1980 My literary era

"Childhood Times" magazine office, No. 157, Changshu Road, Shanghai.

"Children's Times" magazine is different from ordinary magazines or publishing houses. It is affiliated to the China Welfare Institute and was founded in 1959. It is the first children's literature publication in China.

Huang Anyi worked here from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, and later she became a full-time writer. Over the years, the staff has changed, and there have been fewer familiar faces and more new ones.

Sister Lu is a veteran employee of the editorial department. She has been here since "Children's Times" was first published. She will retire next year.

Lin Weimin's "Spirited Away" was mailed to the publisher on Tuesday afternoon. Editor-in-chief Qiu Shilong took this matter very seriously. As soon as the registered letter arrived, he handed the manuscript directly to the publisher's young editor Yu Huili for review, and also handed it over to the publisher's young editor Yu Huili for review. Time is allotted.

"Childhood" has been established for many years, and it is not that no great writers have published things here. Many famous writers in the Chinese literary world have published things here, such as Balo, Binglao, etc.

But this time Lin Weimin's situation is different. Needless to say, Lin Weimin's status in the domestic literary world today is that he actually wrote a long fairy tale of 160,000 words.

This is extremely rare for a writer of his level.

The field of children's literature has a somewhat awkward position among the larger literary categories.

Good people don't like to write, but bad people can't.

This has also led to the uneven quality of works in the field of children's literature.

Counting it down, there are actually quite a few classic works at home and abroad, but apart from these works that took hundreds of years to accumulate, there are very few works that are unforgettable for readers and even have an impact on the times.

Nowadays, there are famous writers at home and abroad who have entered this field. Although they wrote this work to celebrate the birth of their daughter, Qiu Shilong naturally did not dare to take it lightly with the name of the person and the shadow of the tree.

Yu Huili graduated from college in her early thirties and worked as an editor at Children's Times. Although she has six or seven years of work experience, she can only be a first-review editor in the face of Sister Lu's seniority. She and Sister Lu They are in a group, and Sister Lu is responsible for the review.

After spending two days reading the manuscript given to him by the editor-in-chief, Yu Huili couldn't hide her excitement, and her heart was filled with wonder.

She had read a lot of Lin Weimin's works and knew about his talent in literary creation and the variety of his creative styles. However, Yu Huili never dreamed that he was so talented even in the creation of children's literature.

"Spirited Away".

Yu Huili couldn't help but turn the manuscript to the first page and stared at the title on the first page. It was really a rare treat.

There is pure childlike innocence, fantastic adventure, magnificent imagination, touching emotions, and the style of the times...

Yu Huili recalled all the children's literature works she had read in her editing career, including many classic works at home and abroad, but this was the first time she had seen works like "Spirited Away".

It covers almost all the elements that a children's book can cover. It is rich in content, colorful, full of emotion, and closely related to the present. Whether it is in terms of storyline, character creation, or other aspects, Yu Huili can't find any fault in it. Something wrong.

Yu Huili feels that this is not only a very suitable work for children to read, but also suitable for readers of all ages.

The extraordinary creative quality has made this work break away from the category of children's literature and have broader literary significance and ideological connotation.

Yu Huili even thinks that the work of "Spirited Away" should be worthy of a Yanbing Literature Award.

In addition to the quality of the work itself, it is also because such outstanding children's literature is so rare in the domestic literary world.

After being amazed, Yu Huili handed the manuscript of "Spirited Away" to Sister Lu.

"I have finished reviewing Teacher Lu's manuscript, please take a look."

Sister Lu took a careful look at the review comments written by Yu Huili. She saw more than two thousand words written on five pieces of manuscript paper. This is extremely rare for editors who review dozens of works every day.

If everyone followed this standard, it would not be possible to review several manuscripts in a month.

"Aw! Xiao Yu, you have written this opinion too carefully, haven't you? Is this manuscript really that good?" Sister Lu wore reading glasses and looked left and right. If this novel is really as praised by Yu Huili, Like, that is simply a big gift to "Children's Age"!

"Okay, won't you know it after you take a look? Anyway, I have been an editor for so many years, and the manuscripts I have handled are not 100 million words, but 80 million words. The quality of this manuscript is even compared to those well-known classics. The works are no less impressive.”

Sister Lu smiled and said: "Then I want to take a closer look to see if it is as good as you said!"

Yu Huili had a reserved and confident smile on her face. She was not confident in her own vision, but in the work "Spirited Away".

She can responsibly say that with this work, the Chinese literary world has gained a classic fairy tale, which will surely become an unforgettable childhood memory for countless children.

A few days later, Lin Weimin received a call from Qiu Shilong.

"Teacher Lin, oh, Teacher Lin, you really gave us a great gift in "Children's Age"!"

During the phone call, Qiu Shilong's tone could not conceal his excitement.

The manuscript of "Spirited Away" was sent to him after preliminary review and review by two editors. As the editor-in-chief, he needs to make the final review of the manuscript.

