Just like the entertainment industry in later generations is divided into young actors who take the traffic route and veteran actors who take the strength route, the same is true on the New York Times bestseller list.
On the New York Times best-seller list, some best-sellers appear at the top or in the front row every year. They stay in the front row for a few weeks or ten weeks, and then disappear.
Occasionally, there are books that dominate the list for a long time, and they are all super best-sellers.
This type of book belongs to the small fresh meat on the bestseller list.
It has been on the list for a few weeks or more than ten weeks, but the sales volume is extremely impressive, and it can often easily sell hundreds of thousands or millions of copies.
"The Death of Van Gogh" takes a completely different route.
Its inclusion on the list relies neither on the publishing power of the publisher nor the writer's popularity, but entirely on the power of word-of-mouth.
It is a pure literary work itself, which means that even if it is on the best-seller list, its sales volume that week cannot be compared with the works in the front row.
So the location is not very forward.
But I couldn't let it go, and it managed to get away with batch after batch of popular works that were on the best-seller list.
"Even if it's not on the bestseller list, don't worry too much.
Works like "The Truman Show" and "The Death of Van Gogh" have everlasting charm, and readers will continue to choose them in the future.
It’s not like those fast food products on the bestseller list, where the book is nowhere to be found after it’s off the list.’
Luan Walter said optimistically.
His words are not blind optimism, but come from his own experience.
Along the way, Luanne Walter was mainly talking, and Davis Ondiano would occasionally add a few words. The atmosphere was very harmonious.
The car drove for nearly an hour before arriving at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
Norman said it is a city, but in fact it is not very large. The city has a population of less than 10,000, just like many other cities in the American Midwest.
The University of Oklahoma built in it has a larger student population, nearly 20,000.
This university, founded in 1890, specializes in petroleum engineering and was the first institution of higher learning in the history of the United States to establish a petroleum geology major.
It is also an international leader in neurosurgery, weather prediction, seismology and other fields, but its overall ranking is not high in the United States.
Similar to Lin Chaoyang’s impression of American universities, the University of Oklahoma covers a large area and the school buildings are mainly red.
Some Georgian architectural styles.
Red bricks and red tiles, steep roofs and complex detailed decorations give people a solemn and elegant feeling, which looks quite humanistic. After the three of them got off the car, they walked into the campus. The most impressive thing was the wide lawn in the center.
Square, a huge lawn square is regularly divided by criss-crossing roads, in a hexagonal shape, and the two main roads leading to the main building of the school are wide and straight.
It was between classes at this time, and the road was full of energetic college students, and from time to time someone was whizzing by on a bicycle.
Davis Ondiano introduced the school to Lin Chaoyang along the way. He walked for nearly 20 minutes and arrived in front of a two-story red villa.
According to Davis Ondiano, Professor Howard Eaton, a tenured professor at the University of Oklahoma, lived in this villa in his early years.
Later, it became unused and became the school's reception place. It was also Lin Chaoyang's residence for the two days he received the award at the University of Oklahoma.
After Davis Ondia explained many issues such as clothing, accommodation, and transportation, Lin Chaoyang rested in the villa for two hours.
In the evening, Davis Ondiano came to the villa again. Paul Sherper, the president of the University of Oklahoma, prepared a welcome dinner for Lin Chaoyang. The dinner was held at Paul Sherper's home in Norman.
, three kilometers away from the school.
In addition to Paul Scherper, attending today's dinner are also Nancy Davis, Chairman of the School Board, Calvin Polk, Editor-in-Chief of the School Press, and the jury of this year's Newstat International Literary Award.
Members, the scene is grand.
The University of Oklahoma is located in the west, and its ranking among American universities is not high. The Neustadt International Literature Award is one of the few events that the school can offer with national influence, so every session is extremely important.
Try your best and this year will be no exception.
After politely greeting everyone in turn, Lin Chaoyang shook hands with an old man with yellow skin in the crowd, a friendly smile on his face.
"Mr. Xiao, long time no see!"
"It's been a long time indeed." Xiao Qian responded with a smile.
Xiao Qian is a judge for this year's Neustadt National Literature Prize, and he also nominated Lin Chaoyang.
