Chapter 3 people from the past

1 After opening the received letter, Atami Keisuke clenched his fists in excitement.Inside the letter was an invitation letter, inviting him to attend the awarding ceremony of the Third Prize of Zhiying Society for Literature. "Ah, it's finally here." Atami couldn't help muttering to himself. Atami sat cross-legged in front of the computer, and carefully read the contents of the invitation again.That's right, it is indeed an invitation letter, even the map of the hotel is attached to it, and it is still a very high-end hotel.It seems that there is no need to pay the membership fee, and you can enjoy a free meal in a high-end hotel.

Zhiyingshe Literature Third Prize is the general term for the three literary awards sponsored by the publishing house Zhiyingshe, including the Huma Literary Award selected from the works of existing writers, the Zhiying Newcomer Award selected from works solicited from the public, and the Award for Merit for Achievement in the achievement of a recognized figure in the literary world. Among them, the Zhiying Newcomer Award was originally named the Zhiying Newcomer Award for Fiction, but it was changed to the current name this year, and it was included in the third prize of the Zhiying Society Literature.This award is sponsored by the literary and art magazine "Fiction Zhiying" and collects works from the public. Therefore, for those who want to become popular writers, it is nothing less than a shortcut to enter the literary world.

Atami Keisuke was the winner of the Novel Newcomer Award last year. The winning work was a tough guy novel called "The Poem of Hitting Iron".Taking the chance of winning, he quit his job in the company and is now a full-time writer.But in the past year, only one single volume of "The Poem of Striking Iron" has been published.Usually he earns some money by writing short stories for monthly magazines, but his life is definitely not rich.He really wanted to publish his second novel as soon as possible, and he had handed over the manuscript of the novel to the editor in charge of Zhiyingshe, but there was no news yet.

Atami was worried about how to go on like this, when this invitation letter arrived. I am also eligible to receive the invitation letter - this is Atami's frank thoughts. The literary world sometimes throws parties, something Atami has long known.Not only the Third Prize of Zhiyingshe Literary Awards, but also several literary awards will also hold parties that double as award ceremonies.But Atami has not been invited to this kind of party so far, because there was no awards ceremony for the Novel Zhiying Newcomer Award until last year. At that time, he was only invited by Zhiyingshe to have a Chinese meal with the judges That's all.

In addition, writers' organizations hold activities such as fellowships, but Atami has not yet joined any of these organizations.He didn't know how to join, and he wasn't invited to. Atami has always hoped that one day he can go to a literary party to see what kind of a bustling world it is, and he can't help thinking about it. Now, he can finally go to the place he yearns for.He was invited.Atami felt that others finally recognized that he was a worthy writer. Atami re-read the invitation.Zhiyingshe Literature Third Award Ceremony——What a huge influence this should have.He figured he'd better get a new suit and get his hair done at a hairdresser.

Having said that - Atami stared at the award-winning work written on the invitation letter and thought, this guy is really lucky.After a year, you can enjoy such a grand party. What he is jealous of is the winner of the Sun Ying Newcomer Award.It was only a year later that he won the award, and the treatment was very different from the Chinese restaurant dinner he had at that time. The winner's name is Tang Sangui, a ridiculous pseudonym, and it's hard to tell whether it's a man or a woman.The title of the award-winning work is "Nui Wu Monk Detective Zao Fei" (Note: Niu Wu Monk refers to the monks of the Fuka sect of the Japanese Zen sect, wearing a deep grass hat, blowing the shakuhachi and traveling around the world), and Atami can't imagine what the content is.

Atami thought to himself, before going to the party, he had to figure out what kind of work it was.I am afraid that nine times out of ten it is an amateur work with many problems.When he was going to meet at the venue, he had a point or two for the author. 2 Hajime Xiao Sakai from the editorial department of "Novel Zhiying" is very anxious.In another 30 minutes, the awards ceremony was about to begin, but the winners of the Newcomer Award had not yet arrived. He was waiting anxiously in the hotel lobby when he suddenly heard someone calling: "Mr. Xiao Sakai!" The voice came from the rest area.

