Cover Mr. Vu Trong Dai: 20-year veteran of leading publishing companies such as Thai Ha Books, Alpha Books, Omega Vietnam, and TIMES. Photo: RABHUU
Mr. Vu Trong Dai: 20-year veteran of leading publishing companies such as Thai Ha Books, Alpha Books, Omega Vietnam, and TIMES. Photo: RABHUU
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With more than 20 years in publishing at Vietnamese book companies, Mr. Vu Trong Dai discusses his industry journey and the future of books in the digital age.
Mr. Vu Trong Dai is a familiar figure in Vietnamese publishing. With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, he has held key roles in multiple prestigious book companies, such as deputy general director of Thai Ha Books, executive director of Alpha Books, director and chairman of the board of directors of Omega Vietnam Books, and co-founder and director of Times Science and Education Publishing.
Born in 1979, he graduated from the Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and was an editor at The Gioi Publishing House. As a translator and author, Vu Trong Dai has published more than 20 works on history, economic history, culture and work skills. In 2014, he won the Vietnam National Book Award.
Besides running TIMES, Mr. Vu Trong Dai is an expert and guest lecturer at the Publishing Department, Academy of Journalism and Communication and the Publishing and Distribution Department, Hanoi University of Culture.
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Above Mr. Vu Trong Dai, co-founder and director of Times Science and Education Publishing. Photo: RABHUU
Mr. Vu Trong Dai, co-founder and director of Times Science and Education Publishing. Photo: RABHUU
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Mr. Vu Trong Dai, could you tell us why you have been involved in the publishing industry for so long?
I am attached to the publishing industry for three reasons: passion, career, and reason for living.
Books have been my passion since I was a child. I grew up with my grandmother, with the scent of betel leaves on my clothes, immersed in the fairy tales she told me. The child who I was at that time longed to read stories by myself, longed to the point of crying because I was illiterate. Perhaps thanks to that, I learnt to read before entering first grade. I learnt to read and then read a lot: by the age of 10, I had read all the children’s books I could find, ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, and started reading adult stories: when I was in 5th grade, I had read several chapter novels such as Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Struggle Between Chu and Han and more. By middle school, I would sometimes not eat, instead hugging Kim Dung’s books and reading them from morning to evening to pay the rental store in time.
Books can also be a career. After graduating from university, I originally intended to become a historian or a teacher. However, the twists and turns of my life led me to my first job, becoming an editor. There was a time when I gave up making books because I had the desire to become a researcher. It took me a year to realise one thing: making books is not just a job, it is a hobby, something that shapes me, my outstanding strength, a passion that is always burning within me. That was when I was 28 years old. Since then, I have been attached to publishing.
Books are also my reason for living. When I was 30, through the books I had written, I realised that books are not only a product ad a repository of knowledge, but books can also change the world. Books can change a person, change their life. Books transform a community, a field, a profession, making them more complete, better, more successful. Books are the basis for intellectual revolutions, such as the Scientific Revolution, which in turn laid the foundation for the first Industrial Revolution.
Books can change a country, a people, helping them become more civilised, rich and powerful. Japan during the Meiji Restoration period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is a typical example: through translating and publishing books on all aspects of Western civilisation, in less than 50 years, from the position of a weak country, they consolidated their independence, caught up with advanced countries and rose to become a powerful country. That is the final reason, beyond both passion and career, that makes me pursue publishing until now.
Above Mr. Vu Trong Dai: “Books are also my reason for living”. Photo: RABHUU
Mr. Vu Trong Dai: “Books are also my reason for living”. Photo: RABHUU
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Founding and operating the Times Science and Education Publishing Company in the context of the current publishing industry, what advantages and disadvantages does a young book company face?
TIMES was born in a unique context. We are living in a volatile world: no economy is safe from imminent crises and geopolitical upheavals, no society is truly stable after the COVID pandemic with its aftershocks sure to last, no education system is unshaken by technological advances that are likely to change traditional teaching and learning methods, and the living environment is gradually deteriorating due to the impact of climate change. The publishing industry is experiencing the above common challenges, and the slowdown is understandable.
