From Publishing Perspectives:

Dan Brown's Chinese Publisher, Huang Yuhai, Feels Lucky

By Wen Huang

SHANGHAI: Yesterday, 9-9-09, was an auspicious day for the Chinese, who hold the number nine to be lucky because it sounds the same as the word "longevity."

For 52-year-old Huang Yuhai it was especially good, as it marked the five year anniversary of the launch of his publishing house, Shanghai 99 Reader's Culture Co., Ltd. Huang feels lucky: In just five years, Shanghai 99 has grown from a mere start-up company to one with sales that topped $26 million in 2008.

The company started by publishing domestic writers, but has since become best known for its translations. Last year, Shanghai 99 published 200 titles, 65% of which were translations of the most famous names from the West, including Philip Roth, Paul Auster, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Stephen King and Dan Brown, pic left.

Brown's previous books may not be quite as popular in China as elsewhere, but have each still sold an 100,000 copies in Shanghai 99's Chinese translations - an impressive figure for translated fiction in China. (read on ...)