Hong Kong Book Fair 2015: a hodgepodge of concepts, publishers and distributors
![Panoramic photo of entry way](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EntrywayStalls-800x221.jpg)
Unlike book fairs elsewhere, the Hong Kong Book Fair targets the general public. Instead of a fair where publishing companies to get together to negotiate rights and licenses, the Hong Kong Book Fair is a giant discount-books supermarket, where visitors are encouraged to buy in bulk. Many do by bringing suitcases to the fair.
![Photo of Old Master Q poster](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/OldMasterQPoster-500x418.jpg)
![Photo of a Page One booth with a 90% off sign](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/PageOneBooth-500x497.jpg)
The bulk of the exhibitors are book stores, publishers and distributors. This overlap of distributors and publishers means that many stalls carry the same books, making the shopping experience a confusing one. To draw visitors to their stalls, many exhibitors try to outdo one another with their stall design:
![JointPublishingStall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/JointPublishingStall-500x328.jpg)
![Photo of fake cafe stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CrownCafeStall-453x500.jpg)
![Photo of Chinese University Press stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CUHKstall-474x500.jpg)
![Photo of the Love Tree Gun stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/LoveTreeGun-449x500.jpg)
![Photo of travel books stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/TravelBooksStall-500x458.jpg)
![Photo of political post it board](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/PoliticalPostitBoard-425x500.jpg)
Magazine publishers also turned up to show their wares and to attract new customers:
![Photo of Elle Magazine promo](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ElleMagazineFBPromo-445x500.jpg)
![Barely clothed women magazine stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BarelyClothedWomenMagazine-500x467.jpg)
Other notable exhibitor categories include children and religious books publishers, e-book and stationary companies, and… foreign consulates; these were housed on the second floor, away from the main hall.
![US consulate stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/USconsulatestall-500x472.jpg)
![Staedtler stall](https://www.88-bar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Staedtlerstall-449x500.jpg)
Lastly, I should mention there was also an author of the year stall on the second floor, featuring the life and work of Leo Ou-fan Lee. By the time I got there this year though, I was already too exhausted to want to stay and read about his life.