Xiao Sakai looked around and saw a man waving at him. The man was wearing a light blue suit with a pink shirt and a big red tie, looking at him with a smile on his face. Who is that, Xiao Sakai thought to himself.It looks familiar, but I just can't remember who it is. Xiao Sakai thought to himself, this person might be an important person, and if he forgot, he might not be able to justify it.At that moment, he showed a friendly smile and walked closer. "You're here, um... long time no see." Anyway, after exchanging greetings, he took out a business card from his pocket and handed it over.This trick is designed to make the other party return a business card.

The other party looked at his business card and laughed. "Why, didn't you change departments? I already have a business card like this." Oops, have you exchanged business cards before? Then the other party took out a business card case from his suit pocket. "Actually, I just printed my business card, so I'll give this memorable first one to Mr. Sakai." "That's a real thank you." Xiao Sakai secretly called luck and accepted the business card."Writer Atami Keisuke" was printed on the business card, and now he finally remembered.The man was a novice writer who had written two or three short stories, all of which were mediocre.

Xiao Sakai complained in his heart, bumping into a troublesome character. "Why are you here today? Is it something to negotiate or something else?" Atami frowned in surprise. "You guys invited me to the party." "Oh, is that so?" Even a newcomer of this level has sent an invitation letter, Xiao Sakai thought to himself.The budget for this party should be overrun. "I came a little early, and have a cup of coffee here, can you come and sit?" Atami said. Xiao Sakai put on a regretful expression. "I appreciate it, but I still have to prepare for the venue."

