Recently, Bookdao released the Top 50 ranking for authors in Chinese language based on the media influence data in 2022 on Bookdao’s Book Influence Data Platform. Liang Xiaosheng, the winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, topped the list; Sun Ganlu, a famous writer, ranked second; and Wang Xufeng, the winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, was third on the list.
Top 50 Chinese Authors in Media Impact in 2022
The data used in this ranking comes from the "Book Influence Data Platform" owned by Bookdao. The platform has metadata of nearly 3.6 million titles, including more than 650,000 titles with recommended sources published in the past five years. The platform monitors nearly 4,000 media recommendation sources, 26% of which come from traditional media and their online channels, 8% from libraries, and 66% from other institutions' websites or social media accounts.
The weight assigned to the recommended sources by the platform varies from media to media, and the influence index, which determines the ranking, is the sum of the recommended sources' weights. Different media sources have different weights depending on their authoritativeness, the number of followers and reading volume, as well as the frequency of content updates, etc. Therefore, a book with a higher number of recommended sources doesn’t necessarily mean higher on the ranking list. This ranking is not based on the total number of recommended sources of an author's work, but on the sum of the recommended source weight values of the author's work, i.e., the influence index.
The data of this ranking mainly adopts the influence index of new books, including reprints, published in 2022. Therefore, more books published within 2022 will contribute higher influence index value to the author's ranking. In addition, the variety of books, the established influence of the authors, and the degree of marketing and promotion will have an impact on the influence index. For example, Liang Xiaosheng's novel In the World has been made into plays, television as well as books, which has greatly enhanced the author's media impact.
Authors on the top 50 list can be grouped into several categories: 16 authors in social science and humanities, whose new works published in 2022 include biographies, prose essays, humanistic reflections, social observations, etc., such as Ten Concepts of Traditional Chinese Culture by Mao Dun Literature Prize winner Wang Meng , and Love Stories of Shanghai by Lu Xun Literature Prize winner Pan Xiangli; 15 authors in literary fiction, most of whom have published their latest works in 2022, such as Wang Shuo's Outset (Annals), Ge Liang's Food is Heaven, Wang Anyi's From All Corners of the Country, Ye Zhaoyan's Road to Father, Ma Boyong's The Litchi Road, The Physicians, and Cai Chongda's Fate; 8 authors in social science and history, such as history professor Luo Xin of Peking University, history professor Ge Zhaoguang of Fudan University, history professor Ge Jianxiong of Fudan University, and Shi Nianhai, the founder and pioneer of Chinese historical geography; 5 authors in the children's books, including Xu Guixiang, the winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, who published his children's literature for the first time; and three authors each in art and lifestyle.
The categories pattern above shows humanities, novels and history are the most popular genres for readers possibly due to their low thresholds in education level and consumption. On the contrary, categories with strong marketing momentum, such as finance and economics, are difficult to show an outbreak of social media influence.
In addition, the authors on the list show several other characteristics.
First, award-winning authors have become regulars on the media influence list. Such as the Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan, the Mao Dun Literature Prize winner Wang Meng, Liang Xiaosheng, Xu Guixiang, Wang Anyi, Wang Xufeng, and Ge Liang, the Lu Xun Literature Award winner Shi Yifeng, Feng Jicai, Pan Xiangli, Ye Mi, Wang Anyi, and Li Fang, the winner of Chinese Biographical Literature Award, Bingxin Prose Award, and Xuchi Report Literature Award Xu Feng, the First Mao Dun Literature New Talent Award winner Fu Xiuying, the National Outstanding Children's Literature Award winner Xue Tao, and winner of the Chinese Literature Media Award Zhao Baitian. The regulars of these major awards have firmly occupied the media's attention while also holding Media influence discourse.
Second, the book selection and recommendation activitieshave enhanced the media influence of authors. For example, Sun Ganlu, Tan Kai, Ji Dongliang, and Yang Zhijun, whose works won the Five-One Project Award, Yu Xiaotian, Chen Qiwen, Wang Meng, Chen Wangheng, and Xu Feng, whose works were selected for the monthly China Good Book List. The works of Zhao Baitian, winner of the Chinese Literature Media Award, were recommended by CCTV's Reading program, Luo Xin's works were selected as Top 10 books of the year by the Shenzhen Book Club, and Ye Mi's new book Growing Up Like a Metamorphosis belongs to a national key book publishing project of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Third, current events and social hotspots effectively amplify the influence of authors and their works. For example, Sun Jingyan’s China's Winter Olympics, Tan Kai’s Chronicle of the Medical Team of West China Hospital against New Corona Pneumonia, Love China All My Life: Isabel Crook’s Stories, Chen Qiwen’s Bloodline, and Ji Dongliang’s new book Notes on Xihaigu. These authors captured the key social topics, such as the Winter Olympics, the fight against pandemics, poverty alleviation, etc., and gained more weighting of the influence of social topics.
Fourth, cross-boundary authors and works have expanded their media influence. For example, Yi Gongzi, a social media influencer with more than 21 million online followers, and the producer and keynote speaker of popular art talk shows and cultural programs, has published Chinese Art History for Dummies and Western Art History for Dummies in the last two years; Liang Yongan, professor of Fudan University and star uploader of Bilibili platform with millions of fans, and his Love Lessons has exploded all over online; 80-year-old female writer Yang Benfen, only published her debut novel in 2020 without any professional writing training, quickly gained social attention through various media. These authors, relying on the influence of social media, have also gained favor in the publishing world.
Fifth, the absence of excellent children's book authors. There are several children-related authors on the list, including Xu Guixiang, who publish his first children's literature in 2022, Yang Zhijun, Yu Xiaotian, and Fan Ye, however, their types of works are not limited to the field of children. Well-known children’s book authors such as Zheng Yuanjie, Yang Hongying, Cao Wenxuan, Shen Shixi, Qin Wenjun, and so on, have little media influence due to the lack of new works published in 2022. At the same time, the strengthened regulation and rectification of the children's book market in 2022 also caused children's book authors to lose their voices in the media.
From the list, we can see that it is no longer only number of books published and book reviews that determine the media impact of authors, but also whether there is the release of film and television works, the spread in social media, whether to seize the hot topics of social events and participate in various types of awards at all levels, etc., all of which may bring positive media influence enhancement to authors and their works. Especially for many new and young authors, to enhance the influence of themselves and their works more rapidly, they must effectively use the various resources and make more attempts.