Embracing the Future.
In 2025, ARPress reached a new milestone by joining the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF), one of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading events dedicated to children’s and young adult content. Held from 14 to 16 November at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, the fair reinforced our mission to champion diverse voices and cross-cultural storytelling. With a history of participating in major global book fairs, ARPress welcomed the opportunity to engage with CCBF’s vibrant international community.
Approved by the Shanghai Press & Publication Administration and organized by major Chinese publishing groups, with Ronbo BolognaFiere Shanghai Ltd. as co-organizer, CCBF has been a cornerstone of global children’s publishing since 2013. Its partnership with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair reflects China’s “going global and bringing in” strategy, promoting international exchange and introducing outstanding global titles to Chinese readers. The 2025 edition hosted around 500 exhibitors from more than 35 countries across its 25,000-square-meter venue, drawing tens of thousands of visitors and showcasing thousands of new titles, artworks, and multimedia projects.
The fair featured two main zones: a Copyright Zone focused on rights trading and a Hybrid Zone blending publishing, marketing, and retail. ARPress was honored to exhibit in the Copyright Zone at Booth 2A17, presenting curated fiction, nonfiction, and poetry collections. CCBF’s renowned programming continued in 2025, with the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition receiving over 15,000 submissions, the Illustrators Survival Corner offering masterclasses and portfolio reviews, the Children Plus – COMICS exhibition highlighting nearly 200 international comic titles, and the expanded Cross-Media Lounge spotlighting innovative global projects.
Across forums and seminars, international experts explored topics such as AI in education, inclusive storytelling, and global reading promotion, further strengthening CCBF’s role as a hub for cultural exchange. For ARPress, participating in this event deepened our connections across the Asia-Pacific region, enabled meaningful engagement with authors and illustrators worldwide, and affirmed our commitment to stories that transcend borders. As we welcomed partners and book lovers to our booth, we left inspired to continue nurturing global collaboration and advancing imaginative, empathetic, and diverse storytelling for young readers.
A few books were only featured in this globally reached book fair. One of the masterpieces featured is Hazardous Pay, Shirt Talk and Twenty-Four Other Stories by Ivan Prashker. Life, in all its unpredictability, is a story worth telling—sometimes funny, sometimes absurd, and often deeply moving. In Hazardous Pay, Shirt Talk and Twenty-Four Other Stories by Ivan Prashker, readers are treated to a masterful collection that captures these contradictions with wit, warmth, and an unflinching eye for truth.
Each story stands on its own, yet together, they form a compelling mosaic of modern human experience, revealing how laughter and reflection often walk hand in hand. Prashker’s collection is rich with characters who linger in the mind—ordinary people navigating the unpredictability of life with grace, humor, and the occasional stumble. His protagonists include those caught in awkward conversations, impossible situations, and moments of self-reckoning that feel universal. From soldiers facing moral dilemmas to everyday dreamers searching for meaning, each story holds up a mirror to our shared humanity.
What makes this collection remarkable is the author’s ability to balance poignancy with levity. Even in stories that tackle loss or frustration, there’s always a spark of humor or hope—a gentle reminder that the human spirit endures, even under “hazardous pay.” The rhythm of Prashker’s prose, his ear for dialogue, and his keen observational style transform these short tales into vivid emotional experiences.
Ivan Prashker writes not only with skill but with empathy. His voice is that of an observer who has lived, laughed, and learned from the world’s contradictions. In every line, readers sense a storyteller who understands the delicate balance between irony and sincerity. His humor is never cruel, his insights never forced. Instead, he invites readers to explore the ordinary moments that make life extraordinary.
Hazardous Pay, Shirt Talk and Twenty-Four Other Stories isn’t just a book—it’s a journey through the complexities of the human condition. Prashker captures fleeting moments that many writers overlook: a conversation at the wrong time, an act of quiet courage, a burst of laughter in the middle of grief. These are stories that reveal how life, no matter how chaotic, always finds its way back to meaning.
For anyone who believes that great literature can be both entertaining and profound, Hazardous Pay, Shirt Talk and Twenty-Four Other Stories is a must-read—a reminder that even amid life’s hazards, laughter and heart are never far behind.
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