But challenges also come with opportunities. TIMES can learn from the successes and failures of many publishing companies both domestically and internationally. TIMES can immediately adapt to the conditions of the new social environment without having to go through an arduous transition process like previously established companies. We choose to respond positively to the current great change of humanity. That way is: Accept the reality of a changing world, while promoting the motivation to improve the living environment, which is the social instinct of humans, through the development and promotion of scientific knowledge.
The knowledge revolutions in history have laid the foundation for the revolutions in human living conditions: the agricultural revolution in ancient times was achieved by the accumulation of social knowledge about farming; the industrial revolution in the Middle Ages was achieved by the accumulation of scientific knowledge. The lesson of the scientific revolution in the 18th century (which was the premise for the first industrial revolution) is that scientific knowledge is widely disseminated without borders through education and books, accumulated and developed by multidisciplinary scientists, and converged to a large extent, giving birth to a scientific revolution.
In an era where machines and artificial intelligence can replace humans in many fields, we must not only accumulate and develop scientific knowledge but also cultivate new ways of thinking for humanity.
The future vision of the 21st century can fit alongside this lesson: in an era where machines and artificial intelligence are capable of replacing humans in many areas of activity, we cannot only accumulate and develop scientific knowledge but also need to build new ways of thinking for humans. We want to provide a system of knowledge, qualities and skills to develop human capabilities for humans. Scientific books update new achievements in social sciences and technology. Books and education strengthen and support the qualities and skills of modern humans, in activities that machines and artificial intelligence cannot replace. We truly want to accompany the lifelong learning needs of Vietnamese people corresponding to the demands of the times.
Finally, although it has only been established for two years, it does not mean that TIMES is a latecomer. The Vietnamese publishing industry, in the context of a developing country, continues to grow and there are still many “gaps” that need to be filled. Over the past decade, the industry’s average growth rate has always been in double digits. In Vietnam, there are about 500 publishing units, but in general, the scale is not large enough and there are no market leaders, either overall or in each market segment. That becomes our opportunity.
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Above Mr. Vu Trong Dai: “We need to distinguish between reading and reading habits”. Photo: RABHUU
Mr. Vu Trong Dai: “We need to distinguish between reading and reading habits”. Photo: RABHUU
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There is no denying that today’s audio-visual media have changed reading habits. Does the technological era create any incentives or obstacles for the publishing industry?
I don’t think so. We need to distinguish between reading and reading habits. Human reading has not changed because reading is one of the basic ways for humans to acquire knowledge. What is changing is the means of reading. We often assume that reading, or books, are associated with paper books, to the point that it has become a prejudice in society: publishing means paper books. This is understandable, because such a reality has continued since at least the 15th century, deeply ingrained in the human mind. However, it is time to redefine the publishing industry: Publishing is providing information to people in many different formats such as paper books, e-books, audiobooks and other forms of information/data storage. The world’s leading dictionaries, such as Oxford and Cambridge, are also revising the definition of publishing in the above direction.
The technology era is expanding the scope and horizon of the publishing industry. From simply paper books, they can now publish more content formats, which means more types of products and more revenue. The driving force and also the biggest obstacle of the publishing industry is themselves: can they change their traditional thinking and way of working associated with paper books or not, can they keep up with current technology trends to apply and create new content products on technology platforms to meet different reading needs or not.
Vietnam’s publishing industry, in the context of a developing country, continues to grow with many “gaps” still to be filled.
As a book publisher, what do you think about the reading trends of readers today?
Look at human history: the later eras are always more efficient, the pace of social life is also faster than the previous eras. This leads to today’s readers wanting to acquire more knowledge to study and work more effectively, and in a shorter time because the pace of life is becoming increasingly urgent. Today’s books, regardless of format, must provide information more concisely and condensed than before, with a high “compression” of knowledge, especially when combined with other forms of content transmission: images, diagrams, tables, audio, and video. A traditional book can cover hundreds of pages to describe the Egyptian Pyramids taking readers months to read, while if combined with pictures and diagrams, it might only cover a few dozen pages and only take a few days to read. We can call this the trend of reading illustrated books. Of course, there are two sides to every coin: this type of book can affect the reader’s imagination—this is also an issue that the education sector is concerned about today.
