# Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Prize

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.

## About the Prize

The prize is awarded annually, and is judged by an international panel, including Alai, Yiyun Li, Yan Lianke, Jia Zhangke, Su Tong, David Der-Wei Wang, Xi Chuan. Each year has a different theme. The winner receives a cash award of 300,000 RMB and the finalists receive 20,000 RMB.

## 2018 (1st year)

Theme: No Regrets About Early Works
Judges: Yan Lianke, Jin Yucheng, Tang Nuo, Xu Zidong and Gao Xiaosong
Winner:
* Wang Zhanhei – for Air Canon / 王占黑: 《空响炮》
Finalists:
* Shuang Xuetao – for The Aviator / 双雪涛: 《飞行家》
* A Yi – for Wake Me Up at Eight A.M. / 阿乙: 《早上九点叫醒我》
* Zhang Yueran – for I Came Following the Flames / 张悦然: 《我循着火光而来》
* Shen Dacheng – for The Person Who Keeps Coming to Mind / 沈大成: 《屡次想起的人》
Other Nominees:
* Datouma – for Guide to Writing Non-Bestsellers / 大头马: 《不畅销小说写作指南》
* Shuang Chimu – for Rooster Prince / 双翅目: 《公鸡王子》
* Wen Zhen – for Seven / 文珍: 《柒》
* Ren Xiaowen – for The Useless Person, Song (Haoren Song mei yong) / 任晓雯: 《好人宋没用》
* Li Jingrui – for Northern Boulevard (Beifang dadao) / 李静睿: 《北方大道》
* Zheng Zhi – for Victim in Me / 郑执: 《生吞》
* Zhou Jianing – for Basic Beauty / 周嘉宁: 《基本美》
* Zhao Song – The Books of Building / 赵松: 《积木书》

## 2019 (2nd year)

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

## 2020 (3rd year)

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

## 2021 (4th year)

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

## 2022 (5th year)

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

## 2023 (6th year)

Theme: Stand Up for Complexity
Judges: Yiyun Li, Ma Boyong, Tang Nuo, Pema Tseden and Ye Zhaoyan
Winner:
* Yang Zhihan – for A Ball of Ice / 杨知寒: 《一团坚冰》
Finalists:
* Fei Ying – for The Legend of the Dzi Bead / 费滢: 《天珠传奇》
* Ning Buyuan – for Milianfen / 宁不远: 《米莲分》
* Shao Dong – for Air Guitar / 邵栋: 《空气吉他》
* Wang Ruoxu – for Frenzy / 王若虚: 《狂热》
Other Nominees:
* Bei Kebang – for The White Bird Falls Into the Forest / 贝客邦: 《白鸟坠入密林》
* He Rong – for The Broken Screw / 何荣: 《断头螺丝》
* Liu An – for Why Write Such a Rubbish Novel / 刘按: 《为什么要把小说写得那么烂》
* Liu Niangku - for Rain and Tears / 刘酿苦: 《生死浮休》
* Su Gengsheng – for The Secret Life of Women / 苏更生: 《女人的秘密生活》
* Sun Pin – for 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 – for We Live in Nanjing / 天瑞说符: 《我们生活在南京》
* Zhou You – for Qilin / 周游: 《麒麟》

## 2024 (7th year)

Theme: Where lies the Originality in Chinese Literature?
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
Winner:
* Wei Sixiao - for Soil and Wood / 魏思孝《土广寸木》
Finalists:
* Datouma - for The King's Game / 大头马《国王的游戏》
* Zheng Xiaolu - for Southern Bach / 郑小驴《南方巴赫》
* Gu Xiang - for Good and Honest Person / 顾湘《老实好人》
* Tong Mo - for The Man at the Center of the Earth / 童末《大地中心的人》