A total of five full novels, nine shorter novels, six plays and four radio dramas have come to the attention of judges in the preliminary selection of this year's Lao She Literary Award.
Lu Haocai, deputy chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literature and Art Circle, announced the selections on Wednesday.
Long novels include Blank written by Zhang Jie, The Veiled City by Ningken and The Confession of Noon by Qiu Huadong.
One of the most eye-catching works among the shorter novels is The Empty Mirror by Wan Fang.
The book was turned into a successful TV serial earlier this year and was especially liked by urban viewers, especially in north China.
A group of literary experts will reread the works over the next two months and select overall winners.
The final result will be announced in October.
This is the second time that the Lao She Award, scheduled to be held every two years, is going to be issued.
The event, which was established only two years ago, is still unknown to many people.
Compared with other awards in China, such as the Mao Dun and Lu Xun literary awards, it is somewhat inferior in terms of influence and size.
Li Qing, secretary-general of Beijing Writers' Association, said only works by Beijing authors or those published on a local periodical can qualify for the award.
"Maybe in the long term we will change it into a national literary award," Li said.
(China Daily August 12, 2002)
