Hella Haasse, Arthur Japin, W.F. Hermans, Louis Couperus, Arthur van Schendel, Douwe Draaisma, Matthijs van Boxsel, Stella Braam, Femme Gaastra, Piet Vroon and others. Children’s and juvenile literature was well represented by Annemarie van Haeringen, Midas Dekkers, Harriët van Reek, the Rintje series, the Kleine Ezel (Little Donkey) series, Guus Kuijer, Tonke Dragt and Annie M.G. Schmidt.
In general, an average of between 4,000 and 10,000 copies of a title are printed, and Chinese publishers seem to be more than satisfied with the sales figures. For example, Jip & Janneke (known in the UK as ‘Bob & Jilly’) was reprinted twice within a short period, and De stille kracht (The Hidden Force) by Louis Couperus was also reprinted within a few months. Non-fiction titles (including work by Johan Goudsblom, Tijs Goldschmidt, Mineke Schipper among others) attracted much attention in the press. Around the same time, it was announced that Goldschmidt’s Darwins Hofvijver (Darwin’s Dreampond), a Chinese translation of which was issued last year, has won two major literary prizes. The jury of the Science Times Prize acclaimed it as one of the most influential works of popular non-fiction to be published in China in 2007, and the jury of the Wu Dayou Foundation praised the translation of this important work.
In general, the NLPVF was delighted to observe the current level of professionalism among Chinese publishers and the degree of attention they devote to the quality of the translation.
Altogether, the NLPVF regards these successes as the ideal preparation for hosting the Beijing Book Fair of 2011 or 2012. Discussions on this ambition are currently in full swing, and Ronald Plasterk, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science has already expressed his support for the Dutch candidacy. The NLPVF will also give a wide-ranging presentation of Dutch literature at the 2010 World Exhibition in Shanghai.
For additional information, please contact Henk Pröpper, tel: +31 (0)20-620 62 61.