International Rights Selling & the Chinese Publishing Market

This project report is a study of international rights sales for children’s illustrated books, with a special focus on rights sales in China. It uses Tradewind Books, a Vancouver-based small children’s publisher, as its main case study. The opening chapter will provide information about Tradewind’s history and its lasting effects on publishing diversified titles in Canada. Chapter Two will discuss the importance and approaches applied to sell rights internationally and achieve global recognition. Chapter Three will introduce readers to the Chinese publishing industry by discussing opportunities and challenges in the market. In Chapter Four, Tradewind’s rights selling into China through an agency model will be explored, with a close look at local agency Rightol Media. Recommendations and other approaches that Western publishers could use to do business with Chinese publishers will be discussed in Chapter Five.