Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Prize Finalists 2018-2024
宝珀理想国文学奖

About
The Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Prize (宝珀理想国文学奖) is a literary prize to “discover and encourage outstanding young writers under the age of 45.” It was established by Swiss watchmakers Blancpain and The Imaginist literary journal in 2018. The winner receives a cash award of 300,000 RMB and the finalists receive 20,000 RMB. (The translations below are approximate)

2018 (1st year)
Judges: Yan Lianke, Jin Yucheng, Tang Nuo, Xu Zidong and Gao Xiaosong
Finalists:
• WINNER: Wang Zhanhei – Air Canon / 王占黑: 《空响炮》
• Shuang Xuetao – The Aviator / 双雪涛: 《飞行家》
• A Yi – Wake Me Up at Eight A.M. / 阿乙: 《早上九点叫醒我》
• Zhang Yueran – I Came Following the Flames / 张悦然: 《我循着火光而来》
• Shen Dacheng – The Person Who Keeps Coming to Mind / 沈大成: 《屡次想起的人》
• Datouma – Guide to Writing Non-Bestsellers / 大头马: 《不畅销小说写作指南》
• Shuang Chimu – Rooster Prince / 双翅目: 《公鸡王子》
• Wen Zhen – Seven / 文珍: 《柒》
• Ren Xiaowen – The Useless Person, Song (Haoren Song mei yong) / 任晓雯: 《好人宋没用》
• Li Jingrui – Northern Boulevard (Beifang dadao) / 李静睿: 《北方大道》
• Zheng Zhi – Raw Swallowing / 郑执: 《生吞》
• Zhou Jianing – Basic Beauty / 周嘉宁: 《基本美》
• Zhao Song – The Books of Building / 赵松: 《积木书》

2019 (2nd year)
Judges: Dai Jinhua, Huang Ziping, Jia Zhangke, Lu Nei and Zhang Dachun
Finalists:
• WINNER: Huang Yuning – Eight and A Half / 黄昱宁: 《八部半》
• Ban Yu – Winter Swimming / 班宇: 《冬泳》
• Guo Shuai – Stepping Into The Flame At Noon / 郭爽: 《正午时踏进光焰》
• Yang Hao – Black Fiction / 杨好: 《黑色小说》
• Yuan Zi – Walking in Daylight / 远子: 《白日漫游》
• Liu Tianzhao – Creating Something Out of Nothing / 刘天昭: 《无中生有》
• Yulou Qingge – A Petal of the River / 雨楼清歌: 《一瓣河川》
• Yu Song – Homeland / 余松: 《故乡》

2020 (3rd year)
Judges: Su Tong, Sun Ganlu, Xi Chuan, Yang Zhao, Zhang Yadong
Theme: Joining the Ranks of Contemporaries
Finalists:
• WINNER: Xue Songtao - The Hunter / 双雪涛: 《猎人》
• Lin Zhao – for Flowing Streams / 林棹: 《流溪》
• Ren Xiaowen – 21 Chapters of a Floating Life / 任晓雯: 《浮生二十一章》
• Shen Dacheng – The Asteroid Falls in the Afternoon / 沈大成: 《小行星掉在下午》
• Xu Zechen – Stories from the Western Suburbs of Beijing / 徐则臣: 《北京西郊故事集》
• Chen Chongzheng – Meeting Lu Xiaoxue/ 陈崇正: 《遇见陆小雪》
• Chen Si’an – Living Food / 陈思安: 《活食》
• Chun Shu – Teething / 春树: 《乳牙》
• Geng Qingmiao – The Wanderer and His Shadow / 耿庆淼: 《漂泊者及其影子》
• Guo Peiwen – The Quail / 郭沛文: 《鹌鹑》
• Lu Yuan – Childhood Monster / 陆源: 《童年兽》
• Sun Pin – The Shark is In the Centre of the Water / 孙频: 《鲛在水中央》
• Wei Shining – Hunting in the North / 魏市宁: 《北方狩猎》
• Yin Guang – Going up the Mountain / 吟光: 《上山》
• Yuluo Huangyuan - May 14th, A Meteor Shower Fell in Groundhog Town / 雨落荒原: 《5月14日，流星雨降落土拨鼠镇》
• Zhang Lingling – Jealousy / 张玲玲: 《嫉妒》
• Zheng Xiaolu – The Vanished Daughter / 郑小驴: 《消失的女儿》

