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n terms of the creation of literature, both critics and publishers can agree that 2017 was a busy year, and one also filled with achievements, judging by the number and quality of literary works published in journals and as individual titles.

“Realism continues to be a trend, and writers are concerned mostly about issues regarding social reality and people’s livelihoods,” one industry insider says.

Like other end-of-year book lists and literary awards, the 2017 Wang Zengqi Award for Chinese Stories tries to offer insight into the bigger picture behind China’s contemporarywriting scene.

The award was announced in Beijing on Dec 28 shortly after the judges’ final meeting to vote on the results, as “a way to maintain its fairness and integrity” as deputy head of the judging committee Wang Gan says. Wang represents the committee that includes established writer Su Tong, literary critic with Beijing Normal University Zhang Qinghua, and other magazine editors and bookstore managers.

It honors works in four categories: novels, novellas, short stories and mini stories. Candidates are chosen mainly from a larger body of works published in literary journals and magazines over the course of the year.

The winners included Mo Yan in the short story category, Zhao Benfu for his novel, Wang Anyi and Zhang Yueran for their novellas, and several younger or lesser-known writers from a wide range of age groups, Wang says.

Cai Zhongfeng’s shortlisted mini story that was just 778 words caught the attention of the judges for the possible 50,000 yuan ($7,700) prize.