At the Phoenix Publishing & Media Group booth at the 78th Frankfurt International Book Fair, which concluded on Oct 11, the German edition of the graphic novel The Three-Body Problem drew attention with its striking cover. Next to it was the illustrated fairy tale, The Fire Keeper. Both are based on works of the same title by Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin, who won the 2015 Hugo Award for The Three-Body Problem.
Hosted by Yilin Press, the event, "Exploring Liu Cixin Universe: From The Three-Body Problem (Graphic Novel) to The Fire Keeper", was held at the book fair.
The event brought together international publishers, rights agents, media representatives, and Liu's fans in a dialogue on the cross-cultural dissemination and multi-format development of Liu's works.
The event marked the official release of the German edition of The Three-Body Problem graphic novel. Germany's leading manga publisher, Carlsen Verlag, released the book and has a long tradition of introducing European and American comics and publishing many well-known science fiction comic works.
"Fantasy and science fiction are among the most popular genres. It is a great honor for us to publish the graphic novel adaptation of Liu Cixin's outstanding science fiction trilogy," said Kai-Steffen Schwarz, the editorial director for comics, graphic novels, and webcomics at Carlsen Verlag.
"We have rarely introduced works by Chinese authors, so this project is a very important new venture for us. The book market is highly competitive, and publishing carries significant risks. We must genuinely believe in a work before deciding to publish it," he adds.
Agustin Alepuz Morales, the translator of both the Spanish edition of The Three-Body Problem trilogy and the first volume of its graphic novel, shared insights from his translation practice. The trilogy's Spanish edition has become one of the best-selling contemporary Chinese literary works in that language.
Speaking on the challenges and considerations involved in transforming this science fiction masterpiece into a visual narrative, he said, "The biggest challenge is balancing the original text with the physical constraints of the graphic novel format. The limited space in speech bubbles doesn't allow for long, intricate sentences, so the translator needs to compress and simplify the original text while preserving its essence. This requires the translator to pay closer attention to the plot, character actions and dialogue that give the story its rhythm."
The event also highlighted Liu's only science fiction fairy tale, The Fire Keeper, a story about a boy who travels to the end of the world and meets the man who keeps the sun ignited.
The book is currently available in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. In August 2026, Yilin Press released a new collector's edition of the illustrated book. In September, the immersive experience space for this work premiered globally at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.
Schwarz, the editorial director, said, "What captivates global readers is always the grand core idea behind the story. Adaptations cannot replicate the original word for word; the most important thing is to capture the original work's essence, core concept and characters."
Morales added, "The ideas behind them are thought-provoking, and the way these ideas are presented makes the stories attractive even to those who don't usually read science fiction. For an all-ages picture book by an author known for hard science fiction, what I most look forward to seeing is a great story filled with grand ideas and vivid imagination."
As the publisher of the Chinese editions of the two works, Yilin Press has been cultivating original Chinese literature and actively promoting it in overseas markets. To date, The Three-Body Problem graphic novel has been published in German, French, Turkish, Italian, Greek, Russian, and other languages. The Fire Keeper has been released in Russian and Hungarian, with rights in several other languages currently under negotiation.
yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn
