[Big read] Independent publishing in China waits for a breath of fresh air

(Edited and refined by Vianne Chia, with the assistance of AI translation.)

They are books that are hard to find in China. They often have no International Standard Book Number (ISBN), no public sales channels and some have limited print runs.

Yet they can be found across the country. They turn up in independent bookshops in smaller cities, at book fairs and in informal reading groups, alongside the people who create, publish and sell them.

There is no single name for these publications. Some are called independent journals, others self-published works, art books or “zines”.

As publishing censorship in China continues to tighten, independent publishing has weathered repeated crackdowns. Like wild grass, it survives in scattered patches across the country, lying low and waiting for a spring breeze that will help it spread.

One person does it all, from interviews to bookbinding

After two issues of her independent publication proved popular, Ai Cao (pseudonym), an illustrator born in the 1990s, was in no hurry to produce a third. She told Lianhe Zaobao (LHZB) that conditions for independent publishing were unfavourable, and that she needed to “reconsider what the point of doing all this is”.

In 2022, Ai self-published a book about young people in a small city in southern China. The roughly 100-page book was largely a one-woman effort, from interviewing and writing, to illustration, book design and binding.

Having grown up in a small city, Ai had always been curious about her own circumstances and puzzled by the experiences of people like her. But because there was little material on the subject available in the market, she decided to explore it herself.

The book featured stories of more than a dozen young people in small cities, from office workers and entrepreneurs to the unemployed. The first issue had an initial print run of just 100 copies, but they quickly sold out after it was listed in online shops and stocked by physical bookshops. The second issue, published a year later, sold out just as quickly. Ai was surprised to discover that her readers came from all over China. Even people in a small town in Gansu had read her book.

Compared with her previous job at a publishing company, independent publishing meant taking responsibility for everything herself, while working in traditional publishing is like being a cog in a factory. She said, “Although it looks more exhausting, you feel freer in your approach, and you can express more.”

In today’s hyperconnected world, the same content posted on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and WeChat public accounts could reach far more people in less time. Why spend more time, effort and money turning it into a physical book?

For Ai, the reason was simple. “At first, I felt my writing skills were limited and I wasn’t satisfied with creating in just one medium. A book can bring together illustrations, text and images. Even the book design itself can convey richer, more layered content.”

Ye Fei (pseudonym), another independent publisher born in the second half of the 1990s, was more blunt. She said, “Content posted online is subject to censorship. But as long as you have a printer at home, you can print whatever you want.”

With a background in fine arts, Ye began independent publishing after graduating from university, producing several journals with friends. Their approach was informal: they solicited submissions online, printed them on home printers, designed the covers themselves and bound the books by hand. “Whenever we received orders, we printed a batch. If there is demand later, we make more.”

The journals covered a wide range of themes, from delivery workers to gender issues. Some themes were proposed by friends, while others grew out of curiosity about the people around them. “Making books gives us a chance to get to know the people around us and build connections with different groups.”

A stronger sense of aesthetics

Fang Xuxiao, a freelance writer who worked as a media professional and publishing executive, told LHZB that Chinese independent publishing covered a wide range of subjects. When the Misty Poetry movement rose to prominence in the 1980s, for instance, large numbers of self-printed poetry collections circulated informally. Kaijuan (《开卷》), a book review journal founded in 2000, was one of the longest-running independent publications. It ran for 300 issues before ceasing publication last year.

Many independent publications, including Kaijuan, once wielded considerable influence in China and were openly covered by mainstream media. Yet everyone understood that they were not officially recognised publications.

In mainland China, a legally published book must have both an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and cataloguing in publication (CIP) data. State-owned publishers can apply directly for ISBNs, while private publishing companies need to work with state-owned publishers for ISBNs. Individuals cannot apply for ISBNs. Only publications that pass censorship can obtain an ISBN, after which they can apply to the relevant official body for CIP data. Books without both ISBN and CIP data are regarded as “illegal publications”.