2021 (4th year)
Judges: Alai, Ge Fei, Jonathan Lee Chung-shan, Liang Hong and MA Ka Fai
Theme: A Long Journey for You
Finalists:
• WINNER: Chen Chuncheng – Submarine of the Night / 陈春成: 《夜晚的潜水艇》
• Sun Pin – In the Name of Birds and Beasts/ 孙频: 《以鸟兽之名》
• Zhang Ji – Southern Goods Store / 张忌: 《南货店》
• Zheng Zhi – Immortalitis / 郑执: 《仙症》
• Zhou Kai – The Detective Novelist’s Book of the Future / 周恺: 《侦探小说家的未来之书》
• Damatou – Nine Stories / 大头马: 《九故事》
• Li Hongwei – A Brief History of Grey Clothes / 李宏伟: 《灰衣简史》
• Li Jingrui – Shen Yu Tang / 李静睿: 《慎余堂》
• Mo Yin – The Star Is In the Abyss / 默音: 《星在深渊中》
• Wang Zhanhei – The Flower Girl / 王占黑: 《小花旦》
• Zhu Fa – Strange Tales of Annam / 朱琺: 《安南怪谭》

2022 (5th year)
Judges: Liang Yong'an, Lin Bai, Liu Zheng, Luo Xiang, and David Der-wei Wang
Finalists:
• WINNER: Lin Zhao – Tide Chart / 林棹: 《潮汐图》
• Guo Shuang – The Moon / 郭爽: 《月球》
• Huo Xiangjie – The Complete Collection of Copper Seats / 霍香结: 《铜座全集》
• Wei Sixiao – Wang Neng Hao / 魏思孝: 《王能好》
• Zhou Yuyang – It’s Raining in Macondo / 周于旸《马孔多在下雨》
• Huang Liqun – The Room by the Sea / 黄丽群: 《海边的房间》
• Li Hongwei – The Guide / 李宏伟: 《引路人》
• San San – Russian Nesting Dolls / 三三: 《俄罗斯套娃》
• Su Fang – In the Ward in the Storm / 苏方: 《暴雨下在病房里》
• Sun Yisheng – The Night Wanderer / 孙一圣: 《夜游神》
• Tang Fei – Odyssey / 糖匪: 《奥德赛博》
• Wang Weilian – Wild Future/ 王威廉: 《野未来》
• Yi Geyan - Zero Degree of Separation / 伊格言: 《零度分离》
• Yu Yishuang – The Ship at Sea / 于一爽: 《船在海上》
• Zhang Tianyi – Like Snow Like Mountains / 张天翼: 《如雪如山》

2023 (6th year)
Judges: Yiyun Li, Ma Boyong, Tang Nuo, Pema Tseden and Ye Zhaoyan
Theme: Stand Up for Complexity
Finalists:
• WINNER: Yang Zhihan – A Ball of Ice / 杨知寒: 《一团坚冰》
• Fei Ying – The Legend of the Dzi Bead / 费滢: 《天珠传奇》
• Ning Buyuan – Milianfen / 宁不远: 《米莲分》
• Shao Dong – Air Guitar / 邵栋: 《空气吉他》
• Wang Ruoxu – Frenzy / 王若虚: 《狂热》
• Bei Kebang – The White Bird Falls Into the Forest / 贝客邦: 《白鸟坠入密林》
• He Rong – The Broken Screw / 何荣: 《断头螺丝》
• Liu An – Why Write Such a Rubbish Novel / 刘按: 《为什么要把小说写得那么烂》
• Liu Niangku / Life Death Float Rest / 刘酿苦: 《生死浮休》
• Su Gengsheng – The Secret Life of Women / 苏更生: 《女人的秘密生活》
• Sun Pin – The Seaside Magician / 孙频: 《海边魔术师》
• Suo nan cai rang – Looking for the Signal / 索南才让: 《找信号》
• Tian rui shuo fu – We Live in Nanjing / 天瑞说符: 《我们生活在南京》
• Zhou You –Qilin / 周游: 《麒麟》

2024 (7th year)
Judges: Joan Chen 陈冲, Lo Yi-chin 骆以军, Shuang Xuetao 双雪涛, Xu Zidong 许子东 and Zhang Dinghao 张定浩
Theme: Where lies the originality in Chinese literature
Finalists:
• WINNER: Wei Sixiao – The Village / 魏思孝: 《土广寸木》
• Da Tou Ma – The King’s Game / 大头马:《国王的游戏》
• Gu Xiang – Good People / 顾湘:《老实好人》
• Tong Mo – People in the Middle of the Land/ 童末:《大地中心的人》
• Zheng Xiaolü – Southern Bach郑小驴:《南方巴赫》

compiled by Helen Wang, 2024