By Andrew Rule, August 4, '25
Last week saw the unveiling of the longlist for this year’s Blancpain-Imaginist Prize 宝珀理想国文学奖, one of China’s most prestigious awards for young writers. The prize has a history of identifying important writers early in their careers, and it has an especially strong track record for short-story writers, so scrolling through the nomination list is a good way to keep on the cutting edge of the Chinese literary fiction market. A few of the nominees have had their work translated into English before. Here’s a quick reading list to get familiar with them while we wait for the winner to be announced this fall.
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By Andrew Rule, July 18, '25
Welcome back to the Cold Window Newsletter! In this issue, the long-delayed return to my series on Chinese internet literature, with a focus on the chaotic sprawl of genres within which online fiction is produced. There’s a lot to say. No author profiles or recommended stories this time, but look forward to a bunch of those in a seasonal special later this summer.
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By Andrew Rule, May 13, '25
Welcome back to the Cold Window Newsletter! In this issue: a first foray into the world of Chinese internet literature, kicking off a column that will be running through several issues of this newsletter throughout 2025; and short fiction from the margins of southern China.
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By Andrew Rule, April 8, '25
Welcome back to the Cold Window Newsletter! In this issue: the Beijing literary collective introducing dozens of Chinese writers to the world, and two novelists from Liaoning you should know.
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By Andrew Rule, March 9, '25
Welcome to the first issue of the Cold Window Newsletter to be published on Paper Republic! This is the (extra-long) first installment of a new monthly collaboration that will be appearing in the Paper Republic feed each month. Read on for an introduction to the newsletter; a round-up of 2024’s most acclaimed Chinese short fiction; and profiles of two of China’s best literary suspense novelists.
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