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The Bookworm is a China-based literary organization with three bookstores by the same name in Beijing, Chengdu and Suzhou. In addition to selling books, The Bookworm is a restaurant, cafe, event space and library with more than 50,000 English and Chinese titles.〔(Beijing Bookworm ), official website〕 Lonely Planet called it one of the “world’s greatest bookshops.”〔(The world's greatest bookshops ). Lonely Planet. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 Every March since 2007, The Bookworm has organized the Bookworm Literary Festival, billed as "a celebration of literature and ideas" featuring international and Chinese authors.〔(Bookworm Literary Festival ), official website〕 It is one of the largest bilingual cultural festivals in China.〔ibid〕 The Bookworm also manages the China Bookworm Press, launched in 2015, a publishing imprint that seeks to publish contemporary Chinese fiction and non-fiction in translation,〔(China Bookworm Press ), official website〕 and MaLa, an English-language literary journal that is “from and about China” and accepts short fiction, poetry, non-fiction, reviews and photography.〔(MaLa ), official website〕 History The Bookworm was set up in a Beijing courtyard in the Sanlitun area in 2002 by Alexandra Pearson in the venue that is now occupied by The Tree.〔(Bookstore travels from courtyard to main street ). China Daily. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 This was a small lending library with a basic drinks selection. The following year it was forced to move from that location so the books were transferred into the nearby French restaurant Le Petit Gourmand. It was there that The Bookworm’s events program developed.〔(Alex Pearson Reveals the Beginnings of the Bookworm ). City Weekend. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 By 2005 Le Petit Gourmand was scheduled for demolition, and it was then that Pearson joined forces with a small group of friends and investors to find a permanent home for The Bookworm.〔(Bookworm discussion thread ), the Beijinger forum. 9 November 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 The premises on Sanlitun South Street where The Bookworm is currently located was leased in September 2005.〔(How a Beijing bookshop became one of the world’s best ). Toronto Star. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 In 2006 Peter Goff opened the Chengdu branch of The Bookworm, and in 2007 he opened the Suzhou branch.〔(Chengdu Stories: Peter Goff, Bookworm Founder ). Chengdu Living. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕〔(Alex Pearson Reveals the Beginnings of the Bookworm ). City Weekend. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 Pearson served as Group CEO from 2005-2013, during which time Goff had primary responsibility for the Chengdu and Suzhou operations. In 2013 Pearson returned to her home country, the United Kingdom, and Goff took over as Group CEO. As of September 2016, about 3,000 authors have given talks and events at The Bookworm in Beijing.〔(Beijing’s Bookworm: The Go-to Destination for Touring Authors ). Publishing Perspectives. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016〕 The Bookworm Literary Festival The Bookworm Literary Festival is an independently run and privately funded two-week literary festival initiated in March 2007.〔(Bookworm Literary Festival ), official website〕 The general program includes book talks, panel discussions, workshops and performances. Events are primarily held in its venues in Beijing, Chengdu and Suzhou, but also in partner venues and in other cities such as Shanghai, Chongqing and Ningbo. A concurrent children's program features storytelling sessions, illustration and writing workshops, and book talks, while a schools program takes authors into local schools and universities to give talks and other events.〔ibid〕 The 9th Bookworm Literary Festival, held March 13–29, 2015, featured more than 120 authors from nearly two dozen countries, highlighted by Chang-rae Lee, Yasmina Khadra, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Willis Barnstone and Victoria Hislop.〔ibid, (Authors section )〕 There was a special "Spotlight on Canada" that featured Rawi Hage, Madeleine Thien, Kim Thuy, Dennis Bock, Vincent Lam and Douglas Gibson, the longtime editor of Alice Munro.〔(Beijing book fair embraces Canada writers ). China Daily. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 Previous festival attendees have included Dave Eggers, Yu Hua, David Sedaris, Gary Shteyngart, Lionel Shriver, Junot Diaz, Amitav Ghosh, Xiaolu Guo, Benjamin Zephaniah, Yiyun Li, Peter Hessler and Nobel laureate Mo Yan, among others.〔ibid, (About section )〕 In an article in 2011, the Wall Street Journal wrote about the Bookworm Literary Festival: "When Bookworm started, for instance, local expats in Beijing—accustomed to more open societies with better access to books and ideas—found a light in the literary darkness of China... they may not spearheading the kind of movement the Communist Party fears, but they may be sowing the seeds of more vibrant Chinese expression."〔(Beijing by the Book Festival ). Wall Street Journal. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 Goff is the current Bookworm Literary Festival director. Anthony Tao is the coordinator in Beijing, Catherine Platt is the coordinator in Chengdu and Daniel Clutton is the coordinator in Suzhou. The Word Alliance The Bookworm Literary Festival is a founding member of The Word Alliance, a gathering of eight major literary festivals across the world.