Taiwanese writer Iris Kong has won the top prize at the fifth Mirror Fiction Award. Her thriller, The Stand-In Family, received the NT$1 million Grand Prize at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.

The story follows four strangers who pretend to be a family inside a house where a murder has taken place. A property developer watches them, while one member of the group must face a difficult past.

A thriller with plans for the screen

Kong created the story with future screen adaptation in mind. She wanted to write a thriller that could work both as a novel and as a film or television project.

The writer said she had considered production costs while developing the story. This helped her build a realistic setting that could also attract screen producers.

The award gives the winning work a chance to reach a wider audience. Mirror Fiction supports writers and helps connect their stories with publishers, investors and screen developers.

Malaysian writer also receives major prize

The Judges’ Award went to Malaysian writer Liang Xuan for Endless Rain. The story follows a mysterious woman who appears more than 20 years after she was believed to have been murdered.

Liang received NT$700,000 for the work. Both winning stories can receive support for publication and screen adaptation.

The fifth edition of the competition attracted 529 submissions. Together, the entries contained more than 40 million Chinese characters.

Mirror Fiction reveals its 2027 projects

The company also presented five literary projects planned for its 2027 development slate.

These include 036037, a romance by Kevin Chen, and The Midnight Masseuse: A Taipei Noir by Tommy Tan. Other projects include Double Diplomacy by Daniel Hsieh and Red-Haired Inibs by Nakao Eki Pacidal.

The projects show the range of stories that Taiwanese producers hope to bring to new audiences. They also highlight the growing link between publishing and screen entertainment.