The “2022 Kaohsiung Reading Festival”, with 90 bookstores and publishers from all over the country and 80 authors joining together, saw an influx of 10,000 people in the first two days of its opening, with more than 1,500 participants in the seminars. The “Harbor Book Fair”, which gathered more than 50 publishers in two weeks, including Hsinex International Corp., Sanmin, the Independent Publishers Association of Taiwan, Avanguard Publishing House, Taiwan Interminds Publishing Inc./Starmoon, and 18 local bookstores in Kaohsiung. More than 20 Kaohsiung local authors, such as Ren Ming-xin, Yang Chia-hsien, Hsia Hsia, Cheng Chiung-ming, Peng Ruijin and Li Zhi-chiang will be featured in dozens of lectures on local Kaohsiung, and there will be more than 100 events, including seminars, movies, concerts, bars and bazaars, until Oct. 30. The public will be invited to experience reading events surrounded by books in a venue co-constructed by a library and a bookstore.  

The theme of the “2022 Kaohsiung Reading Festival” features the two-pronged theme of local culture and international vision, and uses reading as the medium to bring together representative publishers, bookstores and workers from local Kaohsiung and other places to talk about the current reading culture in Taiwan. A number of local bookstores are invited to bring the charming reading scenery in the lanes of Kaohsiung, such as “Semi Shigure Books”, “Everyman Bookstore”, “Gifu Bookstore”, “tú-hó culture store”, “Little Tree Book”, “Times/MLD”, “Aichi Books”, and “Mindy & Jees Bookstore” to gather in the “Harbor Book Fair”. 

During the pandemic, Kaohsiung Public Library continued to exchange experiences with international scholars on public libraries, librarians, as well as international authors of picture books and literature through online video. As soon as the pandemic subsided, Kaohsiung Public Library held its first international lecture. The first speaker was Toshikazu Kawaguchi, the author of “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”. The book has sold more than 250,000 copies in Taiwan, and has been translated into 34 languages worldwide, with sales of 1.4 million copies in Japan, 200,000 copies in the UK, and 500,000 copies in Italy! All this was only a “dream” out of Kawaguchi’s reach 6 years ago. On Oct. 2, he shared his story at the main library of Kaohsiung Public Library with the title “Dreaming Forward, Advice to My Past Self”, and unveiled his life trajectory of becoming a comic book artist, a stage director, and a world best-selling novelist. He was also the first international speaker to visit various libraries, bookstores and hotels after the opening of “Kaohsiung Reading Festival: Library on the Left, Bookstore on the Right”. 

The renowned designer Rika Eguchi was also invited to Kaohsiung from Japan to share the inspiration and concept of making creations become real, which shows that “Kaohsiung Reading Festival” is based on local elements and is brought in line with international practice. 

 The phrase “We are a bookstore from Keelung” passed through the ears, and it was a greeting from the bookstall of “Le Hsin Bookstore”. Chen Le-hsin, a graduate of National Tsinghua University, founded Le Hsin Bookstore just one year after graduation, and she enthusiastically talked to the audience about Keelung, which is also a harbor. “Gutta Books & Coffee” sells literature on illness, and the selection of books carries a strong sense of sadness and death. The bookstore wants to use the concept of home care to turn heavy issues, such as labor issues and social care, into a kind of healing power.

Wang Wencui, Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government, said that the reading culture in Kaohsiung is presented in the Kaohsiung Reading Festival this year. A number of Kaohsiung-born cultural workers have been invited to take turns to give a lecture so the speakers include authors of culinary culture, bookstore owners, creative editors, and music groups. In addition, Chen Kun-lun, publisher of the local “Chun-Hui Publish”, which is representative of the history of literary publishing in Taiwan, and Chang Li-hsuan, associate professor of Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature, National Taiwan University, were invited to discuss the development of humanities publishing in Kaohsiung; Cheng Chiung-ming, chairman of “Literary Taiwan” magazine, Professor Peng Ruijin, editor-in- chief of “Literary Taiwan” and the famous director, Li Zhi-chiang, who just won the Kaohsiung Culture and Arts Award this year, would discuss the thinking of Kaohsiung literature of different generations. 

Kaohsiung Reading Festival invites many local writers to share their creations with Kaohsiung people.

Kaohsiung Reading Festival invites many local writers to share their creations with Kaohsiung people.

The “Harbor Book Fair” brings together local bookstores in Kaohsiung.

The Kaohsiung Reading Festival attracts many crowds.

The Kaohsiung Reading Festival attracts many crowds.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi, the author of “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”, held an international lecture at KPL.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi, the author of “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”, held an international lecture at KPL.