Seeking the light

As Yan Lianke wins this year's Kafka prize for his 'artistically exceptional' writings, his fans from China's literary world tell Liu Zhihua why the author is deserving of the recognition.

Yan Lianke received the Franz Kafka Prize on Oct 22 in Prague, becoming the first Chinese author to win the award, established in 2001 in honor of one of the 20th century's most influential writers. The prize recognizes anyone "whose work addresses readers regardless of their origin, nationality and culture".

So far its 14 laureates include American novelist Philip Roth, Japanese author Haruki Murakami and Israeli author Amos Oz. Past winners, including Elfriede Jelinek in 2004 and Harold Pinter in 2005, went on to win the Nobel Prize in literature as well.