Writers Wail Over Bookworm Literary Festival's Indefinite Postponement

Beijing's ravenous readers will be left wanting this coming March, as for the first time in a decade, The Bookworm will not be holding its annual Literary Festival.

A statement from the Sanlitun south café and events space – famous for stocking its shelves with a spectrum of various hardcovers and paperbacks, and for regularly hosting authors for book talks – attributed the delay to the financial burden of sustaining the increasingly complex event.

"We plan to take some time to regroup and consider sustainable alternatives moving forward," the statement read. "We feel it is time after 10 years of the Bookworm Literary Festival to take stock and engage in discussions with a range of current and potential partners to work out a feasible strategy for the future."

Bookworm events marketing head Julia Lobyntseva tells the Beijinger that despite a strong following, robust ticket sales and sponsor support, it just has not been not enough to bring 200 authors to Beijing. "Unfortunately, the operating costs for a festival of this scale are high, and as an independent bookshop and festival we can no longer continue to underwrite the bulk of these costs," Lobyntseva said.

While the festival has not been outright cancelled, it won't take place in March as usual, and there is no definite date yet for the 2017 version.

“We think that postponing festival does not mean cancelling it," Lobyntseva said. "Over the past 10 years, the festival and The Bookworm itself has grown significantly as a platform for writers, thinkers and journalists, which means we continue to have this status even if we are not holding the festival in March.”

In the meantime, the venue's staff will continue mulling over ways to go ahead with the festival, and is more than open to partnership opportunities or other collaborative offers.

Literacy fiends need not despair entirely, because The Bookworm still plans on holding its regular book talks, screenings, panel discussions and other events throughout the year as planned (an update list of which can be seen here).

Still, the festival's delay has left much of Beijing's literary scene disenchanted. Eric Abrahamsen, literary translator and founder of Paper Republic, recalled visiting The Bookworm’s first incarnation over a decade ago when it was a mere corner of Le Petite Gourmand, a cafe based in a low-rise apartment complex that has since been demolished and replaced by Taikoo Li.

“At first I was thrilled just to find a place that provided English-language books," Abrahamsen recalled. "Then over the years I attended more and more literary events there, until all of a sudden there it was: a full-blown literary festival, with writers coming from all over the world.”

Abrahamsen said the festival’s state was always financially precarious. “Money is an ever-present problem ...  It's a tough time for all arts and culture in China right now, and I hope they're ready to spring back into action next year,” he said.

Chris Warren of The Spitoon poetry magazine says the postponement is a genuine shame because it has become a staple over the past 10 years. [It's] been instrumental in forging a strengthening bond between the Chinese literary scene and the wider world," Warren said.

Steven Schwankert, longtime Beijinger editor and contributor and author of Poseidon: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine, and who has given numerous book talks and moderated panel discussions at the venue, says he’s heartbroken about the postponement. "The festival is certainly a highlight of the cultural calendar here in Beijing," he said. "I am sure that the [Bookworm’s] team has very good reasons for the schedule change, whatever they may be. But it is certainly yet another step back for Beijing as an international hub of culture, especially literature.”

Indeed the festival has been long heralded as the city's can't-miss literary event. Past highlights included last year's talk with North Korean memoirist Hyeonseo Lee and a panel discussion about women's rights around the world, a Q&A with with Pulitzer Prize nominee Chang-Rae Lee in 2015, and many more.

One can only hope that other members of the literary community soon come together to help revive the festival, so that a compelling new lineup of guests can be set up to no doubt rival those of years past.

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @MulKyle

Photo: Blangua, the Beijinger