Literary journal launches app to promote 'serious' reading

A reader surfs People's Literature's online literature app, Thinker. (Photo: Wei Xiaohao/China Daily)

With online literature websites and mobile applications flourishing in China, a wide genre of fiction is readily available for readers. But most such writings online are considered more entertaining than "serious", which is why a new phone app called Thinker has been launched by People's Literature, a leading literary journal in China.

The app is a digital reading platform, where readers can download full texts of literary works published by People's Literature, and the app serves as a social network platform for writers and readers, where registered users can leave comments below an article and discuss their reading experiences.

"Traditional literary publications shouldn't be forgotten in the digital era, so we introduced some new media channels to encourage more contact between writers and readers, and to draw more attention to our journal from the younger generation," Ning Xiaoling, the deputy editor-in-chief of People's Literature, tells China Daily.

People's Literature opened its official account on Chinese microblog Sina Weibo in 2009, and today has more than 20,000 followers.

The app Thinker was put online to test public response last May, and it was also introduced to the country's literary circles through a network of staffers at People's Literature last year.

"We are still exploring ways to showcase traditional writers and their works online," Pan Suo, the editor of Thinker, says. "Existing platforms haven't provided them good market and reader access."

Thinker wants to be that platform, he says, adding that it makes increasing sense to have a strong online stage for traditional literature as fewer Chinese are buying printed journals these days. They are mostly reading books online.

Besides established authors, anyone willing to have works published on Thinker can submit them to the editor. The possibility of getting such writings published on Thinker is higher than getting them printed in journals such as People's Literature, according to Pan.

Most of the articles now appearing on Thinker fall somewhere in between popular genre fiction such as thriller, horror, romance and fantasy that are big online hits and lengthy pieces published in offline journals.

Hu Xuewen, the deputy chairman of Hebei Provincial Writers Association, is a Thinker user. He says: "As a writer, I not only want my works to be read by more people but also wish that all the writers can have more readers.

"As for whether one should pay for the read, I think it won't be a problem for people who really love reading."

The profit model for Thinker lies in its membership. On the app, a six-month VIP membership costs some 12 yuan ($2), which is less than what a single issue of the printed version of People's Literature journal sells for. Half of the revenue on Thinker will be given to writers whose works are published there and the remaining will go to offset the app's operating costs.

At present, however, the number of registered VIP members using Thinker is only around 1,000.

"The rate of the remuneration for writers will be even higher when we have more paying members," Pan says. "We won't leave our writers empty-handed."

In addition to encouraging original and serious literary writing, Thinker is taking another endeavor to digitalize and categorize short stories and essays written by Chinese writers since the May Fourth Movement of 1919, which marked the beginning of a transformative phase in Chinese literature－from one that relied on using classical language to a more modern vernacular-based writing.

In contrast to novels, short stories and essays have less commercial value, but if they could be "systematically digitalized", more readers would be attracted to literary short-form writing, according to Pan.

"The first thing that will come to readers' mind will be us."

According to the Survey of Chinese Internet Development by China Internet Network Information Center, published in January, there were as many as 294 million readers of online literature in China by the end of 2014, a year-on-year growth of 7.1 percent.