1980 My literary era

In just half a month, it was a huge test for the reading class to complete the reading of 112 novels and to sort out sufficient reasons for selection and elimination.

Fortunately, the reading class has completed its historical mission as scheduled and is about to be disbanded. However, before disbanding, the reading class still has to complete one last task.

November 1st is the time for the reading class to submit its shortlist to the Yanbing Literature Award jury.

This morning, there was a conference room on the second floor of the Ministry of Rites office building.

The main topic of today's meeting is the book club's report on the selected books to the jury. It is also the first meeting of this year's jury. Most of the judges, reading class members and leaders of the literary association attended.

As deputy director of the jury, Chen Changben introduced the preparations for this year's awards, as well as the work and results of the reading class.

The 112 participating novels were recommended by dozens of units and departments across the country. After thorough study by the reading class, 30 works were finally selected and shortlisted for the final award competition.

When Chen Changben read out a long list of selected works, a buzzing murmur quickly erupted in the conference room.

Because in the list that Chen Changben read, there was a noun that appeared with an unusually high frequency.

"Chinese Literature Society".

Among the 30 shortlisted works, there are actually as many as 10 works with the name of the publishing house as the suffix "Guowenshe".

Such a rare and surprising situation made it difficult for everyone in the audience to suppress their questions and curiosity.

"Deputy Director Chen, there are only 30 selected works in total, and the Chinese Literature Society only has 10 of them. Is this number too exaggerated?"

The first person raised a question, then the second one, and someone else asked: "I remember that in the list received by the selection office at that time, there were only 10 works submitted by the Chinese Literature Society. In other words, after After studying in the reading class, did these 10 works all meet the selection criteria?"

Chen Changben felt a little helpless. He had already expected such a scene when the reading class handed him the list of candidates.

“This situation is indeed quite bizarre, and it is the first time in the selection history of our Yanbing Literature Award.

However, I would like to ask everyone to believe in the professional vision and professional ethics of our reading class. Each of them is serious and responsible for the selection work and will do their best not to omit any important works.

These selected works can all stand the test of time and readers. "

After Chen Changben finished explaining, the discussion in the conference room still did not stop.

There are 30 shortlisted works, and one publishing house owns 10 of them. This ratio is too exaggerated.

Even if everyone recognizes the quality of these works, it is very likely that unfairness will occur if one company dominates the awarding process.

Discussions continued in the conference room, and Cheng Jiangong raised his hand.

He is a member of the reading class and a member of the jury, and has a certain say in the preliminary selection stage.

The person presiding over the meeting was Zhai Taifeng, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, who is also the secretary of Group D of the Cultural Association. "Comrade Jiangong, what are your opinions?"

Zhai Taifeng spoke, and the discussion in the conference room fell silent.

Cheng Jiangong cleared his throat and said: "As for the fact that all 10 works submitted by the Chinese Literature Society have been included in the shortlist, I would like to share the views of our reading class.

Our reading class is a peripheral organization of the jury, responsible for the preliminary selection of 112 novels. To put it bluntly, it is to check for the seniors of the jury.

In the process of studying the works, our standard is not to select only one from a hundred, but to delineate a range and retain all the works above the standard for more detailed and strict selection by the senior judges.

Their standards are few but precise and must be the most appropriate.

Both sides have different starting points for considering the problem, but I can responsibly say that these 30 shortlisted works are all good works that our reading class unanimously recognized.

Some people say that the Chinese Literature Society has many selected titles, and some say that all the titles they submitted have been shortlisted. I don’t deny this.

But everyone should take a look at which works they have shortlisted.

"White Deer Plain", "The Dust Has Settled", "Emperor Yongzheng", "The Autumn of Turmoil", "War and People"...

Each of the 10 works is a well-received work. The average level of the bibliography submitted by the Chinese Literature Society is much higher than that of other units. This is an indisputable fact, and we must admit it. at this point.