Meeting an old friend in a foreign country, the two chatted passionately for a few words before sitting down with everyone else.
The dinner is an ordinary family style, the taste is not important, what is important is the attitude and sense of ceremony.
As the winner of the new Neustadt International Literature Prize, Lin Chaoyang felt that the University of Oklahoma valued him.
The next morning, the students on campus were already active. Lin Chaoyang packed up and went to the campus restaurant to have breakfast. After seeing that the time was almost up, he came to the school library.
Most of the teaching buildings in various colleges at the University of Oklahoma are three or four stories high and do not occupy a large area, and the library is no exception.
Different from the grand venues where awards are held in China, the Neustadt International Literature Prize was awarded in the school library, which looked no different from usual.
"Hi! Lin, how did you sleep last night?" Lin Chaoyang met Davis Ondiano in front of the library. As soon as he saw Lin Chaoyang, he said hello with a smile on his face.
"Hello, Davis. Sleeping well."
The two chatted for a while. Davis Ondiano glanced at his watch and said, "It's almost time. Everyone is here. Let's go in too."
"good."
The two walked into the library.
When Lin Chaoyang stood outside the library, he thought the library was the same as usual, but when he walked into the library under the leadership of Davis Ondiano, he discovered that the layout inside was unique.
The specific location of the award ceremony is in the community activity room of the library, and along the way from the library to the community activity room, at regular intervals,
A poster will appear on the wall.
In addition, there are some display racks standing against the wall, and a book is placed on each display rack.
These posters and display racks are scattered at different heights and spaced apart, covering both sides of the entire road.
The books on the bookshelf are all published works by Lin Chaoyang, not only published in the United States, but also in other countries around the world.
Chinese, English, Japanese, French————
Lin Chaoyang was in a daze for a moment. Time passed by unconsciously, and he actually wrote so many novels.
The posters on the wall are all enlarged book covers. Every poster here is reproduced by students from the School of Art at the University of Oklahoma. Maybe the skills of these students cannot be compared with that of famous artists, but it makes people feel the same.
An extraordinarily vigorous vitality.
Such an arrangement, although not grand, is full of a sense of ceremony.
For a moment, Lin Chaoyang, who had always dealt with things calmly, felt a little excited.
Davis Ondiano explained that these books and posters were collected and arranged by schools and literary societies entrusted by the award organizing committee.
In addition to preparing for the award ceremony, these arrangements are also an exhibition of Lin Chaoyang's works. They will be like this here for the next week for University of Oklahoma students and outsiders to visit and read.
The two of them were talking as they walked towards the community activity room. The community activity room was said to be an activity room, but its size was basically a small auditorium.
It looks like it's at least four to five hundred square meters.
The decoration of the activity room is very classical, with a tall arched window on the opposite side, a complex wooden beam structure on the ceiling, and lamps hanging on the walls on both sides, emitting soft light.
There are a few bookshelves and a large number of seats inside. There are already hundreds of students sitting in it, giving it a classical and elegant atmosphere.
The student seats are arranged from the door inward, extending more than 20 meters to the open space under the tall windows at the end.
At this moment, some of the school's main leaders and committee members were sitting or standing gathered there.
When Lin Chaoyang and Davis Ondiano walked to the door of the activity room, they attracted the attention of some students.
Most of these students are members of the school's literary club, and some are ordinary literature lovers who took the initiative to sign up to participate in the award ceremony.
Since the results of last year's awards were announced, students have known that the winner of this year's Neustadt International Literature Prize is a Chinese.
Seeing Lin Chaoyang standing next to Davis Ondiano, many students turned their eyes to him, showing curiosity and whispering to each other from time to time.
At this moment, a lone round of applause suddenly broke out in the huge community activity room.
The students looked around, and it turned out that it was Principal Paul Sherper who was standing in the open space on the other side and talking to someone. He noticed the person coming at the door and was the first to applaud.
Hearing this round of applause, everyone understood that the person standing at the door must be today's real host, Lin Chaoyang, the winner of the new Neustadt International Literature Prize.
