The Ministry of Culture will organize a delegation of Taiwanese publishers to take part in Singapore Book Fair 2019 and the 14th Bookfest Malaysia — which will respectively run from May 31 through June 6 in Singapore, and June 1 through 9 in Kuala Lumpur — to help introduce Taiwan's Mandarin Chinese literature to Southeast Asia and other overseas markets.
Both Taiwan pavilions will highlight literary works created by young Taiwanese creators under the banner "Made by Hipsters: Made in Taiwan," and over 100 Taiwanese publishers will exhibit some 15,000 volumes of books covering 1,500 genres. The Ministry will also arrange activities such as "Taiwan Day" and "Taiwan Literary Festival" to show how young Taiwanese literary artists are cultivated and how an excellent literary piece is written.
The Ministry will work with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature to invite well-known Taiwanese literary artists Wang Tsung-wei (王聰威), Chang Tieh-chih (張鐵志), 61chi, and Lotus Chang (張惠菁) to share their reading experience with readers at the Singapore book fair and how they found fulfillment through the act of creating and participating in social movements.
Director Su Shou-bin (蘇碩斌) of NMTL and writers Ho Ching-yao (何敬堯), Yan Shu-xia (言叔夏), Huang Pei-shan (黃珮珊), and Sharky Chen (陳夏民) will also attend Bookfest Malaysia to interact with readers.
Overseas book fairs are not just venues for Taiwanese publishers to sell their publications and copyrights, but also a platform for them to demonstrate Taiwan's core values and facilitate cultural exchange. Upon taking office, Minister Cheng Li-chiun has been working with all ministerial departments and affiliated organizations to identify Taiwanese values and topical issues that can resonate with international audiences, and curating overseas showcases and trade fair exhibitions accordingly.
One of the unique pavilion features this year is "The Zine Workshop," dedicated to self-published works that speak volumes about Taiwan's literary creativity. Popular hipster magazines will also be on display to present the vigor and lifestyle of Taiwan's creative sector, while organizations such as the Taiwan Digital Publishing Forum (臺灣數位出版聯盟) and Taiwan E-Book Association (臺灣電子書協會) will present reading materials for digital devices.
In addition, the Ministry will exhibit books from its "Books From Taiwan" collection to showcase the results of an ongoing subsidy program for translating literary works created by Taiwanese writers into foreign languages.
Both pavilions will also hold workshops on copyright exchanges, in which Taiwanese literary creators and publishers will meet with their Singaporean and Malaysian counterparts to discuss the licensing of excellent publications from Taiwan.