Nobel winner's books flying off the shelves

In the meantime, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing Group just published a new edition of Mo's collected works in 16 volumes.

"The collection should have come out last June or July, but was delayed because of problems with the graphic design. Now it has become a happy coincidence," said the group's deputy director Cao Yuanyong.

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"I believe in the Chinese readers today. They have the curiosity, passion and their own judgment for the latest Nobel laureate," Cao said.

Writers Publishing House is also competing.

"It's our honor to publish Mo's collected works. Our press has published most of his books since 1986, when his first book came out," said its president Ge Xiaozheng.

To be sure, the best selling work of Mo's is arguably Red Sorghum. The book has sold 5 to 6 million copies through the years, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing Group's Cao estimated. "If you count pirated copies, the number will surge to 10 million."

Another novel of great popularity is Frog, full of action and drama on the implementation of family planning in rural China. It has sold more than 200,000 copies since it was published about two years ago, Cao said. "We have faith in Mo as our writer, and he has faith in us as his publisher."

Eric Abrahamsen, a veteran critic and founder of the English-language website on Chinese literature Paper Republic, said: "The prize will definitely bring a boost to sales of his books, but I think we shouldn't overestimate what this will mean for Chinese literature as a whole.

"Chinese people will be very happy, but there are plenty of past examples of a Nobel Prize doing very little for the writer who wins, or for his or her national literature," he added.

Editor: Shi Liwei