From 2019, Chinese authorities tightened ISBN approvals, sharply reducing the number issued. Around the same time, independent publications began springing up across the country. These included zines, produced in small print runs and centred on personal expression; journals, put together by small teams and featuring a wider range of contributors; and art books, in which artistic design is integral to the presentation of content. The categories often overlap, with no clear boundaries between them.

Fang said some authors turned to self-publishing because official publishing channels could not meet their expectations, or because they wanted to avoid the constraints of censorship. “These publications generally have a stronger aesthetic sensibility than officially published books. Although they exist in a grey area, they have a tenacious vitality,” Fang said.

He also observed that independent publishers in China tended to be young, many of whom had studied overseas and wanted to bring the independent publishing scene they had encountered abroad back to China. “Apart from the people making books, the community also includes independent bookshops and art book fairs.”

Independent bookshops and book fairs are the two main channels through which these publications reach readers. Bookshops across the country stock small quantities of independent magazines, self-published works and handmade books. Art book fairs, meanwhile, give publishers a chance to meet their peers and readers in person.

Xu Yan (pseudonym), an independent publisher based in Shanghai, recalled that early art book fairs focused mainly on photography books and illustration collections. “Readers would come to our booth, discover that the book was full of text, and immediately put it down,” Xu shared. But as independent publishing took off, readers began to see art books differently. By around 2022, Xu’s text-dense books were outselling image-rich titles at book fairs.

Crackdowns make it harder to publish freely

Founded in 2015, the abC Art Book Fair was once China’s largest independent publishing fair. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, its 2019 edition in Beijing brought together more than 160 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions. By 2023, the fair had expanded to three cities: Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

But in January 2024, abC abruptly announced that it was suspending its fairs indefinitely. In its announcement, the team said it was facing “objective pressures” and that its room to operate was shrinking. Faced with a changing environment and driven by its own pursuit of innovation, the team said it had decided to “take a step back, treating the suspension of one form of activity as a way to advance”.

The announcement did not say where the pressure was coming from. But for many independent publishers, the suspension was part of a wider pattern. Around the same time, numerous independent journals stopped publishing, independent bookshops closed one after another, and people in charge of publishing projects were detained. Many in the industry were forced to reconsider the risks of holding public events and circulating their work.

Ai Cao recalled that the sweeping searches targeting independent publishing at the time lasted two to three months. After hearing about it, she quickly removed her books from online shops. Even so, she and her friends were affected to varying degrees.

Two years on, Ai has noticed that self-published works are gradually becoming more common again as restrictions ease. But the experience has left its mark. She said, “My friends and I still carry the emotional scars of having been hurt. It is difficult to let go as completely as we did before... I also hope to find new ways to sell my books openly and legitimately.”

After a period away from the scene, Xu Yan returned to making books, only to find that many readers no longer knew what independent publishing was.

With art book fairs and independent bookshops disappearing, and many longtime readers moving overseas after the pandemic, the readership had changed. Readers born in the 1990s were giving way to a younger generation, many of whom had never even heard of art book fairs. “Every story has to be retold from the beginning,” she said.

Independent publications can no longer circulate as freely as they once did. Xu said this about the distribution network, “The channels for circulation are at most a trickle, or even smaller than that, just scattered drops. These books are tucked away in the corners of certain bookshops. You may even need to know and be trusted by the owners before they would share more books with you.”

Ye Fei said China’s independent publishing network was extensive but loosely organised. “On the one hand, it is connected in all directions: once you find one person, you can find others. On the other hand, nobody can see the whole picture. It is like water — formless.”

Fang believes China’s publishing environment has not fundamentally changed. “Sometimes it is a little more relaxed, sometimes a little stricter. Things that have not been officially recognised will never be fully opened up. But as long as people continue to pursue this kind of aesthetic, (independent publishing) can never be completely eradicated.”

At a recent sharing session in Singapore, Xu Yan admitted that China’s independent publishing scene seemed to have passed its “best era”. For now, publishers could only take things one step at a time and adapt to a constantly changing environment.

One audience member asked why publishers did not switch to e-books, given how difficult it was to produce physical books.

Xu replied that making and distributing physical books was so time-consuming and labour-intensive that they were “the least cost-effective products”. “But they can build very precious interpersonal relationships, something you simply cannot experience in the online world.”

