Though Beijing bibliophiles were broken hearted this past fall after The Bookworm announced it would not be holding its annual literary festival in 2017, we can all look forward to a promising new chapter early next year. That’s right: the Sanlitun literary stalwart recently announced via WeChat that its annual authorly extravaganza will be back on March 8-24, 2018.

The social media post said the forthcoming eleventh Bookworm International Literary Festival will “bring together writers and readers from China and around the world to celebrate literature and ideas in Beijing, Chengdu and Suzhou.”

Bookworm Beijing general manager Peter Goff tells the Beijinger he and his colleagues were deeply disappointed to announce the festival's cancellation last fall. And yet, the bad news prompted an inspiring outpouring from fans.

"We ran this festival for 10 years and then took a breather, and we were really taken aback by the reaction from the community and the groundswell of public support it seemed to have generated,” says Goff, adding that such heartening sentiments were voiced from writers, readers, publishers, embassies, arts agencies, the media and more. He was also moved by such reactions from both foreigners and local Chinese fans. “It seemed there was a huge amount of genuine support for it, and people wanted to see it as a fixture on the cultural landscape.”

Indeed, the festival had already become an institution in Beijing, offering the capital's literary devotees rare opportunities to attend talks and panel discussions with high profile authors from around the world.

This past November the Bookworm team announced the “indefinite postponement” of the annual festival, citing financial difficulties in an official statement where they also promised to "take some time to regroup and consider sustainable alternatives moving forward." Goff has since gone on to say that staffing the event has also been a major challenge.

It was quite a cliffhanger for fans of the festival, who were left to anxiously await for news about the event’s future. While smaller subsequent events like the Australian Writers Week, along with a regular slew of appearances of individual writers, kept those throngs satiated, news of the bigger festival’s return will surely leave them far more enthused.

The Bookworm announced the festival's return along with news about two other events. First up: the Beijing International Book Fair Literary Salons from Aug. 20-27, featuring appearances by Chinese and international writers. That will be followed by the EU-China International Literary Festival from Nov. 21-28, for which various authors from Europe and China will attend.

Details on which authors will be attending these festivals is still pending, though we have plenty of reason to keep our expectations high, considering the top notch talent featured in the past (for more on that click here).



In a recent interview with The Global Times Goff said we should expect this month's Beijing International Book Fair Literary Salons to include authors like Yu Hua, Liu Jianjun, Xi Chuan and others. Authors from other locales like Croatia, Serbia, and the Czech Republic have also been invited, though the specifics are still being finalized.

The talent featured at the bigger festival in March also remains to be sorted. In the meantime, just like any good page turner, the Bookworm is sure to keep us hanging on their every word with subsequent announcements about the return of its highly anticipated international festival.

That comeback is not only exciting for Goff, but also daunting. “No mistake, these are challenging climes; it's challenging to financially cover the costs of a big cultural project like this, and it's challenging to put on something that is hopefully progressive and stimulating and yet still passes muster with all levels of officialdom."

Despite all that, Goff adds: "It has clearly become something of an institution, it’s something we love and feel passionately about, and so are excited to relaunch it and see how, with the community’s support, we can move it forward.”

More stories by this author here.

Email: kylemullin@truerun.com

Twitter: @MulKyle

Photos: Blangua, the Beijinger, The Global Times