Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily

However, one hurdle that publishers have to get past before they can meet the demand for quality products is the bad reputation they have earned themselves.

A book artist, whose pen name is Zaozi, claims that design and layout issues as well as dishonest practices have marred the relationship between artists and publishers.

Zaozi, who participated in the illustration competition during the fair, says: "Sometimes the book design is so bad, I don't even want to let people know that I did the illustrations.

"On other occasions, publishers steal artists' creations. There were times when we found out that our works were published only because our friends happened to come across the books. And of course, you aren't paid for it."

As a result, a large number of independent illustrators in China once turned away from publishers, opting instead to produce their own picture books to sell online. This created a legal gray zone because these publications did not have the State-issued ISBN (international standard book number), which meant that they could not be sold legitimately as published books in China.

The practice, however, did start a new trend where artists would take the initiative rather than the publishers.

Zhao Yufei, a 25-year-old illustrator, is one such artist. She is currently working with Utop Media, a production company that will print her debut publication and acquire the ISBN through collaboration with a State-owned publisher.

Titled 1,301 Planets, Zhao's book is about an astronaut who travels throughout the galaxy and visits 1,301 planets before returning to tell his daughter about his adventures.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn