Entertainment · Books & Arts · 15 hrs ago
Taiwanese Thriller ‘The Stand-In Family’ Wins Mirror Fiction Award
Iris Kong’s ‘The Stand-In Family’ won the top prize at the fifth Mirror Fiction Awards, announced at Taiwan Creative Content Fest.
The suspense novel follows four strangers who pretend to be a family in a house where a murder took place.
A property developer watches them, and one of the group must face a past wrongdoing.
Kong, an engineer, said she considered production costs while developing the story so it could be adapted for screen.
The Grand Prize is NT$1 million, and the award also gives the winning work a path toward publication and screen adaptation development.
Malaysian writer Liang Xuan won the NT$700,000 Judges’ Award for ‘Endless Rain’; both winning works are eligible for publication and screen development.
Mirror Fiction also presented five literary projects for its 2027 slate, including ‘The Stand-In Family,’ but no screen adaptation schedule was announced.
Mirror Fiction announced two winners of its fifth award at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.
The Grand Prize went to “The Stand-In Family,” while “Endless Rain” won the Judges’ Award.
The prizes were NT$1 million and NT$700,000, respectively, with both works eligible for publication and screen adaptation development.
The sources give different names for the winners: Variety identifies Iris Kong and Liang Xuan, while Deadline identifies Jiang Huizhong and Long Xuan.
The award announcement was accompanied by the unveiling of five projects for Mirror Fiction’s 2027 slate.
- Who
- Mirror Fiction awarded two writers. The sources identify the Grand Prize winner as Iris Kong or Jiang Huizhong, and the Judges’ Award winner as Liang Xuan or Long Xuan.
- What
- The Stand-In Family” won the Grand Prize and “Endless Rain” won the Judges’ Award. The works are eligible for publication and screen adaptation development.
- When
- The announcement was made on November 8, 2026, according to the article publication dates.
- Where
- Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taiwan.
- Why
- Mirror Fiction said the award aims to encourage writers and introduce promising literary properties to potential investors.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Mirror Fiction received 529 submissions totaling more than 40 million Chinese characters.
Mirror Fiction announced the award winners at Taiwan Creative Content Fest and unveiled projects for its 2027 slate.
- Grand Prize
- NT$1 million; “The Stand-In Family
- Judges’ Award
- NT$700,000; “Endless Rain
- Submissions
- 529, totaling more than 40 million Chinese characters
- 2027 slate
- Five literary projects unveiled
- Dollars
- The articles give differing prize equivalents: $32,000 or $30,500 for the Grand Prize, and $22,500 or $21,000 for the Judges’ Award
2 sources
What people are saying
This award was a clear goal for me when I created the story,
I look forward to the story being published and, perhaps, reaching an even wider audience on screen,
I believe that only when you genuinely fall in love with a story can you make the best adaptation,
Writing has evolved from something I did in my daily life into a serious endeavor – and, ultimately, my career.