French copyright of Three-Body Problem brings new galaxy of readers

Yilin Press, a literary branch of Phoenix Publishing and Media Inc, has recently sold the French copyright of the first graphic novel adaptation of The Three-Body Problem to Editions Glenat at the London Book Fair 2025.

The Three-Body trilogy has, so far, been translated into 38 languages and has sold more than 30 million copies. It has won nine major international science fiction awards, including the Hugo Award for best novel in 2015.

Created by artist Wu Qingsong and Three-Body Universe, the exclusive global rights holder for content development and commercial derivatives of the Three-Body intellectual property, the adaptation will cover the trilogy in six books that will be published over the next five to six years. In the style of Chinese animation and comics, this graphic novel brings Liu Cixin's science fiction to life, offering a fresh reading experience for global audiences after the TV-series adaptations by Tencent and Netflix.

The first book, launched in January during the 37th Beijing Book Fair, covers the storyline starting from the moment when Ye Wenjie sends a signal into space and ending with Operation Guzheng, a military mission carried out by the UN to recover messages sent by the aliens.

In addition to the French edition, the graphic novel's copyrights have also been sold to Spain and Germany, with negotiations for Japanese, Turkish, and Greek editions ongoing.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in London, Ji Yu, deputy editor-in-chief of Yilin Press, said that expanding the reach of top Chinese sci-fi works to a wider domestic and international readership is a crucial strategic focus for Yilin. The graphic novel adaptation of The Three-Body Problem is central to this strategy.

Founded in 1969, Editions Glenat is a renowned French publishing house specializing in comics and graphic novels, focusing on artistic excellence of storytelling.

Before the graphic novel, Editions Glenat published another work by Wu — Shan Hai Lu (The Rebels in English, the French version is Les Brumes Ecarlates).

Robin Jolly, an editor at Editions Glenat, said at the ceremony that they are confident in the potential of this adaptation, and looking forward to presenting it to the vast readership of the French-speaking world, and they believe that it will bring French readers a great visual and intellectual feast.