The London Book Fair welcomes the world's biggest publishing industry next week, with 21 writers and more than 180 publishers making the trip from China to Earls Court. But some writers and activists argue that organisers have become too close to the Chinese regime, making life more difficult for writers struggling under the threat of intimidation, harrassment and arrest. We track down writers, translators and activists at a conference organised by English PEN to find out what life is really like for authors living in China today, and whether western book fairs need to exercise a little more caution when they link up with regimes where freedom of speech is under pressure.
Plus we talk to Jonathan Fenby, author of a new book about China, and the Guardian's Beijing correspondent Tania Branigan about how accurate a picture the European commentariat have given us of the complexities of one of the world's largest, and most diverse, states.
Reading list
Tiger Head Snake Tails by Jonathan Fenby (Simon & Schuster)
China Stories: five short stories by new Chinese writers, as featured in the Guardian's China week