Not mentioning these 10 works, I don’t know if you have heard of it. In fact, the list to be submitted by the Chinese Literature Society was 22 works, but Lin Weimin rejected 12 works.

Which works were deposed?

"Eight Miles of Love and Enmity", "Alive", "Love Life", "Hometown and the World of Yellow Flowers"..."

Cheng Jiangong counted the names that Lin Weimin had crossed off the list one by one. Every work was a masterpiece with good reputation, but even so, they were not even qualified to submit it.

Listening to those names, the slightly aggressive atmosphere in the conference room gradually calmed down.

We are all people in the literary circle. Frankly speaking, these works that were dismissed by Lin Weimin are not up to the standard of submission?

Of course it can be achieved!

But why didn't they even get the qualification to submit?

Isn’t it because the Chinese Literature Society has so many strong players participating in the selection of this year’s Yan Bing Literature Award?

In previous years, these novels might not only have been submitted, but would have even made it to the end.

But the reality is so cruel. The work is published by Guowenshe, the first publishing house in the field of literature. The manuscript fee is high and it is glorious to speak out. The writers also have to bear the result of too fierce internal competition during the award evaluation.

"Okay, that's all I have to say. There are definitely some shortcomings in the work of our reading class. Please understand."

Cheng Jiangong finished his speech, and Chen Changben observed the reactions of everyone in the conference room.

At this time, Zhai Taifeng said: "The quality of the works submitted by the Chinese Literature Society is outstanding, and it is understandable that there are many works on the shortlist. The purpose set by Mr. Ba for the jury is: It is better to be deficient than excessive, not to take care of, and not to make do with things. Everything starts from the works. Since there is no problem with the standard, it is appropriate to be selected.”

He was the top leader present and made the final decision. There was no need to discuss the selection criteria further.

The meeting continued, and the next thing to be discussed was the "Award Plan for the Fourth Yanbing Literature Award."

Regarding the first meeting of the Yanbing Literary Award and the news that all 10 works submitted by the Chinese Literature Society were shortlisted, within a few days after the meeting, it became the focus of heated discussions in the domestic literary and publishing circles. .

The Yanbing Literature Award is in its fifteenth year since its establishment.

After three awards, no matter how controversial the results are, the influence is truly the first domestic literary award.

As the highest palace in the domestic literary world, the Chinese Literature Society has played a significant role in the previous awards process, and can be said to be the biggest winner in the awards.

Counting the first three awards, a total of 16 award-winning works were awarded, 9 of which were owned by Guowenshe alone.

Wei Wei's "The East", Mo Yingfeng's "The General's Song", Zhang Jie's "Heavy Wings", Lu Yao's "The Ordinary World" and Lin Weimin's "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Horse Trapper"...

Such outstanding achievements have made the Chinese Literature Society famous. Now that the fourth Yanbing Literature Award has just begun, it has been reported that the Chinese Literature Society exclusively owns 10 of the 30 selected works. This has attracted many local literary associations, cultural departments, and publishing houses in the country. Institutions and large publications wailed.

Doesn't this allow people to live?

The quality of the works of the Chinese Literature Society has always represented the highest achievement in the domestic literary world.

Over the decades, the literary world and domestic readers have adapted.

But this year’s Chinese Literature Society is really abnormally powerful.

To put it bluntly, the other 20 works are not at all of the same weight as the leading work among the 10 shortlisted works by the Chinese Literature Society.

Don't look at the fact that 10/30 is not higher than the 9/16 that won previous awards. In the past, the upper limit was high. The Chinese Literature Society may only have four or five films that have a chance to compete for the final spot.

But this time, the Chinese Literature Society has set a higher limit. Among the 10 works, any one of them is worthy of the Yanbing Literary Award.

Even if the jury doesn't want to be the dominant one, the works at the top are all works from the Chinese Literature Society. Do you dare to depose them all at once?

Why did they forcefully take away the award that was within easy reach of Lin Weimin last time?