Although he had long had confidence in the work sent by Lin Weimin, Qiu Shilong was still shocked after seeing the review comments of his two editors.

Both of them wrote more than a thousand words of review comments, of which only a very small paragraph was a real "opinion". The rest were all praises for "Spirited Away".

Under the pen of the two editors, the novel "Spirited Away" has become a rare classic children's literature work in the domestic literary world. Looking at the field of international children's literature in the past 20 to 30 years, it is difficult to find a rival.

Qiu Shilong was confident in the professionalism of his editors. The two praised the work so highly that he couldn't wait to read it.

After reading the novel, Qiu Shilong's heart was filled with ups and downs, and he couldn't calm down for a long time. He thought for a long time, and the contents of the two review comments passed through his mind.

There are only four words in my heart: Well deserved.

"Oh, Teacher Lin, I really don't know what to say. I only knew that your novels were good and varied in style, but I didn't expect that you would make extraordinary achievements in the field of children's literature by just trying your hand at it. It's really amazing!"

Faced with Qiu Shilong's high praise, Lin Weimin said a few words of humility.

After Qiu Shilong praised him, his mood calmed down, and he said with a bit of embarrassment, "Teacher Lin, there is something I need to tell you."

"You say."

"It stands to reason that for a masterpiece like yours, it is natural to publish it in one issue. Unfortunately, our publication has limited space, so it can only be serialized..."

Lin Weimin smiled and said: "Hey! What do I think? Since the manuscript has been handed over to you, it is naturally up to you to decide how to publish it."

His easygoingness made Qiu Shilong relax, and he brought up something that he thought might make Lin Weimin more embarrassed.

"Another thing is that our publication is a publication under the Welfare Association, and the remuneration is really not comparable to the standard of your previous published works. Look at 1000 words four..."

Before Qiu Shilong could finish speaking, Lin Weimin interrupted him, "Forget the royalties, this novel will be treated as a Children's Day gift to children all over the country. If your magazine is serious, you can use the money you saved. Let’s donate some publications to rural primary schools with a share of the manuscript fee.”

Qiu Shilong didn't expect that Lin Weimin would be so generous in his work that he would waive the royalties. For a moment, he didn't know what to say to express his gratitude.

Moreover, the manuscript fees are converted into magazines and donated directly to rural primary schools, which will not only bring the joy of reading to rural children, but also broaden their horizons.

With his ideological consciousness, it is no wonder that he became the editor-in-chief of the Chinese Literature Society at a young age. Qiu Shilong's heart was filled with admiration and admiration for Lin Weimin.

"No problem, then I'll do as you say. One thousand words... sixty yuan, which is exactly 10,000 yuan in royalties. All of these royalties will be used to purchase magazines at our cost price. After the purchase is completed, they will be donated to hope primary schools in various places. , what do you think?"

Qiu Shilong temporarily raised the standard for manuscript fees by twenty yuan per thousand words. Teacher Lin is so generous in his work, and their children's society cannot be too stingy.

They can be stingy when calculating manuscript fees with writers, but they must be more generous when engaging in charity welfare. Who wants them to carry the golden sign of "China Welfare Association" on their heads?

Moreover, he also knew that Lin Weimin was enthusiastic about charity. The China Youth Education Development Foundation and Project Hope were founded due to his initiative and generous donation. Donating all purchased magazines to Hope Primary School was a return favor.

"Editor Qiu is very thoughtful!" Lin Weimin praised.

"We are just being generous to others. The real kindness comes from you."

Everyone carried the sedan chair. Lin Weimin liked to do good deeds, and Qiu Shilong was happy to cooperate. Both parties were very happy.

Qiu Shilong and Lin Weimin also talked about the release date of "Spirited Away". Children's Day happens to be next month, so Qiu Shilong plans to join the team for "Spirited Away" and start serializing it in June. It is expected to be serialized. Eight issues, each issue contains about 20,000 words.

"It's all up to your arrangements." Lin Weimin said happily.

Qiu Shilong communicated in advance and gave Lin Weimin enough respect, so he naturally knew how to advance and retreat.

After communicating about the publication, Qiu Shilong hung up the phone with Lin Weimin, and then made a special call to Huang Anyi.

The reason why "Spirited Away" was selected for "Children's Age" was entirely because Lin Weimin and Huang Anyi were acquaintances. Otherwise, "Children's Literature" would be in Yanjing, and where would it be to get "Children's Age".

"An Yi, thank you so much this time for thinking of our club."

Huang Anyi was a little flattered by Qiu Shilong's solemn thanks. He just recommended a manuscript, so that's not the case, right?

"Editor Qiu, you are so kind. Children's Times is my first job, and it is also the place where I started my literary career. I am very happy to be able to contribute my own small amount to the development of our publication."

"Okay, okay, An Yi, you are really thoughtful. The company has really accepted your favor this time. If you need anything in the future, just give me a call."

Qiu Shilong said solemnly.

Feeling his sincerity, Huang Anyi said thank you, thinking to herself, Editor Qiu is really a good person.