On the morning of August 21, the department held a conference to review publishing and distribution activities in the first half of 2026 and outline key tasks and solutions for the second half.
Attendees included Le Van Minh, Standing Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee's Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission; Dinh Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Head of the commission; Assoc. Prof. Pham Minh Tuan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Review and Chairman of the Vietnam Publishers Association; Nguyen Nguyen, Director of the Authority of Publication, Printing, and Distribution under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Vice Chairman of the Publishers Association of Vietnam; and journalist Tran Trong Dung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association in charge of the Southern region.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, total revenue generated by the publishing and distribution sector reached nearly VND3 trillion in the first six months of the year.
During the period, Tre Publishing House and Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House published 780 book titles, totaling nearly 1.9 million copies, along with 600,000 copies of other publications, generating combined revenue of VND88.684 billion.
The city's publication distribution sector sold more than 50 million book copies. Fahasa and Phuong Nam Bookstore posted notable revenues of more than VND2.121 trillion and over VND312 billion, respectively. Total revenue at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street exceeded VND32.2 billion.
Regarding the development of reading culture, the city has organized various activities since the beginning of the year. The "Apartment Book Fair" model was successfully piloted in Cat Lai Ward and subsequently expanded to other localities, providing a basis for developing a framework model to promote reading. The sixth Ho Chi Minh City Children's Book Fair in 2026 featured more than 150 activities, held from central locations to rental housing areas and hospitals.
Despite these results, participants at the conference pointed to several remaining issues, including a significant gap in access to reading culture between urban and suburban areas; inadequate investment in technology applications and management tools on e-commerce platforms; a limited number of books addressing the struggle against wrongful and hostile views and the prevention and control of corruption and negative practices; and copyright violations and pirated printing, which continue to affect the market.
Publishers Association of Vietnam appoints Nguyen Ngoc Hoi as Vice Chairman
At the conference, the Publishers Association of Vietnam presented a decision appointing Nguyen Ngoc Hoi, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, as Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Publishers Association.
The organizing committee also honored organizations and individuals for outstanding achievements in participating in the 2026 Tet Book Street Festival and the fifth Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day.
