PVLF 2025

14 Publishers Hold Alternative Book Fair Amid Censorship

Barred from the Hong Kong Book Fair, 14 indie publishers launch their own event to showcase diverse titles and resist growing censorship pressures.
on Jul 15, 2025

14 independent publishers will participate in an alternative book festival this week following some of them being excluded from Hong Kong's official book fair, which begins on Wednesday.

Leticia Wong, proprietor of Hunter Bookstore, stated during a press conference on Sunday that the bookshop would co-organise "Reading Everywhere – Hong Kong Independent Book Fair and Bookstore Festival" on Thursday through to Sunday, in conjunction with other independent bookstores and publishers.

Although the book show will be held at Hunter, there will be a series of discussions on new releases at various bookstores, Wong added.

The participants are Boundary Bookstore, a local bookstore which opened publishing in 2022; One Book Half, a publisher of works on LGBTQ matters; and Bbluesky, a publisher founded in 2000.

The independent book fair has been organized once yearly since 2023, and this year it will have the highest number of exhibitors.

"Being the biggest in scale this year," Wong spoke in Cantonese. "It is likely because [the publishers] became more confident in this event after successfully organizing it for the last two years."

Wong founded the independent book fair in 2023 for the first time and invited publishers who were kept out of the official Hong Kong Book Fair in 2022.

Five publishers participated in 2023, and last year the event had 10 exhibitors.

Hunter Bookstore is not charging the participants, according to Wong. "We want to keep it straightforward, merely offering a space to present titles from various publishers."

The independent book fair did face government scrutiny last year, though. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) made an inspection visit to Hunter the day before opening, stating the department had received a complaint about the use of the bookstore as a premises for public entertainment without a necessary licence.

Wong stated that Hunter Bookstore did not obtain that licence this year. "The book fair is merely selling books from various independent publishers, and that's what we are permitted to do as a bookstore," Wong added.

Based on a survey done by Boundary Bookstore, Hong Kong independent publishers' main channels of distribution are online platforms and independent bookstores.

Eleven Six Workshop publisher Chan Wai-hung told reporters on Sunday that they released books on celebrated novelist Jin Yong, authored by well-known pro-democracy leader Margaret Ng.

Although the books' subjects are not political, Chan explained that two local bookstore chains declined to stock them, with one pointing to "legal worries."

Banned from Hong Kong Book Fair

Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025 will be staged from Wednesday to Tuesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.

Established in 1990, the Hong Kong Book Fair is the city's biggest fair that features a broad spectrum of publishers and books. Yet, it has been accused of "censorship" in recent years, after the implementation of the Beijing-imposed national security law in June 2020.

In 2022, the HKTDC rejected applications from at least three independent publishers, Hillway Press, One of a Kind, and Humming Publishing. They had both published books whose theme was the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest.

In 2024, at least three exhibitors – Boundary Bookstore, Bbluesky, and one that declined to name itself – said the HKTDC requested they pull some titles from the shelves.

This year too, the same three independent local publishers assured HKFP they had been excluded from taking part in the Hong Kong Book Fair 2025.

In reply to HKFP's query regarding book removal, the HKTDC stated on Friday that all exhibitors should follow the Exhibitors' Manual and Rules & Regulations, along with other Hong Kong legislation, such as the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance, and intellectual property laws.