In a triumphant showcase at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF), Taiwanese literary IP developer and production company Mirror Fiction announced the winners of its fifth Mirror Fiction Award along with an exciting lineup of projects for its 2027 slate. The prominent event highlighted the company’s commitment to fostering new literary talents and adapting their works for broader audiences.
Grand Prize Winner: ‘The Stand-In Family’
The Grand Prize of NT$1 million (approximately $32,000) was awarded to Iris Kong for her suspense novel “The Stand-In Family” (provisional title). The story revolves around four strangers who impersonate a family in a house shadowed by a murder. Under the watchful eye of a property developer, one character is compelled to face a past transgression.
Kong, who is an engineer by trade, expressed her determination to create a viable story for adaptation. “This award was a clear goal for me when I created the story,” she noted. “I had written other works before, but adapting them for the screen would have been too expensive. So this time, I started with a realistic setting and considered production costs from the beginning.”
Judges’ Award and Insights on Adaptation
The NT$700,000 ($22,500) Judges’ Award was conferred to Malaysian author Liang Xuan for “Endless Rain” (provisional title), making both winning submissions eligible for publication and screen adaptation development through Mirror Fiction.
Tung Cheng-yu, CEO of Mirror Fiction, emphasized the award’s role in encouraging writers and attracting potential investors. “I believe that only when you genuinely fall in love with a story can you make the best adaptation,” she said. “Adapting a novel for the screen is much easier than starting from scratch because the novel already has an established world.” She further highlighted the financial benefits of adaptations, citing that films based on books see over 40% higher attendance than original films, and television adaptations enjoy an even more significant increase of over 60%.
A Look Ahead: The 2027 IP Slate
In addition to announcing the winners, Mirror Fiction also unveiled five literary projects slated for 2027. Among them is “036037,” a contemporary romance by Kevin Chen, whose previous works include “Ghost Town,” published in English. This new story explores the reunion of two middle-aged individuals rekindling emotions from a relationship over two decades old. Notably, it has already secured a screen adaptation deal and is set for a four-volume print release in December.
Other projects include “The Midnight Masseuse: A Taipei Noir” by Tommy Tan, which begins with the murder of a female massage therapist, intertwining a dark narrative involving police, politicians, and crime. “Double Diplomacy” by Daniel Hsieh tells the compelling tale of two brothers, one a diplomat and the other a criminal, navigating each other’s worlds amidst a diplomatic crisis.
Additionally, “Red-Haired Inibs” by Indigenous writer Nakao Eki Pacidal weaves a rich story of a girl with mixed Indigenous and Dutch heritage in 17th-century Taiwan, exploring themes of identity and belonging. Completing the slate is Kong’s victorious “The Stand-In Family.”
Mirror Fiction’s Expansion in the Entertainment Sector
Mirror Fiction, committed to the development of literary properties for publication and cross-media adaptations, is expanding its reach into film and television investment and production. Some of its notable credits include the critically acclaimed Netflix series “The Victims’ Game,” which received accolades at Taiwan’s prestigious Golden Bell Awards, as well as investments in films like “The Falls,” Taiwan’s Oscar submission, and the horror film “The Rope Curse 3.”
