The World of Chinese (TWOC) magazine is calling for submissions for its new program, the TWOC Editors’ Picks for the “Best Books on China.”
Launched at the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) on August 23, the program will feature two regularly updated lists of recommended books. One, aimed at domestic and international publishing houses, is a list of published and unpublished Chinese books identified to have potential for translation and international release.
The other, reader-facing list will feature original and translated English books with themes related to China or the Chinese diaspora, suitable for anyone interested in learning more about the country in China and aboard. Both lists will be published and updated quarterly on the magazine’s official website, www. theworldofchinese.com, with a year-end shortlist published in the print magazine.
Criteria for review include objective data, such as book sales, the number of search results for the title online, the number of readers’ reviews on online platforms, and the number of volume in library collection. More importantly, TWOC’s editors will form a panel with professional book reviewers and publishing industry experts to review titles for their quality, readability, and how well they contribute to the understanding of Chinese culture and society.
Editors, authors, publishers, agents, and members of the general public are encouraged to suggest titles or send review copies in English or Chinese to editor@theworldofchinese.com. There is a rolling deadline for submissions.
The World of Chinese has a strong record of producing professional and widely influential reviews. Over the past decade, TWOC’s reviewers have covered ancient Chinese classics, such as Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Shen Fu’s Six Records of a Floating Life; to early modern classics, such as Lao She’s imaginative Cat Country; to contemporary masterpieces, such as the Three Body trilogy and Mai Jia’s Decoded.
The magazine also has a reputation for discovering and publishing translated short stories from up-and-coming young Chinese authors in its Dragon’s Digest column, soon to be published as anthologies in the sci-fi, fantasy, crime and urban romance genres. Through the “Best Books on China” program, the magazine welcomes the opportunity to share its accumulated expertise with China’s emerging literary trends with a wider scope of readers and publishers.
The “Best Books on China” program is part of “China Bookshelf” project of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of PRC, which aims to bring more good books on China overseas.
