Rich list shows China's book market trends

Writer Jiang Nan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The wealth writers generate through royalty may not necessarily tell how good their works are, but it's an indicator of the readers' taste.

On Tuesday, the 2016 China Writers Rich List was released by West China Metropolis Daily and Great Star Media, showing fantasy, children's books, chicken-soup-for-the-soul type of books are popular in the country's publishing market.

The list ranks 70 Chinese writers based on their royalty ranging from 32 million yuan ($4.93 million) to as high as 1 million yuan.

Four of top 10 are writers of children's books, while three others are writers of fantasy novels.

Jiang Nan, 38-year-old, known for his Dragon series, takes the crown of "richest Chinese writer in year 2015". He is followed by Leiou Huanxiang (Leon Image), author of bestselling series for younger readers Charlie IX, and king of fairy tales Zheng Yuanjie.

"As time people spend on reading becomes fragmented, I suppose the popularity my works are enjoying simply means there are readers who are keen on quality works and still care about slow and in-depth reading," Jiang said, according to the daily newspaper.

However, the list shows that readers are turning to books that are entertaining or soul soothing, while traditional writers of serious literature are declining or missing from the list.

Acclaimed sci-fi writer Liu Cixin ranks 11 with royalty 10 million yuan in royalty earning in 2015. Yu Hua ranks 35 with 3.6 million yuan. And Mo Yan, China's Nobel laureate, who ranked 13 in 2014, disappeared from the latest list.

"One key point the list tells us is that Chinese readers who buy print books are mostly children and younger people," said Wu Huaiyao, the list's lead researcher.

By linking money to writing, the list has been controversial since it was first released in 2006 and became an annual event.

"We just hope to record the change of reading habits and promote people's awareness," Wu said.

Another list indicating the highest royalty-reaping foreign writers will be released in the following days.

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