What role do books play in conveying scientific and technological knowledge to the general public in an easy-to-understand and quick way in the current information age, when everything can become “outdated” very quickly?
Books are one of the main ways to provide systematic and reliable information and knowledge to readers. Scientific knowledge comes in many forms and each publisher chooses a different type, with a different way of transmitting it. We have our own choice: to acknowledge that technology is constantly changing, even to the point that for the first time in history, humans cannot keep up with technological progress. Therefore, we are determined to publish books that are comprehensive, valuable, timely and relevant to the times.
How can we make it as clear and efficient as possible? We select authors and works aimed at the general public, avoiding overly academic or technical content. At the same time, we streamline the process and use technology, particularly AI, to accelerate publishing.
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The technological era is expanding the scope and horizons of the publishing industry.
In the age of fake news, where everyone is allowed to discuss any subject regardless of the subject matter, author Tom Nichols calls it “the death of the expert.” Do books still have a role as an authoritative and authoritative source of information for the general public?
The above discussion is actually a good thing. It shows that knowledge has been “democratised” to a certain extent. Remember that modern publishing, associated with the popularisation of printed books, is a great achievement of humanity, when from the middle of the 15th century, it officially eliminated the previous monopoly of knowledge of the nobility and the clergy on the world level and gave access to many social classes. Along with the achievements of education, knowledge has become increasingly “democratised”; easily accessible to the masses.
We need to understand why fake news is so popular. Max Fisher, a veteran journalist for The New York Times, points out that the algorithmic information distribution mechanism of social media platforms has promoted extreme opinions, which in turn leads to extreme actions, with the obvious consequence being division. When people do everything they can to win an argument without relying on science and evidence, then fake news appears.
One cannot discuss anything thoroughly with just a status line on X or a post on Facebook. However, with the consequences of rapid knowledge consumption today, the challenge for authors (experts) as well as publishers is to demonstrate their weighty and responsible voice on social issues by speaking up at the right time, and with independent works that have influence on the masses.
Alongside educational advancements, knowledge is becoming increasingly “democratised” and accessible to the public.
Please give some opinions on the current situation of reading culture in the country.
I have answered this question in several previous interviews. Let me reiterate a few key points. Vietnam does not yet have a reading culture, but only a reading promotion movement. Vietnam has gone through four publishing waves since the 1990s, each wave forming a different reading trend.
After the formation of the reading promotion movement in the past decade of 2010, the promotion of reading needs to go into depth: how to form reading habits in families and schools, from which reading skills can be acquired, and only with reading skills can a system of standards/norms on reading be formed, thereby forming a lifestyle, and finally we can have a reading culture. This is a journey that must go through many generations to form, and can take up to decades. Therefore, do not be hasty but be persistent and tenacious.
Books are a unique product. Nowadays, every product needs communication. In your opinion, how can we promote books to readers in the sea of information that is everywhere every day?
There are three things to remember for effective book marketing, no matter the era:
First, remember that every book is different. No two people are exactly alike. Books are different because they represent different people (authors) at different times, in different contexts and states. So it would be unsuccessful or ineffective to market two books in exactly the same way.
Second, remember to always create new ways of communication. A delicious dish, if eaten for a long time, will eventually get boring. The same goes for book communication. An old book can still be successful, even become a bestseller, with fresh communication, which we can call “old wine in a new bottle”.
Third, remember to take advantage of the trending nature of books. Predicting and promptly capturing trends is an art, and can blow up a book in an instant. Know how to place the book in the right social trend, and the rest is up to the crowd.
With many years of experience in the publishing industry, what direction do you think the publishing industry will shift in the coming time?
The publishing industry will continue to grow in scale, offering a more diverse range of content to meet the needs of various audiences. We can expect deeper differentiation, with publishers focusing on niche markets and specialised genres. Additionally, the industry will increasingly integrate with international markets, embracing global trends and opportunities for collaboration.
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