"That's it." "Sorry, see you later." Xiao Sakai left in front of Atami in a hurry. His place is not a good place, Xiao Sakai thought.Don't say that I don't have time to drink coffee at all, even if I do, I don't want to deal with him.At that time, I will definitely have to pay for the coffee by myself, and I have no plan to ask him to write a manuscript. Xiao Sakai looked at the business card he had just received.It was the first time he had seen someone print the title of writer on a business card.Inadvertently glanced at the back, Xiao Sakai's eyes widened.The following is printed there: Won the 7th Fiction Zhiying Newcomer Award (currently Zhiying Newcomer Award [one of the three awards of Zhiyingshe Literature]) Award-winning work "The Poem of Strike the Iron" (published by Zhiyingshe) Xiao Sakai suddenly realized why Atami was invited.The fact that Atami was the winner of the Best Newcomer Award for Fiction last year, he had already completely forgotten about it. 3 The award ceremony started about ten minutes later than scheduled.The first is the presentation of the Huma Literary Award. The judges will report on the selection process, and then the winners will give their acceptance speeches.Following the Huma Literary Award was the awarding of the Sunny Young Talent Award. First, a jury member gave a speech. He is a best-selling author who mainly writes mystery novels. "Well--the award-winning work "The Detective of the Void Monk" is indeed a controversial work, and we judges were also deeply stimulated when we read it. But the selection committee did not have any disputes about the award of this novel. From the very beginning, all Unanimously, I think it is because we are very pleased that such a talented writer has been born. As for the content of the award-winning work, because it is a controversial work, we cannot make any disclosures. Please read it yourself and enjoy the special novel in the novel. world." Then came the winners' speeches.A writer named Tang San Confession appeared on stage. He was a thin young man in a gray suit with a white face.Because his name is very weird, Atami was expecting what kind of weird person would appear, but he didn't expect it to be so ordinary, so he couldn't help being very disappointed. His speech was also extremely ordinary, and he listed such clichés as "I am very grateful for this award" and "My book has won such an important award, so I can't help feeling anxious and thinking that it is really possible". Holding the wine glass received at the entrance of the venue, Atami thought to himself, this person is nothing special.He was wary at first, worried that if this newcomer writer had a strong personality, he might become his rival in the future, but since he is such a mediocre person, he should not be able to write any masterpieces, so don't take it seriously. Even the winning entries suck, Atami thought.After reading the award-winning works published in "Novel Zhiying", he couldn't comment.No, rather than being unable to comment, it's more like being able to barely read what's being written.I can't figure out whether it's a mystery novel, and I can't understand the ending. Because of this, he feels incredible that the novel won the award.But after listening to the selection process reported by the judges just now, he felt that he could understand the reason for the award to some extent.To put it bluntly, the unconstrained style of the work met the appetite of the judges.As for plot, theme, writing, etc., they are in this case relegated to secondary considerations. It was just a flash in the pan, and Atami came to a conclusion.At first, others may think such works are very interesting, but being a writer cannot always rely on the hand of a powerful and unconstrained style.Atami expected that he would disappear sooner or later, so he couldn't help but feel relieved.It was a relief that the winner wasn't writing thick, nuanced, grandiose tough-guy novels. After the awards ceremony, the party will turn directly into a stand-up dinner.Some people immediately gathered around the dishes on display, some people wandered around looking for friends, and a circle of editors had already surrounded the famous writer. Atami looked around.Tonight's party should be attended by a lot of people from the publishing industry other than Zhiyingshe. Although he hardly knew him, he felt that the other party might know him, because his mugshot was posted several times on the catalog page of the monthly magazine. He confirmed the touch of the business card in the inner pocket through the suit.This box of business cards was printed just for today's occasion. As long as you show the business card, the guests you meet will understand why he was invited to participate.According to Atami's expectation, they should still cast envious and respectful eyes, maybe ask for their autographs, and some people may ask for a group photo as a souvenir. If they are from the publishing industry, they might take this opportunity to ask themselves to write a manuscript. He should be very eye-catching, and he is quite confident in this.His clothing was chosen with eye-catching as a priority.At a literary party full of individual writers, he believes that to stand out at a literary party, one has to dress in style as well.Before entering the venue, he also deliberately put on sunglasses, in order to look more like a hard-line writer. Keisuke Atami is here - he'd love to announce it loudly to his surroundings.The winners of last year's Newcomer Award are here.A professional writer who has more personality than this year's winners and has already published a booklet is here.Didn't you find it?I'm Keisuke Atami, the author of "The Poem of Hitting Iron"—— Atami was looking around, and suddenly stopped.As usual, what he saw was Sakai's figure again.No, to be precise, it was the young man next to him, this year's winner Tang San, who confessed. Atami strode over there. 