The shortlist for the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2019 was recently announced with nominations in the filed of publishing and bookstores from 26 countries worldwide. Fangsuo Commune from China was nominated for the Bookstore of the Year Award.

The awards, which are launched in partnership with the UK Publishers Association (PA), celebrate publishing success in sixteen categories, representing the best publishing ambassadors, innovative publishing, and ground-breaking initiatives in the industry. Awards will be given to companies and individuals across the world and across sectors, with categories including Bookstore of the Year, Audiobook Publisher, Educational Initiatives, Literary Agent, and Library of the Year. In each award category, the judge panel is made up of experts in that sector.

Xu Min, regional director of Fangsuo Commune in southwest China, said that the bookstore, which is creative and combines reading with life, will make more contributions to help Chengdu become a famous city with the public loving reading in the world, through more diverse and top quality cultural events and activities, as well as by more international platforms for cultural exchanges. And its Fangting Commune, a new store, is expected to open to the public in Chengdu's Jinniu District in the second half of this year.

In Chengdu, bookstores scattered around the city are a major window onto local people's lifestyles, and reflect the city's soft power. The Chengdu International Bookstore Forum 2019 will take place here in September. This year, the grand international event will highlight Chengdu's Tianfu Culture as well as its life aesthetics, in hopes of facilitating the city's efforts to become a world cultural city which focuses on cultural creativity, tourism, sports events, gourmet, music and the MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) industry.