Amidst the gentle sound of the keyboard, a "world of online literature" where everyone writes and the world reads is surging with the cultural pulse of the new era. The latest "2024 Blue Book of Chinese Online Literature" released by the Chinese Writers Association on June 17 in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province shows that the user base of Chinese online literature has reached 575 million, with 2 million new works added annually and a revenue scale of about 44 billion yuan. What are the new characteristics of online literature creation in 2024? ——The influence of realistic subject matter creation continues to expand. An additional 170000 works were added throughout the year, with a greater emphasis on detail in writing and a focus on expressing the truth and weight of reality, reflecting a conscious pursuit of literary quality; The trend of "era literature" is widespread, with more works adopting the perspective of grassroots figures and using small incisions to depict the new era. Among them, "Binjiang Police Affairs" witnesses the changes of the times from the perspective of grassroots water police, "Running North" uses the development of Beidou satellite to write the spirit of scientists, and "Returning to a Small Fishing Village in 1982" uses warm strokes to depict ordinary life. ——Science fiction creation remains popular. An additional 180000 science fiction works have been added, giving rise to numerous masterpieces. Many of these works have won the Galaxy Award and Nebula Award. Among them, 'Dystopia' explores human-machine ethics, 'Genius Club' envisions a multidimensional future, and internet science fiction is accelerating its entry into mainstream view. ——Generation Z has become a creative force. Approximately 2.8 million new registered authors and 350000 new contracted authors were added throughout the year, with nearly 40% being "Generation Z" and around 20% being "post-2000s". In 2024, 82 online writers will become members of the China Writers Association, with the youngest being only 25 years old, injecting fresh blood and innovative vitality into the industry. While high-quality works of online literature continue to emerge, the readership of online literature is also continuously expanding and upgrading in taste. On the one hand, using online literature reading to light up colorful lives, and on the other hand, participating in online literature creation with individual experience, promoting new popular literature through a literary ecology of co reading and co creation. The trend of intergenerational integration is prominent, and the three generations of readers, old, middle-aged, and young, are jointly building a national reading ecology. Please take a look at a set of portraits of online literature readers: gender structure is balanced, with an equal proportion of males and females; The age structure is diverse, with the core reading group being readers aged 26 to 45, accounting for approximately 50% of all readers; The proportion of young readers born after 2000 is nearly 25%, which is a driving force for reading growth; Readers aged 45 to 60 account for about 15%, and the proportion continues to rise; The reading population aged 60 and above has significantly expanded, accounting for over 10%. It is worth mentioning that the reading participation of the "silver haired generation" has greatly expanded the subject matter of online literature. Elderly life and elderly protagonists have begun to appear in online literature, and have driven the popularity of micro drama related content; The creation of the "silver haired generation" has also risen accordingly. Silver haired creator Shen Dongsheng used his mobile phone to "type" and created the book "Shanghai People Eating Instant Rice", telling his life experiences with genuine Shanghai language, triggering empathy among middle-aged and elderly readers, and attracting young readers to "urge their grandfathers to change" online. In 2024, the popularity of online literature IP adaptations will not decrease, with approximately 30000 new adaptations authorized annually, and the downstream industry chain will be full of vitality. The short drama surged forward wildly. In 2024, "short drama" became the driving force for the transformation of online literature IP, with a user base of 662 million and a market size of 50.4 billion yuan, surpassing the box office of movies for the first time in the same year. More than 1600 newly authorized adaptations of online literature micro dramas were added throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 81%. Anime games continue to make efforts. More than 80 new animation adaptations and over 400 comic adaptations were authorized throughout the year. Accompanying the growth of "Nian Fan" such as "Dou Po Cang Qi" and "Xian Ni", the global popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong" showcases the potential of domestic single player games, opens up a new window for showcasing Chinese culture, and drives the development of game projects for online cultural IPs such as "The Legend of Mortal Cultivation". The rise of the "guzi" economy has leveraged downstream industries. The sales of physical derivatives are booming, and the character badges, acrylic standing cards, blind boxes, and other products of works such as "Master of Mystery" and "Full time Master" are selling well, becoming an important new increment in the IP industry chain. In addition, from "content output" to "ecological rooting", China's online literature has achieved remarkable results in going global - with about 200 million active overseas users and 30 million new registered users; Works such as' The Lord of Mysteries' and 'We Live in Nanjing' have been collected in the British Library; The global simultaneous release of "Celebrating More Years 2" was achieved through Disney, while "Walking with the Phoenix" was broadcasted in more than 180 countries and regions around the world, and "C-Drama" sparked a wave of Chinese aesthetic viewership. Chinese online literature is promoting cross-cultural dissemination through creative modes, driving innovative narrative methods in world popular literature. ”When it comes to the trend of online literature going global, He Hong, director of the Network Literature Center of the China Writers Association, said that Chinese online literature has shifted from simply outputting content to building a global IP ecosystem, presenting new characteristics of technology driven, ecological reconstruction, and cultural co creation. At present, while the creation of online literature is flourishing, it has also exposed some problems that cannot be ignored. Some online novels are severely formulaic and lack innovative cores. The problems of vulgarity, kitsch, and vulgarity still exist, which not only affect readers' reading experience but also restrict the healthy development of the online literature industry. In response, the Chinese Writers Association has deepened its value guidance for practitioners by hosting national training courses for key online literature website leaders and online literature creation and publishing training courses. The industry has also reached a consensus on optimizing the industrial ecology, resisting "market-oriented" and "algorithmic" approaches, shifting from "quantity first" to "quality winning", and using works with excellent ideological and artistic qualities to delight readers and lead the trend. From breaking through domestic boundaries to becoming a fan base overseas, Chinese online literature, with its vast creative community, massive collection of works, and increasingly strong cultural influence, is becoming an indispensable force in the cultural landscape of the new era. (New Society)