4 Whoa, here comes the trouble.Xiao Sakai thought disappointedly.He found that Atami Keisuke was walking towards him, but he couldn't turn a blind eye. After all, he was the winner of last year. Tang San repented and stood aside absent-mindedly.This young man was supposed to be the protagonist on this gorgeous stage tonight, but he couldn't find the slightest bit of arrogance in him. It was incredible, how could he write such a masterpiece. Just now the editor-in-chief Qing Tian led Tang San around and introduced him to close writers. Now that he had just finished introducing him to the best-selling writers, he stopped to think about who to go to next. At this moment, Atami saw him with sharp eyes. Atami walked up to them with a smile. "Oh, it was hard to prepare the venue just now." He first waved to Xiao Sakai. "I'm sorry to leave you in a hurry." Xiao Sakai bowed his head and whispered in Qing Tian's ear, who looked surprised, "He was the winner of the Newcomer Award last year." "Ah, nice to meet you." The editor-in-chief hastily smiled, "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. Let me introduce Mr. Atami, he is Mr. Tang San, the winner of this newcomer award. Tang San repents." Then Turning to Tang San: "Uh, this is Atami, the winner of last year's Novel Best Newcomer Award..." "Mr. Atami Keisuke." Xiao Sakai hurriedly said. "Hello." Tang San nodded to Atami, his face still expressionless. "I read your award-winning work." Atami said, "It's very well written." "thanks." "I didn't expect someone to write such a world. This is the so-called unconstrained novel. The world view is really surprising." "Aha……" "However, the writing style will gradually become proficient in the future, so don't worry too much. The question is whether that world view can be applied to any field. Mystery novels still need to be integrated, or reasonable. In addition, I think the portrayal of characters is also very important. " Tang San looked at Xiao Sakai silently, probably feeling incomprehensible to Atami's words. No wonder he, Xiao Sakai thought.Tang San's award-winning work has such a structure, which seems to be an absurd story at first glance, but at the end it shows impeccable rationality.The reason why the novel wins the award is inseparable from this exquisite logic and the writing that supports this logic.Tang San was probably wondering what this senior writer was talking about. Atami didn't notice Tang San's reaction, and he said something that didn't make sense.Xiao Sakai had no choice but to interrupt abruptly from the side. "The words of the senior writer really benefited a lot. Mr. Atami, Mr. Tang San is still a newcomer, please give me more points in the future." "Well, if you have any comments, I'll let him know." "Thank you so much." After speaking, Xiao Sakai pushed Tang San on the back, pulling him away from Atami. "Oh, I really convinced him." Editor-in-Chief Qing Tian said with a wry smile, "I never thought he would come up with such strange remarks. Is he called Atami Keisuke, and what is the award-winning work?" "Strike the iron... Let me think about it." Xiao Sakai glanced at the back of the business card he received earlier, "It's "The Poem of Strike the Iron." "That's right. I also have a little impression of that title. What is it about?" "Hmm... what's the content, I think it's like a tough guy novel." "That's right. But it doesn't matter, they are all from the past anyway." 5 In the early evening at eight o'clock in the evening, the party had already been declared over, and people left the venue one after another.Some writers and editors flocked to Roppongi or Ginza to have fun, and it seemed that there were quite a few people who went to the winners' celebratory reception to renew their stalls. Atami Keisuke has been standing by the entrance and exit of the venue, waiting for someone to strike up a conversation with him, or if a few friends just pass by here. However, everyone dismissed him, as if there was no one there, and walked over without even looking at him. How is this going?Atami thought to himself.Although there was no such grand award ceremony when he was awarded the award, how can he say that he is also an awardee? I have published booklets and short stories, why is it still ignored?Why hasn't anyone noticed me— There was a photographer at the party, probably invited by Zhiyingshe. He kept taking pictures around the writers, especially for this year's winners.Atami deliberately walked past him, trying to get his attention, but the photographer didn't seem to notice. In the end, I was still treated as a newcomer, Atami explained.It turns out that apart from being looked at differently at the time of the award, newcomers who have debuted for two years still cannot enjoy the treatment of writers, and it will take longer to be recognized. Atami was about to give up and leave the venue when he suddenly saw a man, the editor-in-chief of Zhiyingshe Publishing Department, named Kanda.Kanda is in charge of publishing his single volume "Poetry of Strike the Iron". "Mr. Kanda!" Atami called him. Kanda, who was walking with his head buried, raised his head when he heard the sound, and when he saw Atami, he instantly showed a puzzled expression, then ahh, and spoke. "Mr. Atami, are you here too?" "Yeah, of course, because I was last year's winner." "Last year's winner? Excuse me, what award did you win?" "Of course it's the Best Newcomer Award for Fiction." "Really?" Kanda took out a notepad and opened it to check.The notepad is densely packed, and I don't know what to write. "That's right, the winning work is "The Poem of Strike the Iron". This is the newcomer award organized by our agency." "What's in your notepad?" "Are you asking this? This is a list of winning works of various