“Reading the World: Food Culture ．Future Living.”
— Hong Kong Book Fair 2025
ARPress has been actively participating in some of the world’s most prominent international book fairs, from the Bologna Book Fair and the London Book Fair to events in Miami, Beijing, and Sharjah. We’re excited to share that our journey doesn’t stop there. Our latest step forward: participation in the 35th Hong Kong Book Fair 2025. This expansion brings even more opportunities to connect with readers, authors, and publishers on a truly global scale, and we’re just getting started.
The 2025 Hong Kong Book Fair took place from July 16–22 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s theme, “Food Culture · Future Living,” served up a rich menu of tastily themed programming. Culinary literature from around the world was showcased, offering insights into food’s role in traditions, health habits, and even the future of dining through tech innovations. The World of Art & Culture zone elevated the experience, blending interactive art, dynamic videos, music, and literary commentary. Eight artists and several embassy installations illustrated how a dining table can be a cultural microcosm.
One highlight was the collaboration with Macao’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, which brought a “Macao Craft Market” to the fair. Around 40 creative brands presented handmade crafts, fashion, and lifestyle pieces that reflect Macao’s unique local identity. Mainland China also had a strong showing, with over 40 publishers and nearly 20,000 titles, including a spotlight on Sichuan’s cultural offerings.
Beyond browsing shelves, visitors immersed themselves in interactive experiences: AR photo booths, needlework demonstrations (such as Sichuan embroidery), panda-themed installations, and a civic education exhibition featuring Cantonese opera, ballet, game booths, and photo corners aimed at promoting awareness.
Book signings and author talks drew enthusiastic crowds. Fans queued to meet popular voices such as Ghost Writer (孤泣) and more. Seminars covered a wide range of topics, featuring international voices like Rie Qudan, Lindsay Varty, and Osamu Okamura, alongside local and regional authors. The fair hosted eight themed lecture series, including future living, local history, youth reading, and mindfulness.
To commemorate its 35th edition, the fair introduced several clever ticketing promotions: free admission for visitors born in 1990, special packages allowing five people to enter for the price of three, and limited-edition tote bags and gifts for shoppers who spent over HK$500. The fair didn’t just showcase booksit offered an immersive cultural feast, blending reading, dining, art, craft, tech, and performance. It was a testament to how a book fair can go beyond the printed page, feeding the mind, the heart, and yes, even future appetites.
Author Luisa Tennant prides herself on being the oldest of 11 children and a second mother to most of them. In her youth, she worked as a camp counselor in Michigan and Wisconsin. One of her roles was helping children balance their camp checkbooks. She was interviewed by Benjie Cole of CBS Radio, where she shared how she became a counselor and worked with amazing kids. She emphasized that working with children is both rewarding and fun. In the interview, she also featured another version of her book, Your Army of Dollars.
You may listen to the full interview here:
In partnership with ARPress, Luisa Tennant held a successful book signing event during the 2025 Los Angeles Festival of Books (LATFOB) at the University of Southern California. The 2025 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (LATFOB), held on April 26–27 at the University of Southern California (USC), was a significant cultural event that brought together a diverse array of participants and marked its 30th anniversary with a vibrant celebration of literature, culture, and community. The festival is known for attracting a large crowd each year. For instance, the 2024 festival drew over 150,000 attendees, and the 2025 event featured more than 550 writers, experts, and storytellers, along with hundreds of exhibitors.
Pacific Book Review also recommends the notable book Your Army of Dollars (Coloring Book). Here’s an excerpt from the book review written by Pacific Book Review that highlights its appeal:
“Your Army of Dollars by creator Luisa Tennant is a basic economic educational children’s lesson masquerading as a coloring book. With classic black-and-white line drawings allowing space for kids to fill in with crayons, the analogy of having an ‘Army of Dollars’ empowering children to be the ‘Commander’ of the allocation of funds is a brilliant concept for teaching the fundamental aspects of how to save and spend money.”
The US Review of Books (USRB) also recommends this book.Here’s the review from the USRB that highlights:
“Undoubtedly, Tennant’s storybook helps fill a niche often lacking—that of basic financial literacy aimed specifically for the readership of young children. Some schools are beginning to incorporate such material into curricula, as the author notes. Because of this title’s age-appropriate approach, Tennant’s book itself could play a significant part in creating and imparting such real-world financial savvy to children of all ages. Educators and parents alike have here a helpful tool. And the educational process, vis-à-vis utilization of this title’s material, can be fashioned significantly more engaging in that this work doubles as a coloring book. The accompanying artwork is presented in simple line drawings, with young readers encouraged to color in the pages with creative imagination. The result is an interactive and fun way to learn financial responsibility.”
This book is also available in Dutch, German, and French editions.
Purchase the book, Your Army of Dollars by Luisa Tennant, via this link: