In many ways, 23-year-old Li Zhen is no different from his fellow graduate students at Jiao Tong University. When he's not in class he enjoys watching soccer and reading.

Li is not just like his classmates, however. He is a published author paying tuition for his masters program with the royalties from his first book "Wow!!! Campus" and is working on a follow-up.

Li is not alone. Many students are joining the ranks of published authors at an age when most people struggle to write a decent term paper.

Han han was one of the first young writers to make the bestsellers list with his 1999 debut "Three Doors." The sarcastic novel about high-school life, written when Han was just 17, has sold more than a million copies to date.

Other noted teenage authors include Jiang Fangzhou, who penned "In Puberty" at 12, and Huang Silu, who wrote about her experiences studying in the United States when she was just 16.

"I have a definite edge because I'm young," Li said. "Many young people can relate to what I say and what I think in my book. Middle-aged well-established writers may not be able to reach out to the young generation."

His "Wow!!! Campus" cast a light on university life, including boot camp training before entrance to college, dormitory anecdotes, love on campus and job hunting.

High school students make up the bulk of his readers, said Zhang Qian, who edited the book for Lijiang Publishing House.

"They're very eager to know what will happen in college. They have expecta-tions and this book fulfills their curiosity." she said.

Under the enormous pressure of examinations, students are liable to seek comfort by reading their peers' thoughts, said Wang Lei, an editor at Haitian Publishing House, which has published several books written by high school students.

While many of the young authors are top students developing their writing skills, Han proved there is room for a rebel on the bestsellers list. He dropped out of high school and skipped the college entrance exam before hitting it big with "Three Doors."

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