The applause went from lonely to sparse to enthusiastic in just a few seconds.
Lin Chaoyang subconsciously glanced at Davis Ondiano, who gave him an encouraging look. Lin Chaoyang smiled, straightened the hem of his suit, and stepped forward.
The arrangement of seats on both sides of the event room formed a road in the middle, and Lin Chaoyang walked to the end of the room amidst the applause and attention of everyone.
Turning around, he greeted Paul Sherper and the others politely, then turned to look at the students.
"Gentlemen and ladies, let us solemnly welcome Mr. Lin from China!" Paul Sherper introduced loudly.
Lin Chaoyang bowed slightly and greeted the students, and the applause suddenly became enthusiastic.
There is no literary craze in the United States now, and pure literature lovers are even more of a niche group, but most of the people who come today are literature lovers.
Many of them are loyal readers of Lin Chaoyang and made a special trip here today.
For these pure literature lovers, they may not meet their favorite writers more than once in their lifetime, especially Lin Chaoyang is a foreign writer.
Amidst the warm applause, some loyal readers looked excited. They finally saw the true face of Lin Chaoyang, a foreign writer in Lushan.
After the meeting ceremony, Lin Chaoyang sat in the first row.
The results of the Neustadt International Literature Prize were announced as early as last year. There was no suspense in today's award ceremony and the process was not complicated.
As the president, Paul Scherper first stood in front of the lecture hall and delivered a speech. In summary, he boasted about the history and influence of the University of Oklahoma and the Newstat National Literary Award.
After he left the lecture hall, Xiao Qian walked to the front of the stage.
He is one of the judges for this year's Neustadt International Literature Prize and is also Lin Chaoyang's nominee. According to the awarding procedures, he will announce the reasons for his nomination next.
"Dear President Paul Sherper, distinguished Chairman Richard Howard, and fellow judges:
I am honored to be invited to serve as a member of the jury for this year's Neustadt International Literature Prize, and I would like to announce my nominations and reasons to the jury and the public readers.
Mr. Lin Chaoyang, a writer from China, whose pen name is Xu Lingjun, is one of the most outstanding novelists in China and Asia today.
He has unparalleled talent, and his pursuit of perfection in literary creation is even more admirable.
Since his debut, he has written a number of popular novels, which have caused a great sensation in Asia and have exerted a strong influence after being published in various countries around the world.
Among them, works such as "The Truman Show" and "The Death of Van Gogh" that were introduced for publication in the United States have also received unanimous praise from the American literary community and literature enthusiasts. They have been on the "New York Times" bestseller list for dozens of consecutive weeks.
In 1982, Mr. Lin Chaoyang won the recognition of the Mao Dun Literature Award, the highest award in the Chinese literary circle, for his work "The Master of Chess". He has since won many national literary awards.
Mr. Lin Chaoyang also won the French Renaudeau Literary Award for his work "The Truman Show" and was the first Chinese writer to win the Renaudeau Literary Award in the history.
In addition to his literary achievements, many of Mr. Lin Chaoyang's works have also been adapted into movies.
Adaptations of works such as "The Truman Show", "Parasite" and "Little Shoes" have won international film awards, earning Mr. Lin Chaoyang international reputation.
To sum up, I would like to nominate Mr. Lin Chaoyang to participate in this year’s Neustadt International Literary Award, and I ask the jury to evaluate him as appropriate.
Nominator: Xiao Qian."
Xiao Qian was already old, and his speech was a little weak, but he had enough energy, his expression was serious, and he even had a sense of piety.
For him, being able to nominate a Chinese writer and successfully receive the honor is also a matter of gratification and pride.
After the reasons for the nomination were announced, the audience burst into warm applause again.
Their reasons were for both Xiao Qian and Lin Chaoyang.
The reasons Xiao Qian listed for Lin Chaoyang's nomination are very solid, and there are many shining points, such as the French Renaudeau Literary Award and the best-selling of his works.
But what interests everyone more is the adaptation of Lin Chaoyang's work. Even those present have heard of the movie adaptations Xiao Qian mentioned, even if they haven't seen them.
Because these films have all shined at the three major international film festivals in Europe, and they are all excellent films with the right to speak in the Western media.
