Lit Californication

International best-sellers (i.e. mostly British and American books) are selling briskly in China these days. David Beckham’s autobiography, the Harry Potter books, the Who Moved My Cheese series, etc. all sold in the (hundreds of) thousands. But the downside of these sales is a growing neglect of local authors. The trend is also somewhat harmful to copyright owners: publishers try to cut corners by hiring college students to translate foreign bestsellers, leading to egregious errors.