Business Opportunities in the China Market - Literary Agency

Sep 17, 2025 CFM Daily, Don't Miss 0

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STORY PLUS initiated by Chu Bowan might change the whole scenario in China’s screenwriting industry.

By Xu Jia

Established screenwriters are easier to get a professional literary agent, but it is more difficult for younger writers. Several problems in China’s screenwriting business include: most write without getting an advance payment; some can not get a credit in the end; powerful actors are apt to change the story and lines to their own good; and the payment is hardly cleared by the due date.

As producers and studios receive more and more unsolicited scripts each year, it is necessary for the screenwriter to have an agent to follow up on subsidiary rights, payments, and loose ends. As the China market is expanding so rapidly these years, an agent can alleviate the writer’s pain and discomfort in negotiating with different parties.

Young screenwriter Chen Shu (Brotherhood of Blades, Speed Angels) expressed that new writers can have the chance to participate in more professional projects with the help of an agent or agency.

Zhang Ji, winner of the Best Screenwriter Award at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards for writing DEAREST, said at a screenwriters’ forum that his agent would help him to draw up contracts, with one term to leave the project if any actor would interfere with the script, thanks to his accumulated reputation.

As to inexperienced writers, they do not have that many options. So it is a delight to see that the industry’s leading players, besides creating their own splendid stories, have begun to represent budding writers. Zhou Zhiyong (American Dreams in China, Crazy Stone) is one of these leaders: he runs a screenwriters’ workshop on Sundays to bridge established writers with younger talents. His company has signed a variety of writers – given talent, their hunger for fame and fortune will be satisfied. Being one of Zhou’s disciples is already a success among fellow writers – no production company would dare to bully him or her in financial or other terms.

Shu Huan (Lost In Thailand, Lost In Hong Kong) chooses to expand his team by partnering with more writers. With a team of over a dozen screenwriters, he tries to build an efficient incubator for commercial projects. Su Biao, writer of the recent local blockbuster Jian Bing Man has Shu to thank as a script consultant.

The line between fiction and script is quite blurred in China – more and more fiction writers are turning themselves into screenwriters or even directors. Guo Jingming has formed his “gang” of writers: he represents over 70 writers focused on genres like romance, fantasy and science fiction, etc. These writers were selected based on very specific market segmentation. At least 10 of them have had their books adapted into scripts – the movies have either soon to release or to begin shooting. Stanley Chan, winner of the top Chinese sci-fi award, once stated that Guo has been a fundamental figure in promoting local sci-fi writers’ industry influence and income.

But obviously, each year, China would witness a crowd of new upcoming writers – the business opportunity is unfathomable.

Tencent, China’s indisputable No. 1 Internet company, has built a flagship literary agency China Reading Limited in January, 2015. Merging SNDA Literature, former largest online literature site, and other similar sites, China Reading Ltd. boasts the nation’s largest number of popular online literature writers, is sure to develop their works into films or/and games. Alibaba has also built a literature branch.

Last year at China Joy, the local Comic Con, adaptation rights of six online literature works were auctioned and the deal was closed at 28 million RMB. Such news is encouraging to online literature writers – in the old days, a top writer could only get 200 million RMB after writing 10 million words. But now even the adaptation rights would pay this much. In the Internet Era, word-of-mouth travels faster and writers are no longer alone, although a true nationwide screenwriters’ guild is still to be found.

 

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