rookie awards. If you don't write it down like this, you will forget it immediately." Kanda showed Atami the opened page. Looking at that page, Atami was almost dizzy.Those densely recorded on it are indeed the winning works of the New Talent Award. "Is this the entire record so far? That's amazing." Hearing what Atami said, Kanda shook his head. "It is simply impossible to record all of them. This is only for last year." "Huh? One year? How come..." "It's true. That's not all. If you include the various small literary awards held across the country, there are about four hundred." "Four hundred..." "In other words, 400 newcomer award winners are born every year. I can't remember so many, so I just wrote it down in the notepad." Kanda smiled and closed the notepad. "Huh? Mr. Atami, what's wrong with you? Doesn't your complexion look good?" 6 "I kept you waiting." Seeing Xiao Sakai who appeared after a long time, Aota twisted his face dissatisfied. "What are you dawdling about? Everyone else has already gone to the venue where Tang Umbrella renews the stall. It's not appropriate to keep the judges waiting too long." "Sorry, I was caught by Mr. Hanchuan." "Hanchuan? Is that person here too?" "Yeah, I didn't notice it at first. I was stopped by him when I was about to leave. He asked me where the venue for the renewal was." Qingtian clicked his tongue: "Did you tell him?" "I have to say it." Hmm - the editor-in-chief groaned. "It seems that he wants to follow us after the renewal of the stall, and he is probably planning to let us accompany him to the Ginza area. It is troublesome. His self-feeling is still as good as when it was a best seller, and it has not changed at all. " "Mr. Hanchuan has lost the literary award for five consecutive years." "A few years ago was his peak period. If he could win the award at that time, the situation may be completely different afterwards. But the result is still not won, and that person's good luck ends here." "Even a person like him who is active on the front line is now a person of the past?" "It's about the same. Nowadays, all the publishing houses are keeping him at a respectful distance. Kanda from our publishing department is the best friend with him, but recently I heard that he is also avoiding him." "Then we can't provoke bad luck." "It goes without saying. When you leave the meeting place for the renewal, you have to watch for Han Chuan to act when he gets up to go to the bathroom, and take advantage of that gap to sneak out of the hotel. Got it?" "clear." "And by the way, the reception for Nishijin-sensei and Mr. Yusheng should be enough." "Hey, aren't those two people okay?" "According to the business department's report, although those two are regarded as best-selling authors, according to computer analysis, their popularity at this stage can only be maintained for about two years. In the next two years, they will not appear in our society. The project of publishing a book, even if it is hospitable, is likely to be in vain." "In another two years, will those two people become the same people as before?" Xiao Sakai folded his arms, thinking that this is really a harsh world. "Hey, where's Tang Umbrella?" "He went to the bathroom. Oh, there is one more thing." Qingtian quickly scanned the surrounding area, after confirming that no one was looking at him, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket. "Nanako Fujiwara sent an email just now, saying that the manuscript has been written, and it seems that she wants to show us right away." "Huh? That beautiful Nana?" Xiao Sakai couldn't help raising his voice. Nanako Fujiwara was one of the candidates for the Rookie Award last year, but she failed to win the award in the end.She is young and beautiful, and she can write decent novels. For Zhiyingshe, she is a talent that Zhiyingshe wants to promote no matter what.Over the past year, Zhiyingshe has been supporting her behind the scenes. Now that the manuscript has been completed, it is a pity that it is too late to apply for this year's Newcomer Award, but it is very likely that she will be awarded next year. "I really look forward to it. We will definitely make her a star in the literary world." "That's right. Next year's judges are all men. If you show them her picture in advance, it should be a big help to win the award. Hey, Xiao Sakai, I'm afraid you will be busy next time. First, you have to read her manuscript. Suggest revisions, because she must still be writing a novel that is too sweet." "I see. In the next year, I will go all out to launch Tang San's new works, and at the same time, I will try my best to spare time to care about Nanako Fujiwara's works." Xiao Sakai spoke with great enthusiasm, but Aota seemed not satisfied.He was silent, as if he was thinking about something, and then said: "Tang San's new work can be taken care of casually, and you don't need to spend so much effort. The most important thing is Nana, you have to devote all your energy to Fujiwara Nanako." "Hey, but "The Void Monk Detective Zaofei" is a masterpiece." "Of course I know it's a masterpiece. But do you think that kind of masterpiece can be written continuously? No matter what the subject matter is, the next one will pale in comparison to the debut novel, and then it will be attacked by book reviews. This makes the author himself feel distressed. Once you are distressed, you will not be able to write, such a vicious circle. It can’t be wrong.” "Is that right?" "That's it. So no matter what you do now, try to sell "Null Monk Detective Zao Fei", and then you don't have to worry about the future. You can just treat it as the only work of Tang San's confession in his life." "The only work...but the awards ceremony has just ended!" "Why are you so clueless." Qingtian sternly said, "Once the awards ceremony is over, he is already a person from the past."