Regulations & Guidelines

9th The Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World's Distinguished Novel in Chinese (Download PDF)

Sponsor
The Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World's Distinguished Novel in Chinese––Zhang Dapeng Endowment Fund

Organizer
Faculty of Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University

Objectives
In recognition of the literary achievement by novelists writing in Chinese and their publishers, two objectives have been laid down:
1) To reward the publication of outstanding Chinese novels, so as to enhance Chinese fiction-writing.
2) To promote the writing of Chinese novels, making it flourish in the twenty-first century.

Prize
The winner of The Dream of the Red Chamber Award receives a cash prize of HK300,000, a work-of-art trophy and a certificate. Publisher of the winning author is presented with a trophy and a certificate.

Longlisted authors are awarded "Recommendation Award"; shortlisted authors are awarded "Jury Award". All longlisted and shortlisted authors and their publishers are presented with a trophy and a certificate.

Eligibility and Entry Rules
1) Entries must be made by committee members of the Planning Committee of the Award or  by publishers upon the invitation of Planning Committee.
2) The novel must have been first published between 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021.
3) The novel must be of no less than 80,000 words.
4) The novel must be an original work in Chinese (not a translation).
5) The award is not given posthumously. If the death occurred between the announcement of the Dream of the Red Chamber Award and the prize presentation ceremony, the writer will be honoured with a certificate, and the First Prize would be named and gave to the runner-up.
6) Fill in one form for each entry.
7) Entries should be submitted to Faculty of Arts, OEW 1100, West Wing, 11/F, Oen Hall, Ho Sin Hang Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. Please specify "The Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World's Distinguished Novel in Chinese" on the mail.
8) For entries made by publishers, seven copies of the novel must be submitted with the entry forms to the mailing address in point 6 above. These copies will not be returned to the publishers.

Closing Date
21 January, 2022

Website
http://redchamber.hkbu.edu.hk/en

Judging Panel
Entries are first assessed by the Planning Committee of the Award to draw up a longlist of around twenty books. The first-round judging panel then shortlists six outstanding novels for the final round. The panel of final jury, including Mr. Chang Kuei-hsin (novelist and the winner of 8th The Dream of the Red Chamber Award for his novel When the Wild Boars Cross the River), , Professor Chen Sihe (Fudan University), Professor Chen I-chih (Novelist), Professor Chung Ling (Professor Emeritus, Hong Kong Baptist University), Professor Huang Ziping (Professor Emeritus, Hong Kong Baptist University) and, Professor Carlos Rojas (Duke University)

Announcement
The shortlist will be announced by late July 2022.
The award presentation ceremony will be held in Hong Kong in October 2022.

Related Literary Activities
A series of literary activities will be held following the announcement of the Award. The winning author, local writers, critics, and scholars will be invited to exchange their views on literature and writing. The record of the selection process will also be published in book form, with critical essays on the winning novel.