A new study will investigate whether and how China's innovative approach to literary production and intellectual property (IP) development could benefit the UK's publishing sector.
Researchers at the University of Exeter and Oxford Brookes University will explore different aspects of the Chinese Internet Literature (CIL) model, which has become one of the world's largest and most financially successful platform-based publishing models.
CIL has been credited with several key innovations, such as enabling vast numbers of authors to publish and be paid per chapter, and giving readers a direct say in how stories unfold and perform via platform functions like rating, commenting and rewarding. It has also developed systematic pathways for popular web novels to be turned into other media (e.g., TV dramas, films, audio dramas and short dramas) as well as merchandise.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the project will run for the next two years and will engage with people across the publishing industry and the wider creative sector, as well as the general public in the UK.
"The UK publishing industry is navigating a period of rapid digital transformation," says project lead Dr Wenqian Zhang, of Exeter's Department of Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies. "Publishers, authors and readers alike are experiencing a range of shifts, including revenue models under growing strain; rising demand for multimedia and cross-platform content; authors increasingly turning to alternative routes to reach readers directly; and intensifying pressure from AI-powered technologies.
"Through this research, we hope to gain a clearer understanding of the pros and cons of adapting CIL-inspired innovations in the UK, and how our publishers, authors, and readers might respond to them."
Working alongside the National Centre for Writing, the project team will take a comparative and transnational approach to investigate how the CIL model can provide strategic insights for UK stakeholders. This will include comparative analysis of CIL platforms and equivalent platforms used in the UK, surveying UK writers and readers, conducting interviews with professionals in UK publishing and the wider creative industries, and facilitating cross-sector and public-facing events.
The project will also compare how CIL and UK publishing develop IP across different media, from web novels turned into games and merchandise to screen adaptations. The researchers say understanding these differences could benefit the UK's wider creative industries, not just publishing.
"With 2026 designated as the National Year of Reading to address declining reading enjoyment in the UK, it is timely to understand how innovative digital publishing models like CIL can (re)engage readers and (re)energise the sector," said Dr Haili Li, co-lead from Exeter's Department of Communications, Drama and Film. "We hope that the outcomes from our project will not only inform innovative approaches and practices across the UK publishing sector, but more importantly, provide policymakers with crucial evidence and insights to support decisions around digital transformation and creative industries' growth."
