The 2025 China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair (CCBF) will be held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre from November 14 to 16, 2025. This year, the highly anticipated Shanghai Visiting International Publishers (SHVIP) Program makes a grand return. Publishers from six countries will gather in Shanghai from November 12 to 16 to participate in a series of in-depth exchange activities. These include visits to renowned local bookstores, attendance at matchmaking meetings, as well as speaking at CCBF's Official Conference and Seminars.
As Asia's first fellowship program exclusively dedicated to children's publishing, SHVIP remains committed to fostering a deep understanding of the Chinese children's book market for international publishers through interactive and friendly engagement. Furthermore, it serves as a vital bridge for CCBF's extensive array of exhibitors to connect face-to-face with the world's leading publishing houses and expand their partnership networks.
Meet the Fellows
Ahmad Redza Bin Ahmad Khairuddin
Chairman
Penerbit Mahir Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)
Ahmad Redza is a distinguished publisher who serves as the Chairman of Penerbit Mahir Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, with his main business in publishing educational books and children’s books as well as general titles. He has been involved in this line of business for more than 20 years. In addition, he holds the position of President of IBBY Malaysia and Chair of IBBY Trust. Penerbit Mahir was established in 1989 and has been operating as a publisher of educational books mainly revision, textbooks for schools, general titles for educational needs of students and teachers. It is also involved in producing children’s activity books and reading materials for kids from toddlers to young adults. The focus on up-to-date content that is parallel to school curriculum and global trends, makes their products well sought after. The products are distributed via more than 300 retail outlets and distributors throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Elodie Bourgeois
Publisher
Editorial Juventud (Spain)
Born in Barcelona in a trilingual environment, Elodie graduated in Hispanic Philology and Modern French Letters at the University of Nanterre (Paris). She began her career at Fragments Editions, specializing in Art and Design. She also worked as a freelance translator, proofreader, and interpreter for different companies and museums (Macba Museum, Tàpies Foundation, among others). In 2000, she joined Editorial Juventud, where she is currently in charge of the children's and youth department. Editorial Juventud is one of the oldest independent Spanish publishing houses, founded in 1923. Specialising in children's literature, it was among the first to translate great classics of world literature. It publishes board books, illustrated albums, non-fiction picture books and comics for young children featuring renowned international authors. In 2017, Editorial Juventud created ¡ALBUM! Association with other children’s publishers which organizes cultural events for children and aims at facilitating access to books to children of all social backgrounds in Spain.
Kato Hiroki
Chairman of the Board
POPLAR Publishing (Japan)
Born in 1982 in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, Kato Hiroki graduated from the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences at WASEDA University in 2005 and joined POPLAR Publishing the same year. Beginning in the children’s book editorial department, he worked on diverse publications, from bridge books to school library titles. His role later expanded to strategic content development, intellectual property initiatives, and overseas business, supporting the company’s growth and international presence. Appointed Director in April 2023, he became Chairman of the Board in January 2024. He now leads overall management and strategy with a strong focus on innovation and advancing the publishing industry. POPLAR Publishing, a leading independent publisher of children's books in Japan, has been in business for more than 70 years. As it started as a children's books publisher, it has always tried to provide children with enjoyable and exciting books, which have sold more than one million copies, including "the Little Mouse" and "Kaiketsu Zoroi". POPLAR Publishing publishes around 500 titles annually, and many of its titles have been licensed to foreign countries.
Meri Melkonyan
Rights & Foreign Rights Manager
Ueberreuter Verlag (Germany)
Meri Melkonyan is in charge of both domestic and international rights across four German-language children’s and young adult publishing imprints: the Berlin-based Ueberreuter and Annette Betz, as well as their parent company G&G and Edition Nilpferd. Before moving into children's book sector, she was in the Rights & Licenses team at Suhrkamp Verlag, Germany´s largest independent publishing house. In addition to her rights management responsibilities, she leads seminars on rights and licensing and provides individual consulting in the field of publishing. Founded in 1946, Ueberreuter Verlag is one of the few independent, medium-sized publishing houses in the German-language book market. Since 2012, its children’s and young adult book program, together with the picture book imprint Annette Betz, has been based in Berlin. Most recently, Ueberreuter has ventured into digital storytelling formats and was awarded the title of Germany’s Best Reading App of the month by German`s Academy of Children and Youth Literature, recognizing its innovative approach to promoting literacy and digital engagement among young readers.
Merete Thime Pharo
Literary Agent, Information Consultant
Saga Literary Agency/Det Norske Samlaget (Norway)
Merete Pharo is an information consultant in Det Norske Samlaget and literary agent in Saga Literary Agency, an in-house agency dedicated to children’s literature and YA. She has worked in the book trading business for several years, both in publishing and bookstore. Merete has a degree in history. Det Norske Samlaget is one of the oldest publishing houses in Norway, still remaining independent. It was established in 1868 dedicated to promoting and publishing literature in New Norwegian and Norwegian dialects. Det Norske Samlaget publishes approximately 100 titles each year, within the genres children’s books, adult fiction, non-fiction and educational books, and is the proud publisher of Nobel Prize laureate Jon Fosse. Samlaget has since its beginning taken pride in publishing high quality literature for children and young people.
Maud Sepult
Group Rights Director
Simon & Schuster (UK)
Currently leading a team of eight, with five nationalities and speaking eight languages, Maud manages the US and translation sales of both adult and children's books from Simon & Schuster UK, Australia (including Affirm Press), and India, in addition to translation rights for illustrated titles from Simon & Schuster US. The team is also responsible for some domestic rights and permissions. One of the big successes was to beat the Guinness World Record of languages sold before publication with 47 languages sold pre-publication for Skandar. The children lists include pre-school, novelties, picture books, non-fiction, MG and YA. Simon & Schuster Children’s Books is a high performing, dynamic division of a fast-growing and ambitious publisher, and the British Book Awards Children’s Publisher of the Year 2023. It is dedicated to immersing children of all ages in diverse and inclusive reading experiences, encouraging a lifelong love of reading. Little Simon UK, its exciting new pre-school and novelty imprint, is launching in 2026. The list also includes Affirm Press, a Melbourne-based publisher dedicated to publishing great Australian stories, big ideas, and the most engaging local and international authors.
