WebNovel Spirity Awards honor global authors, drive global co-creation

The WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 honored global online literature creators at the 4th Shanghai International Online Literature Week. Authors, editors and industry professionals from 14 countries and regions congregated for the award ceremony on Dec. 18. 

Participants and award winners for the WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 pose for a photo at the award ceremony in Shanghai, Dec. 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Yuewen]

"As our core brand for original writing contests, WSA carries the important mission of supporting creators and discovering great stories," said Wang Zhongjie, general manager of the Overseas Department of Yuewen. "Our core objective is to discover potential authors, reward high-quality works, and pave the way for their diverse development. By creating sustainable revenue growth, we aim to ensure that good stories never end."

The WSA 2025 attracted participating authors from over 100 countries and regions, with the number of entries increasing by 58% year-on-year. A striking 70% of these were first-time participants. This comes at the time of a comprehensive upgrade to its author support program. This year saw not only a significant increase in prize money but also the introduction of new honors by WebNovel, the overseas portal of Yuewen, and WSA, such as Book of the Year and Comic Adaptation Award. Winning works will be fast-tracked for diverse adaptations, including comics, audio books, and short dramas.

It was announced at the event that Indian author Raj_Shah_7152, American author Lenaleia, and Nigerian author Sugarlitics won the WSA Gold Prizes. Nigerian author LORDTEE secured the Comic Adaptation Award, while the WebNovel Book of the Year honor went to Latin America, awarded to Mexican author Dagzo for his work "Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons."

The WSA Gold Prize winners pose for a photo at the WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 ceremony in Shanghai, Dec. 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Yuewen]

Lenaleia, who dreamed of being an author as a child, stopped writing due to life's pressures. She rediscovered her passion after a difficult childbirth, saying, "WebNovel didn't just bring me back to writing. It brought me back to a part of myself I'd forgotten."

Dagzo said that WebNovel completely changed his life. "It brought not only a better economy, but also a real connection with my readers."

WSA's Comic Adaptation Award aims to encourage creation and deepen the IP ecosystem. The winning title "Cleaver of Sin" will not only receive rewards but already begun comic adaptation. It will receive end-to-end support with multilingual, worldwide versions of the comic launching in the near future.

Youthfulness is another striking hallmark of this year's WSA. Among the winners, five authors were born after 2000, and those born after 1995 account for 56%. The youngest is Nigerian author Hades' Cursed Luna, born in 2003, who has already won WebNovel's Highly Praised Reader Favorite Award. 

At the ceremony, Wang Zhongjie announced that focusing on "Multi-Language Incubation" and "Multi-Industry Development," WSA and its support programs are to undergo a "dual upgrade" in 2026. 

"In the future, WebNovel will, through richer content forms and an all-round operational layout, fully unleash the market potential and cultural influence of each work and open broader spaces and opportunities for creators," he said.

Wang Zhongjie, general manager of the Overseas Department of Yuewen, introduces the Multi-Language Incubation support program at the WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 ceremony in Shanghai, Dec. 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Yuewen]

Beyond incubating originals, WebNovel is advancing a mutual translation initiative to publish titles across multiple languages into markets like Korean and Thai. Works like "Shadow Slave" are already on Kakaopage. With regards to IP value-chain adaptation and development, WebNovel stated it will focus on planning and expanding emerging formats, such as comic-drama and short-form drama, building on its existing work in audio books, comics and publications. This will create a three-dimensional IP development ecosystem. 

It is also growing its global audio publishing network through partnerships with platforms like Pocket FM and Audible. For comic adaptations, multilingual comic editions of "My Vampire System" and "The Duke's Masked Wife" will launch across platforms in Jan. 2026, with print editions of "My Vampire System" and "Shadow Slave" also coming next year.

Hou Xiaonan, CEO and president of Yuewen, pointed out that online literature has moved beyond the first stage of "global co-creation." He went onto say, "We have steadily built three pillars: a global user network, a creative ecosystem with worldwide participation, and a cross-cultural interactive community. These three pillars are propelling online literature to evolve from a China-based IP source into the next-generation global IP source."

The 2025 China Online Literature Overseas Trend Report, released by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, indicates that Chinese online literature has entered a phase of rapid global expansion. A notable surge in Latin America has helped establish a new market landscape, with North America, Eurasia, and Latin America advancing in tandem. Meanwhile, the integration of intellectual property (IP) with cultural and tourism value has evolved into a defining global industry trend.

Winner list of The WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025: