Cultural Mavericks - by Zheng Liu (Paperback)

About the Book

Cultural Mavericks takes readers inside the world of independent bookselling in China, showing how a wide range of figures navigate the challenges of book retailing in the digital age amid rapidly shifting social, political, and economic dynamics.

Book Synopsis

In recent decades, self-proclaimed "independent bookstores" have arisen across China. In the West, such retailers represent an alternative to corporations and chains. In China, by contrast, they differentiate themselves from not only the state-owned Xinhua Bookstore but also other privately owned shops through an emphasis on intellectual independence and the free exchange of ideas.

Cultural Mavericks takes readers inside the world of independent bookselling in China, showing how a wide range of figures navigate the challenges of book retailing in the digital age amid rapidly shifting social, political, and economic dynamics. Drawing on more than a decade of immersive research--including interviews, observations, and extensive documentary analysis--Zheng Liu unveils how these bookstores carve out a unique identity and market position. She develops the concept of "culturally adapted strategy" to explain how independent bookstores--as both dedicated cultural institutions and resilient business enterprises--balance economic imperatives with a deep commitment to intellectual autonomy. Liu challenges the tendency to understand nonstate cultural institutions in China in terms of resistance, arguing that independent bookstores engage with politics as a strategic means of differentiation from the competition.

Richly detailed and compellingly written, Cultural Mavericks sheds new light on the interplay among culture, commerce, and politics in China, offering timely insights into the evolving dynamics of China's book industry and wider cultural economy.

Review Quotes

Cultural Mavericks is an extraordinarily insightful account of a phenomenon largely neglected in the West: the rise of 'independent booksellers' in China. Zheng Liu's richly documented account of the rise of this distinctive form of bookselling and of its broader social and political significance is a cutting-edge work of cultural sociology and a major contribution to understanding the social organization and development of one of the largest book markets in the world.--John B. Thompson, author of Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing

This study of independent bookstores in China makes fascinating reading. Zheng Liu offers valuable insights into the book trade there and the book culture, including the importance of digital engagement by booksellers.--Angus Phillips, coauthor of Inside Book Publishing

About the Author

Zheng Liu is a lecturer in innovation management at the University of Bristol Business School and holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge.