Wang Zhezhu, winner of the inaugural China Bookworm Literary Award

BEIJING – The China Bookworm Press is delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural China Bookworm Literary Award, with the first prize going to 34-year-old Guangzhou native Wang Zhezhu for her novel The Train That Came To Its End.

The runner-up is Li Ziyue with I Am in the Red Chamber, You Are on the Journey to the West, with third prize going to Lin Weipan’s When a Cloud Meets a Sheet of Paper.

Wang Zheshu’s winning submission tells of a doomed train and the passengers onboard – their life stories, their thoughts and feelings, and the different ways they cope with the disaster that awaits them.

In their assessment the jury said Wang was “a keen observer of the inner world of her characters who, in many ways, are representative of present-day Chinese … she paints the many slices of Chinese life with delicate strokes – the mixed emotions and dilemmas of the Chinese people, and ultimately, what it means to live in today’s complex Chinese society. The novel is not only well-crafted, but also exudes the kind of quiet warmth and wisdom that clearly comes from Wang’s sympathy and deep love for her characters. This is a small gem in today’s Chinese literature.”

Wang has previously published a short story collection and a novel, and her work has appeared in the anthology Best Chinese Novellas as well as leading literary journals in China.

The China Bookworm Literary Award was initiated in January 2015 to select a previously unpublished novel by a mainland Chinese writer. Entries for the award came from both published and unpublished writers across the country and covered a broad range of topics and styles. The judging panel for the award was made up of three distinguished literary figures – Guo Xiaolu (A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, I Am China), Karen Ma (Excess Baggage) and Eric Abrahamsen (Pathlight Magazine) – all of whom have worked with both Chinese- and English-language literature, as well as literary translations.

In second place, Li Ziyue’s I Am in the Red Chamber, You are on the Journey to the West, is “a biting satire” about a migrant worker who receives a letter supposedly written by a relative and former Nationalist official promising great fortune. Unfortunately, he loses the letter, which sets forth a series of events that will take him from the city to his hometown and back to the city again. Li’s story is “a critical commentary on the great social divide between rural and urban China and the many social ills such as greed, wanton desire and mercantilism that have plagued much of the society today. This tale has a lot of heart and is a story well worth telling.”

Based in Nanjing, Li Ziyue was born in the ’80s and is a director who has previously published novels, novellas and short stories.

Lin Weipan’s submission When A Cloud Meets A Sheet of Paper is a “refreshing and whimsical” tale about two boys in the countryside, a story that “contains rich language, intense monologues and elements of magical realism and streams of consciousness.” A copywriter from Fujian, Lin has published widely in literary journals in China.

The Bookworm and the China Bookworm Press heartily congratulate the winners of the 2015 Bookworm Literary Award and will publish in English translation the first and second prize novels in early 2016. The three winners will also receive cash prizes of 5,000 RMB, 2,500 RMB and 1,000 RMB, respectively.

北京—老书虫很高兴地公布2015年首届老书虫文学奖最终获奖者名单。获得一等奖的是34岁的广东作家王哲珠的长篇小说《戛然而止的列车》。

获得二等奖和三等奖的作品分别是李子悦的《我在红楼，你在西游》和林为攀的《当一朵云撞见一张纸》。

王哲珠的获奖作品追随一列走向灭亡的火车，讲述了车上乘客的人生故事，他们各自的思想与情感，以及面对等待他们的灾难时的不同表现。

文学奖评委会这样评价王哲珠和她的小说：“王哲珠对她笔下那些代表着当代中国人的人物的内心世界有着极深的洞察力……她用微妙的笔触描绘出中国人生活的一角——人们面临的复杂情感和各种各样的危机，以及生活在当代社会的意义。小说不仅文笔精湛，同时还散发着温暖的关怀和沉静的智慧，这显然都来自王哲珠对她笔下人物深深的爱和同情。这部小说是当代中国文学中一小颗不可多得的宝石。”

王哲珠曾出版过一部文集和一部长篇小说。她的作品入选《2012中国中篇小说年选》，并在《小说月报》等国内多家一流文学报刊发表。

老书虫文学奖于2015年1月创立，该奖每年选出一部中国大陆作家未经发表的长篇小说，翻译成英文并由老书虫出版社出版。本次文学奖的参赛作品来自全国各地，参赛者既有曾出版过作品的专业作家，也有从未出版过的新作家，作品的风格和主题范围极广。文学奖最终评审团由三位杰出的作家和翻译家组成——Guo Xiaolu 郭小橹，《A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers》， 《I Am China》，Karen Ma《Excess Baggage》及 Eric Abrahamsen《路灯》杂志 ——他们中每一位都在中文文学，英文文学和文学翻译上有相当的造诣和丰富的经验。

获得二等奖的是李子悦的作品《我在红楼，你在西游》。这是一部始于一封价值千金的家传信的丢失的“辛辣的讽刺小说”。小说中的主人公不幸遗失了这封信，而在追信的过程中他遇到了各种各样的人和事，从城市回到故乡，又从故乡回到城市。李子悦的小说“是对农村和城市社会阶级分化的批判性评论，同时也揭示了当代社会中普遍蔓延的贪婪，无节制的欲望和商业主义。这是一个发自内心，而且非常有必要讲述的故事。”

李子悦出生于80年代，现居南京，是一位作家和导演。他曾出版过长篇小说，并在各类文学报刊中发表过中篇小说和短篇小说。

获得三等奖的作品《当一朵云撞见一张纸》则是一部关于两个乡村男孩的“令人眼前一亮，天马行空的故事”。小说中饱含“丰富的语言，深刻的对话，以及魔幻现实主义和意识流的元素。”作者林为攀来自福建省，曾在众多文学报刊上发表过作品。

老书虫和旗下出版社热烈祝贺2015年老书虫文学奖的所有获奖者，并将在2016年出版获得一等奖和二等奖的作品。一，二，三等奖作者还将分别获得 5000元，2500元，和1000元人民币的奖励。

About China Bookworm Press
The China Bookworm Press, part of the Bookworm group, was founded in early 2015 as an independent publisher of contemporary writing from and about China.

关于老书虫出版社
老书虫出版社隶属老书虫集团，成立于2015年，专注翻译来自中国和有关中国的当代文学作品。

About The Bookworm
The Bookworm is a bookshop, library, bar/cafe and events space with venues in Beijing, Chengdu and Suzhou. Every March it hosts the Bookworm Literary Festival.

关于老书虫
老书虫集团是一家于2005年于中国北京创立，并相继在成都和苏州开设了独立书店/咖啡吧/活动空间的文学机构。每年三月老书虫主办的老书虫国际文学节是中国最大的双语文化庆典，也是亚洲声望最高的文学节之一。