People usually don't pay much attention to the original works of movies. Many people here learned for the first time today that these excellent movies were actually adapted from Lin Chaoyang's works.
As a result, they also gained a little more heartfelt respect and admiration for Lin Chaoyang.
Next Xiao Qian took the stage and was the American poet Richard Howard, the chairman of the jury for this year's Neustadt International Literature Prize. The reasons for the nomination were announced, and the next thing to be read out was of course the reasons for the selection given by the jury.
"As Mr. Xiao Qian said, Mr. Lin Chaoyang is an outstanding novelist.
His early works focused on criticizing reality, and he is an important initiator of the major contemporary literary schools in China: "scar literature", "reflection literature", and "root-seeking literature". However, he also maintains a cautious relationship with any literary trends or labels. distance.
He feels the world with a soft and sensitive heart and observes the world with sharp and bright eyes. He never blindly follows the fashion of literary creation, nor does he obey the secular vision.
With his diligent creative attitude and superhuman talent, he has created many outstanding works praised by readers around the world in just over ten years.
The values ​​he displayed in his works: writing about the times with words, loving life and freedom, and respecting history and nature are all role models worthy of our admiration.
If one of the functions of great novels is to teach us how to live, then Mr. Lin Chaoyang has firmly fulfilled this sacred duty."
Richard Howard spoke highly of Lin Chaoyang's reasons for his election on behalf of the jury. After he read out the reasons, the audience burst into warm applause again, which made people feel excited.
At this time, Richard Howard extended his hand to Lin Chaoyang to signal, and Lin Chaoyang stood up calmly and came to the lecture table.
"Next, please ask Ms. Nancy Davis to present the award to Mr. Lin Chaoyang!"
Lin Chaoyang received the Newstat International Literary Award bonus check, silver feather and certificate from Nancy Davis, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Oklahoma.
The applause at the scene was long-lasting, warm, sincere and powerful, and everyone sent their most sincere blessings to Lin Chaoyang for winning the award.
"Thank you! Thank you very much!"
Lin Chaoyang temporarily put down the things in his hands and began his speech. The activity room immediately became quiet.
"I am honored to be recognized by the Neustadt International Literature Prize. This is the second international award I have received. For me who write in Chinese, such recognition is rare.
I have always believed that the so-called writer is nothing more than a person speaking and writing. We are very important to this world, but maybe not that important. If you listen, you will have something, if you don't listen, you will have nothing.
The same is true for the relationship between writers and readers. We don’t have to meet or interact with each other. We only communicate through words. It is a kind of communication between souls, which is heart-shaking and indescribable."
Lin Chaoyang's acceptance speech was not long, and he did not talk about any great principles or profound remarks. It was about the relationship between literature and readers. It was plain and simple, but it revealed touching sincerity.
The audience present was immersed in the beautiful relationship between the writer and the readers he described. The readers and the works were in harmony and felt warm in their hearts. They still felt unfinished until the end of his speech.
"Thank you everyone!"
The awarding of the Neustadt International Literary Prize ended, lasting less than an hour, although there was no grand ceremony in the middle.
But everyone involved felt the sublimation brought by literature.
After the award ceremony, there was a photo session. Lin Chaoyang first took a photo with several leaders of the University of Oklahoma, and then took a photo with the members of the jury.
The background for the group photo was just in front of the wall of the activity room, which was a little crude, but everyone was very happy.
Several reporters came to the award ceremony today, some were invited by the University of Oklahoma, and some were invited by Random House.
Originally, it was supposed to be media interview time after the group photo, but many readers and students present were waving books in their hands and asking for Lin Chaoyang's autograph.
"Lin! Lin!"
Listening to the shouts of students and readers, Lin Chaoyang walked among them, and the crowd suddenly burst into louder cheers.
The members of the jury were surprised when they saw this scene. They did not expect that Lin Chaoyang would have such appeal among American readers.
"Lin is your biggest star at the University of Oklahoma today!" Luann Walter teased Davis Ondiano.
Davis Ondiano said with emotion: "This is the fourth time I have participated in the awards, and this is the first time I have seen such a popular author!"
