On Nov. 23, the Taiwan-Thailand Book Publishing & Independent Bookstore Symposium was held in Bangkok, Thailand. As the Grant for the Publication of Taiwanese Works in Translation (GPT) Seminar 2021 received positive feedback from the Thailand publication industry, this year, the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand organized a conference to keep the momentum going. Apart from the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) and the Creative Economy Agency (CEA), over 50 representatives of Thai publishers and independent bookstores also attended the event to learn more about how original content was promoted in Taiwan.
As the horror film "Incantation (咒)" is popular with the Thai audience, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) shared works that were inspired by Taiwanese folklore and ghost stories like "The Apocalypse Of Darkness Warfare (冥戰錄)" and "Tan-Tsiu-Niu (守娘)." Taiwan Association for Independent Bookshop Culture (TAIBC) was also invited to share experiences in managing independent bookstores as independent bookstores are getting increasing attention in Thailand.
The first half of the symposium was hosted by TAICCA, introducing the "Books from Taiwan" initiative and the "Taiwan Comic City" website and recommending books to Thai publishers. Publishing companies from Thailand also shared their knowledge of translating and publishing books from Taiwan.
Founding President of TAIBC Chen Long-hao (陳隆昊), Fribooker (友善書業合作社)'s founder Edward Su (蘇至弘) and chairman Sha Yan-xi (沙彥羲), presented at the second half of the event, sharing the operation of independent bookstores from A to Z. The sharing session sparked Thai publishers' interest and fully engaged the participants.
Recognizing the contribution of the symposium to the Thai publishing industry, Secretary General of PUBAT Nan Hongwiwat said Taiwan's Ministry of Culture has been quite successful at sharing Taiwanese reading and publishing culture in Thailand, adding that the event is very helpful for Thai publishers.
Meanwhile, the director of the Cultural Division Joanne Tien (田又安) hoped that the overseas promotion of Taiwanese publications will be accelerated through the symposium, so that Thai people can come into contact with more excellent works from Taiwan and open up a richer perspective on cultural exchanges between the two nations.