〔(The Word Alliance ), official website〕 Also in this association are the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Toronto’s International Festival of Authors, New York’s PEN World Voices Festival, India’s Jaipur Literary Festival, the Berlin International Literature Festival, France’s Étonnants-Voyageurs and the Melbourne Writers Festival. The Word Alliance is "a strategic international partnership which supports and showcases the work of writers, facilitates the creation of international literature projects and provides opportunities to enhance each festival’s artistic programme."〔(The Word Alliance ), official website〕 Year-round program The Bookworm’s three venues holds literary, cultural and community events on a regular basis. These include book launches, readings, discussions, storytelling sessions, comedy, workshops, book club and writing group meetings, and musical performances. "The Bookworm is a top choice for book launch parties and monthly gatherings of various special interest groups," Alon Halevy wrote in the book The Infinite Emotions of Coffee.〔Halevy, Alon. (The Infinite Emotions of Coffee ). 8 December 2011〕 Cultural events present a range of local or international culture, while the community events tend to rotate around networking/information events with environmental, civil society or educational themes.〔(Beijing Bookworm ), official website〕 Awards and accolades The Bookworm has received numerous awards, accolades and citations over the years: - #7 on Lonely Planet's list of World's Greatest Bookshops, listed among 10 bookstores that include City Lights Books in San Francisco, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and Daunt Books in London. Lonely Planet said, “The Bookworm does everything a good bookshop should do – which is a lot more than sell books.”〔(The world's greatest bookshops ). Lonely Planet. 16 June 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - #6 of 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world on Pinterest.〔(Best Bookstores in the World ). Pinterest. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - Flavorwire called The Bookworm one of the “20 most beautiful bookstores in the world.”〔(The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World ). Flavorwire. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - #8 of 20 "coolest bookstores in the world," according to the Vancouver Sun.〔Photos: (The 20 coolest bookstores in the world ). Vancouver Sun. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - Skyscanner includes The Bookworm in its list of “22 most beautiful bookshops in the world.”〔(22 most beautiful bookshops in the world ). Skyscanner. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - #6 of 20 "most stunning bookstores in the world" on rediff.〔(20 STUNNING bookstores of the world ). rediff. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - Global Times, a national newspaper in China, called The Bookworm “China's premier English language lending library, bookshop, restaurant and events space.”〔(Browsing China's specialty bookstores ). Global Times. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 - The Toronto Star said The Bookworm was “fast becoming one of the world’s great literary venues.”〔(How a Beijing bookshop became one of the world’s best ). Toronto Star. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 In terms of awards coordinated by local magazines, The Bookworm has won numerous titles in Beijing, Chengdu and Suzhou, including:〔The Bookworm. Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Road, Chao Yang District, Beijing〕 - Best Restaurant - Best Café - Outstanding Place for Business Networking - Best Place to Read/Study/Work - Best Quiz Night Bookshop The Bookworm’s bookshops offer books in both English and Chinese, currently with about 70 percent of the titles being in English.〔(Spirit of Arrival ). Beijing Government official page. Retrieved 30 May 2015〕 It focuses primarily on Asian-interest fiction and non-fiction, literary fiction, travel, cooking, children’s and best-selling/prizewinning fiction and non-fiction from around the world. China Bookworm Press The China Bookworm Press "seeks to publish leading contemporary fiction and non-fiction from China and make it available both in the original Chinese and to a wider international audience in translation."〔(China Bookworm Press ), official website〕 Its annual China Bookworm Literary Award is an open call for unpublished manuscripts by mainland Chinese writers, with the winner getting his or her novel translated and published in English. The first winner will be announced this summer.〔(China Bookworm Literary Award ), official website〕 Flash Europa 28 In conjunction with the EU Delegation to China, The Bookworm ran a project called Flash Europa 28.〔(Flash Europa 28 ), official website〕 Flash Europa 28 is a concept that The Bookworm conceived that aims to showcase European flash fiction and offers free, original, creative content to the Chinese online reader. The project distributes European flash fiction written by young authors from each of the 28 member states of the European Union. Through national competitions five submissions were selected from each EU member state, translated into Chinese, and the 140 stories were distributed free of charge, over a period of 28 weeks to Chinese audiences via multiple social media platforms. As an international EU-China collaborative project, artists from the Beijing Film Academy matched each story with a piece of artwork. These stories have been read more than 4 million times as of October 2016.〔(How the Bookworm chain is helping shape China's literary scene ). South China Morning Post. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2016〕 ==References== External links * (The Bookworm website ) * (Bookworm Literary Festival website ) * (China Bookworm Press website ) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Bookworm (Bookstore)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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