Everyone was surprised by the welcome Lin Chaoyang received, and Xiao Qian felt even more deeply when he was among them.
He has lived for most of his life and has never heard of any Chinese writer who could gain so much love from readers in a foreign country.
Just because of the popularity and love from these American readers, Lin Chaoyang is worthy of the Neustadt Award, and it is more than enough, Xiao Qian thought proudly.
Lin Chaoyang's cordiality echoed the enthusiasm of the readers, making the University of Oklahoma library very lively after the awards were presented. This scene lasted for more than half an hour, and finally ended with Lin Chaoyang and a group of readers coming to Zhang University. It ended with a group photo.
Afterwards, Lin Chaoyang finally had time to be interviewed by media reporters.
Five media came to the scene today, including the Oklahoman and the Tulsa World from this state, the well-known American literary and art magazines "The New Yorker" and "North American Review" and the "New York Times" from New York.
Among them, "The Oklahoman" and "The Tulsa World" are comprehensive daily newspapers, and participating in the awards is just routine reporting.
The other three media have greater weight and pay more attention to the award results and Lin Chaoyang, the award-winning writer.
While waiting, reporters from several media outlets were surprised by Lin Chaoyang's popularity among readers.
This also heightened the interest of the New York Times and three other media in Lin Chaoyang, the first Chinese writer to win the Neustadt International Literature Prize. They all adjusted their interview strategies and planned to conduct a more in-depth interview.
It took most of the day to conduct interviews with several companies. It was already past ten o'clock in the evening when Lin Chaoyang returned to the villa room.
After a night's rest, we were still at the same place. The University of Oklahoma held a special lecture event for Lin Chaoyang today. There were more students than yesterday. The activity room was full, and even the aisles were full of people. .
Those who came yesterday were considered loyal readers, but many of those who came today were just joining in the fun. Many students came here because they heard that Lin Chaoyang was the original author of movies such as "The Truman Show" and "Parasite" .
During today's speech and exchange, Lin Chaoyang's welcome was even more obvious and warm.
This enthusiasm is not only due to his fame and the popularity of his works, but also has a lot to do with his personal charm.
In him, Americans cannot see some of their inherent stereotypes about Chinese people.
He is young and humorous, and can always reveal his wisdom inadvertently. His image as a writer full of charisma impressed the students deeply.
After the speech, Lin Chaoyang was invited to participate in the game between the University of Oklahoma men's football team and the University of Michigan in Norman.
For two consecutive days, Lin Chaoyang participated in many activities.
It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day after the awards ceremony that he had time to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Luan Walter.
The atmosphere in the campus cafe of the University of Oklahoma is quiet. His frequent appearances here for three days have made Lin Chaoyang a star in the university. From time to time, students cast curious glances at his location, but no one
Come and disturb me.
"How do you feel? Big star!" Luan Walter's tone was a bit teasing.
Lin Chaoyang chuckled, "sarcasm of others will make you look ugly."
"I'm just describing the situation realistically." Luan Walter stopped his joking expression and said seriously: "Lin, to be honest, this is the first time I have seen a pure literary work as popular as yours."
"Maybe it's the adaptation of the work that makes people more interested in me," Lin Chaoyang said.
Squeezing the handle of the coffee, Luan Walter looked thoughtful, and then said, "It seems to make sense."
Then he mentioned taking Lin Chaoyang back to New York to participate in activities.
Lin Chaoyang's works have been selling well in the United States in the past two years. The author himself finally came to the United States. Of course, Random House wanted to explore his value and arranged two readers' meetings for him.
Lin Chaoyang had no objection to this, but he was a little tired from being busy these days and planned to take a good rest tomorrow and start again the day after tomorrow.
"Of course that's no problem!" Luan Walter said happily.
If Lin Chaoyang wants to rest, he can also catch a fish.
"By the way, do you have any ideas for the new book?" Luan Walter asked.
The publication of "Enrollment" and "Father" in the United States has been mentioned on the schedule, but editing and proofreading is very troublesome. The two works are expected to be published in the second half of this year and next spring respectively.
Chapter completed!