Isn’t it because he has won two consecutive terms? Isn’t it because the Chinese Literature Society has been at the top for several sessions?

Good thing now, they are making a comeback, and their momentum is even more ferocious than the previous ones, which can be said to be unrivaled.

The most frightening thing is that these 10 works were actually selected by others.

So damn irritating!

Whether you are lamenting or angry, the 30 shortlisted works have been confirmed. Now local literary associations, cultural departments, publishing institutions and large publications can only accept the reality that their skills are inferior to others, and they can only pray that the Chinese Literature Society will not take all the award places in the end.

What is more troublesome than local literary associations, cultural departments, publishing organizations and large publications is actually the jury.

Once any award is dominated by one company, it is not a good thing for the award.

The works of this session of the Chinese Literature Society are so powerful that it is not easy for them to strike a balance.

The most terrifying situation is that the Chinese Literature Society takes all the award places. If that happens, the Yanbing Literature Award might as well be called the National Literature Award.

After receiving the shortlist, the Yanbing Literature Award jury has fallen into unprecedented passivity.

In November, the temperature in Yanjing dropped sharply, and winter seemed to have entered overnight.

Going to work in the morning, a cup of tea, newspapers and conversation are the beginning of a good job.

In the editorial office of "Contemporary", almost everyone has arrived.

Over the years, people have come and gone, and there are a few new faces in the editorial office.

There has been a lot of news about the Yan Bing Literary Award in the past few days, and the discussion in the Chinese Literature Society is also very lively.

"The jury is feeling uncomfortable now!"

Zhu Changsheng just talked about the Yanbing Literature Award, and Yang Xinlan's tone was a bit gloating.

"Xiao Yang, the jury is in trouble, why are you so happy?" Zhu Changsheng asked.

Yang Xinlan said: "Who asked them to mess up the editor-in-chief's honor of winning three consecutive championships with Huang? He always likes to strike a balance, will he be punished this time? Let's see what they do!"

She still felt uneasy as she spoke, and added: "We should really ask the editor-in-chief to apply for all 22 works, and then take up a few more places. Let's see what they will do then."

When the colleagues heard this, they couldn't help but smile a little narrowly.

"You, it's really not a big deal to watch the excitement."

Zou Changyi said: "There are many applications, but it is not necessarily true that so many will be selected. I think the editor-in-chief's move is very good. He directly submits the highest-quality works and leaves them with nothing to do. If you really want to do the same thing as the previous one, Everyone can see things like that clearly at a glance.”

Yang Xinlan smiled and said: "Yes, yes, why didn't I think of it? Don't tell me, maybe the editor-in-chief really thinks so. This is a really good move!"

Everyone was laughing and chatting about the news about the Yan Bing Literature Award. At this time, Haiyan suddenly walked into the office.

"Hey, Mr. Hai is here!"

Haiyan's debut novel "Plain Clothes Police" was published through "Contemporary", and everyone knows it.

Although we haven't had much contact over the years, we have met quite a lot, especially after he was poached by Lin Weimin to become the general manager of Wencheng Film and Television, and he became a member of the Chinese Literature Society.

He laughed and chatted with everyone for a while, and Yao Shuzhi asked: "How come you, a busy person, have time to come to the editorial office?"

Haiyan said: "I'm going to the Copyright Operations Department to do something."

"When will the TV series your company is busy with be broadcast? My daughter is still waiting to watch the TV series!" Yao Shuzhi asked.

Haiyan knew that she was talking about "Flower Season and Rainy Season" and responded with a smile: "Right away, right away, in more than a month, it has been confirmed to be broadcast on CCTV. It will be a great movie to start the new year."

"I would say your propaganda method is too bad. You coaxed my daughter into buying a bunch of magazines, and she cut out the photos of the young actors and glued them together." Yao Shuzhi said angrily.

Haiyan was a little embarrassed when he heard this. Idol stars are indeed too lethal to children!