Call for Papers

Rooted in the cultural context of the digital era and inheriting the fine traditions of Chinese literature, online literature integrates popular aesthetic tastes with the spirit of the times. It has become an essential component of contemporary literaryart systems and cultural communication systems. Given the shortage of specialized academic journals for domestic onlineliterature research, Chinese Online Literature (ISSN 31350348) is officially launched. It aims to build an independent theoretical system for Chinesestyle online literature, deepen textual criticism of online works, analyze industrial conditions and ecosystems, support the global digital outreach of Chinese culture, and facilitate the highquality, canonical and standardized development of online literature. We hereby invite submissions from scholars, literary critics, industry practitioners, young researchers and creators nationwide. Contributions from experts in the field are highly welcome.

I. Submission Scope

Submissions cover fullspectrum academic research on online literature, including but not limited to the following topics:

1.Construction of Local Literary Theory

Construction of an independent theoretical system for Chinesestyle online literature; sorting out the historical genealogy of onlineliterature history; studies on the literary attributes and canonical status of online literature; reflections on the localized adaptation of Western digital literaryart theories; criteria for the canonization of online literature; disciplinary system construction. Original theoretical essays, academic interviews, disciplinary notes and cuttingedge research overviews by distinguished scholars are also accepted.

2.Criticism of Genre Literature

Research on narrative paradigms, stylistic aesthetics and worldbuilding of onlineliterature genres such as xuanhuan, xianxia, ancientromance, science fiction, suspense, ruralthemed works, womenoriented fiction and nichecommunity writing; close textual reading of benchmark annual works, awardnominated titles and hit IPs; specialized studies on narrative rhetoric, character imagery and narrative ethics in online literature.

3.Research on Representations of the Times

Studies on the creation of newera mainstream realistic online literature; interpretation of values embodied in online works concerning rural revitalization, majorcountry scientifictechnological innovation, grassroots people’s livelihood and urban development; creative features of digital realism; mechanisms guiding mainstreamvalueoriented online writing; research on official support and platformdriven creative orientations.

4. Observation on Industrial Governance

Evolution of onlineliterature platforms; business models of paid and free reading; protection of copyrights of online literature, criteria for plagiarism identification, industrial compliance supervision and copyright circulation; empirical research on the professional ecosystem of online writers, trafficdriven algorithm mechanisms, shortvideo bookpromotion practices and governance over industrial malpractices.

5.International Communication of Online Literature

Research on the overseas translation, crosscultural adaptation and reception among targetcountry audiences of Chinese online literature; operation of overseas localized onlineliterature platforms; overseas communication pathways for Eastern aesthetics; the role of online literature in enhancing national cultural soft power; comparison of Chinese and foreign digital literature; studies on the external communication value of online literature from the perspective of civilizational mutual learning.

6. IPDriven Literary and Artistic Derivatives

Research on secondary creation through multiformat adaptations of onlineliterature IPs for films, games, comics, dramas, audio productions and immersive cultural tourism; balance between artistic merit and commercialization in IP adaptation; visual transmutation of traditionalChinese styles; revitalization of traditionalcultural IPs; case studies on wholeindustrialchain IP development and culturaltourism integration empowering local cultural development.

7.TechnologyOriented Humanities Research

HumanAI collaborative generativeAI creation; ethical boundaries and literaryvalue evaluation of AIgenerated online literature; shaping of creation and reading aesthetics by bigdata algorithms and personalized recommendation systems; metaverseenabled reading, digital collections, transformations of onlineliterature forms amid media iterations; humanistic reflections on technological alienation.

8. Empowerment by Traditional Culture

Creative transformation of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist thoughts, classical historyliterature resources, folk customs, intangible cultural heritage and traditional rituals in online literature; boundaries of historical adaptation in historical online fiction; creation of ethnically and regionthemed online works; values of traditionalChinesestyle narratives; studies on the contemporary literary transmutation of traditional culture.

9. Venue for Emerging Scholarship

Research on reading aesthetics of GenerationZ toward online literature, subcultures of fan communities, fanfiction creation and bulletcommentdriven community culture; aesthetic education via online literature, guidance for campus onlineliterature reading and popular reading culture; original papers, academic notes and short articles presenting innovative viewpoints by master’s and doctoral students.

10.Themed Roundtables on Hotbutton Topics

Discussions over annual academic controversies and industrial hot topics in onlineliterature studies; reflections on the narrative value of wishfulfillment fiction, the entertainment tendency and vulgarcontent governance of online literature, and awardevaluation mechanisms; comparative analysis of Chinese and foreign digital arts; prospect research on the future development of online literature; argumentative manuscripts for interdisciplinary topics.

II. Manuscript Requirements

1. Originality: Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished and not submitted concurrently to other journals. Academic misconduct is strictly prohibited, and authors are held accountable for their work. Cited references must bear authoritative sources. Manuscripts involving plagiarism or textrecycling will be rejected outright. A plagiarismdetection report and an AIGCdetection report shall be attached to submissions.

2. Length Requirements: 5,00020,000 words for regular research papers; 2,5004,000 words for academic notes, short critical essays and industrial research reports; up to 10,000 words for expert interviews and thematic overviews.

3. Format Specifications: Manuscripts shall include ChineseEnglish titles, author names, ChineseEnglish abstracts (200400 Chinese characters with corresponding English versions), and 35 sets of ChineseEnglish keywords. Author biography format: Name (Year of birth), gender, professional title, academic degree, research interests and contact information. Intext citations and endreference lists shall comply with Data Specifications for Retrieval and Evaluation of Chinese Academic Journals (CDROM Edition), with rigorous and standardized formatting.

4. Writing Style: Arguments shall be wellgrounded, viewpoints distinct, writing plainspoken and reasoning solid. Manuscripts should balance academic rigor and literary readability; empty speculation and formulaic repetitive writing are discouraged.

III. Acceptance and Copyright Notice

1. If authors receive no notification of acceptance, revision requests or rejection from the editorial office within two months after submission, they may dispose of their manuscripts independently.

2. Upon submission, authors are deemed to have accepted the journal’s copyright agreements. The journal shall enjoy legitimate rights including the right to disseminate published works via information networks, reproductiondistribution rights, compilation rights and translation rights.

3. Academic misconduct is firmly opposed. Manuscripts verified to involve academic misconduct will be rejected, and the corresponding authors will be blacklisted.

IV. Submission Guidelines

1. Submission Email: zgwlwx@yeah.net

2. Email subject format: Author’s Full Name + Manuscript Title

3. Manuscripts shall be submitted in Word format. Images may be compressed into a zip package and sent as attachments together with the manuscript file. Attachment filenames shall be consistent with the email subject.

V. Special Notes

1. During the journal’s inaugural callforpapers period, highquality original academic papers will enjoy priority in peer review and publication.

2. Senior scholars engaged in onlineliterature research at home and abroad are warmly welcome to organize contributed thematic issues and columns. Highquality excerpts from doctoral dissertations and postdoctoral research reports by young scholars are also welcome.