Taking books overseas, but keeping China in mind

As selling books in China becomes increasingly difficult, more independent publishers are looking overseas.

In August this year, Xu Yan brought many new books to the Singapore Art Book Fair, her third year exhibiting there. She now sets up stalls at events around the world more than 150 times a year, and as many as 200 times in her busiest years.

Exhibiting and selling books overseas comes at a considerable cost, from shipping and logistics to accommodation and meals. Xu often sends her books ahead and asks local volunteers to help set up stalls and sell them. Around 80% of her energy now goes into getting books to readers and selling them, including contacting volunteers, applying for exhibition slots, and arranging overseas shipments.

To make her books more accessible to overseas readers, Xu has also experimented with multilingual editions, including Chinese-English and Chinese-English-Tibetan books. She shared, “Selling books overseas is not about making money. It is more about offering moral support to the authors, translators and designers behind the books, and letting them know that they have many readers overseas.”

Tan Waln Ching, owner of City Book Room in Singapore, recalled that she came across Xu’s books at a local book fair in 2024. She told Xu that if the books did not sell out at the fair, any copies left unsold after the fair could be consigned to her shop.

“They are very professional in the way they make books, and their work has more warmth than that of many publishers. It is not easy to make zines in China at the moment, so I thought I would help wherever I could,” said Tan

Tan believes Chinese zines generally have more substantial content, finer production, and stronger political undertones than those from other countries. “Many Chinese publishers therefore consign their books to shops but do not want them to be publicised, for fear of inviting unnecessary trouble.”

Overseas bookshops become vital lifelines

Ye Fei, who pursued further studies in Europe, observed that independent publications in Europe and the US, where publishing enjoys a high degree of freedom, are more direct in their expression but less substantial in content. Chinese independent publications, by contrast, often pack in more information and make greater use of artistic elements.

“Because of censorship in China, many subjects cannot be presented openly and have to be closely integrated with art. This makes art something of a ‘necessity’, rather than an optional choice.”

Yet even when presented in more artistic and subtle forms, many independent publications still cannot be openly distributed in China. Consequently, overseas bookshops have become their main distribution channels.

ODY CELL, an independent bookshop in Tokyo’s Jimbocho district, known for its secondhand bookshops, has an entire shelf devoted to independent publications.

The shop’s manager, who goes by the online name Hanzhou, said Chinese-language independent publications that sold well in Japan generally fell into two categories. One focused on local experiences and showcased local culture; the other was more personal, exploring individual memories and identity.

Hanzhou previously worked at a bookshop in China before moving to Japan for further studies and work. He observed that more Chinese youths moved to Japan since the Covid-19 pandemic, many to study literature, art and sociology. This helped fuel the growth of Chinese-language independent publications overseas.

He added that Japan’s publishing environment is more permissive than China’s, and its readers were also more receptive to printed books, making it an ideal place for independent publishing.

“In China, you might end up unable to sell even a single copy of a book. In Japan, nobody cares what books you sell. Society is also more accepting of printed books, and people believe that content printed in type has been thought through and carefully distilled,” Hanzhou said.

Using overseas ISBNs to bring books back into China

Xu Yan has not given up on the Chinese market. She is exploring ways to bring publications that have obtained ISBNs overseas into mainland China through an “export, then re-import” model, allowing them to reach more readers through official channels.

“After coming into contact with readers in different countries, I feel even more strongly that China has the best independent publishing readership in the world,” she said. “Chinese readers have broader horizons, are more open and are willing to read books on all kinds of subjects and formats.”

Ye Fei also believes that the basecamp of Chinese independent publishers is still at home. Only a small proportion of Chinese have the opportunity to go overseas. Most Chinese remain in China, where they are building vibrant cultural scenes of their own by making books, opening bookshops and organising events.

Ye said, “Ultimately, China’s indie culture network is interconnected and not isolated from overseas... Cultural communities form a much broader whole, and self-publishing is just one of the tools they use.”

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “中国特稿：独立出版等春风 顽强续写下一页”.

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