Chinese literature hotter in US

China isn't the only place witnessing an upsurge in interest in Chinese literature following Mo Yan's Nobel Prize win. There's been a surge of interest in the United States. The author's recognition is helping to increase recognition of Chinese fiction after a period in which only a handful of writers have made a major breakthrough into the US market.

In the world's largest collection of books at the Library of Congress in Washington there are 32 million catalogued titles in 470 languages. Literary Americans have always had an interest in discovering new worlds through the pages of a book. But in the US as a whole, the distribution of Chinese authors has been limited to a few major classics. But in the city's much-loved independent bookstore "Politics and Prose" they think they have a new one.

Andrew Getman, floor manager of Politics & Prose Book Store, said, "Well, of course when Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize people suddenly wanted his books and were taken by surprise because this is a secret process by which the Nobel Prize is chosen. And many of his books were suddenly on back-order with the publishers. But we got in big stacks and of course they've sold."

Mo Yan's Nobel Prize success has also increased in interest in other translated Chinese fiction after a long period in which non-fiction has been more popular as Americans have sought to better understand Chinese, economic, social and political life.

Lacey Dunham, marketing director of Politics & Prose Book Store, said, "The Nobel Prize is a really good way for Americans to learn about literature that they might not necessarily gravitate towards."

One of the key barriers to broader exposure has been the limited availability of translated works. And even then the translation can put readers off.

Dunham said, "What I sometimes find frustrating as an American reader with English as my first language is that I don't know if what I'm reading is what the author intended or if that's a spin that the translator put into it. And so for me, I think that's my personal roadblock."

Experts gathering in Washington for the first ever "International Summit of the Book" at the Library of Congress are getting to grips with the challenges of the digital age and most now agree that e-reading enables access a broader range of titles, including those coming from China.

Niko Pfund, president & publisher of Oxford University Press, said, "Things really aren't as dire as they may look sometimes, or as some people might have you believe. I think that it's a challenging time for the publishing industry. I don't think there's ever been a better time for reading."

So as the literary world adapts itself to new realities, there's no doubt that Mo Yan's success has opened a new page for Chinese fiction in the United States.