MO YAN, recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, left for Sweden with his wife and daughter yesterday to accept the award, said an official from the writer’s hometown.

Less than two months after winning the Nobel Prize for literature, Mo claimed another distinction last week, that of China’s second-richest writer.

A surge of interest in his work at home and abroad brought the 57-year-old novelist estimated royalties of 21.5 million yuan (US$3.44 million) and catapulted him to No. 2 on the new China’s Richest Writers List released last week.

Last year, the author failed to make the top 30. However, Mo still does not earn enough to unseat renowned children’s author, Zheng Yuanjie, who remained in the top spot with 26 million yuan in annual income.

Zheng, regarded as China’s Hans Christian Andersen, has created many popular fairy tale characters such as Pipilu and Shuke that have enchanted teenage readers for 25 years.

He has featured in the top 10 since the rich list first appeared in 2006.

The list’s founder, Wu Huaiyao , told the West China City Daily that Mo clearly benefited from the Nobel committee’s Oct. 11 decision, making him the first Chinese national to win the prestigious prize. A 10-year-old manuscript by Mo reportedly sold for 1.2 million yuan days after his win.

The only previous time Mo made the rich list was in 2006, when he earned an estimated 3.45 million yuan in royalties and was ranked 20th.

Mo, whose works include “Red Sorghum,” “Republic of Wine” and “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out,” is not the only one cashing in on his newfound fame. Officials in Gaomi have announced that 670 million yuan is to be spent on Mo Yan-themed projects to attract tourists.

Wu’s group also for the first time published a rich list for online writers, with Zhang Wei, a mystery writer better known by his online name of Tangjia Sanshao, raking in 33 million yuan since 2007, although that is still far less than what the top print writers had made.

(SD-Agencies)