Fans of bestselling adult coloring book Secret Garden will be invited to color in wall-sized copies of the beloved illustrations at New China International Exhibition Center in Beijing during the upcoming 2015 Beijing International Book Fair.
The fair, one of the world's biggest book gatherings, will be on from Aug 26 to 30.
The weather vane of Chinese publishing and reading, as well as the most important platform for copyright trade in the country, the book fair this year upgraded its events and services to better appeal to international participants, said Zhang Jichen, general manager of China National Publications Import & Export Corp., one of the fair's organizers.
"We strengthen the trend of digitalization and highlight children's books this year, as we will launch the first BIBF children's book hall,"Zhang said.
At the first BIBF Picture Book Exhibition, which will be featured in the children's hall, more than 10,000 kinds of picture books in 13 languages will be displayed.
"Children's books are the major boost for global publishing, we have recognized the phenomenon and the new BIBF arrangement will cater to the needs of the market," said Lin Liying, also from the corporation.
The 2015 fair attracted 2,270 publishers from 82 countries, an increase of 5 percent compared with last year, according to the organizer. The number of overseas participants to join the fair has risen 6.3 percent year-on-year.
A total of 270,000 titles will be displayed in five halls, covering an area of 66,000 square meters.
"This year, all the books in Chinese that are exhibited will be shown with a jacket band to introduce the contents in English," Zhang said, noting that this will help international publishers find it easier to locate Chinese titles of interest.
Literature will again be highlighted during the fair, as a series of writers'events will be held, including a writers'night, BIBF Literature Salon, and Sino-Swedish poets'exchanges, along with a China-India writers forum.
Ge Fei, the newly crowned winner of China's prestigious Maodun Literature Prize (announced on Aug 16), will have a dialogue with Spanish writer Enrique Vila-Matas on Aug 29.
Alan Lee, the Hobbits and Lord of Rings illustrator, and bestselling British American writer Simon Van Booy are to be involved in a series of book launches, meeting readers and writers'workshop in Beijing. They will also be joined by writers from various international backgrounds to hold talks with Chinese writers.
United Arab Emirates is featured as the guest of honor of the 2015 event.
Exhibitions of various art forms, including the country's signature handicrafts, Karkour and Khous, will present a feast of eyes to visitors, according to UAE official Saeed Almeiri.
Readers can also get their own version of Henna, a painted tattoo, to get a taste of the UAE culture.
