Nguyen Binh Phuong and Nguyen Mot are two Vietnamese writers honored to receive the Southeast Asian Writers Award 2022-2023.
Two Vietnamese writers, Nguyen Binh Phuong and Nguyen Mot, were honored to receive the Southeast Asian Writers Award (SEA Write Award) 2022-2023 organized by the Royal Thai Government and the Thai Writers Association for outstanding writers and poets from countries in the Southeast Asian region.
The Gala to honor the awardees was solemnly held at the W Bangkok Hotel on the evening of November 25 with the participation of 17 award-winning writers and poets from 9 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, along with many guests including diplomats, scholars and lovers of Southeast Asian literature and art.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Sumet Tantivejkul, the Gala host, affirmed that the awardees have enriched our minds and souls with their exceptional literary creations, nurturing our imagination, creativity and expressing the common cultures and values of ASEAN.
Dr. Sumet also affirmed that this event will act as a catalyst to deepen the relationship, identity and values among the 10 ASEAN countries, highlight the region's common heritage and traditions, and promote unity, peace and prosperity across ASEAN.
Writer Nguyen Binh Phuong (born in 1965, from Thai Nguyen) was awarded the 2022 Southeast Asian Writers' Award for his novel "A Trivial Example" which won the 2021 Vietnam Writers' Association Award.
He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Army Literature Magazine and Literature Newspaper.
Considered a person who walks firmly on both the novel and poetry path on the literary path, writer Nguyen Binh Phuong has published 6 novels, including "The Old Dead Children" and "Me and Them" and 5 poetry collections, including "Indifferent Fishing Session."
His works have been translated into English, French, and Korean.
Meanwhile, writer Nguyen Mot (born in 1964, from Quang Nam) was awarded the 2023 Southeast Asian Literature Award for his novel "From the Sixth Hour to the Ninth Hour", which won the 2023 Vietnam Writers Association Award and the Dong Nai Literature and Arts Award.
He is the author of nearly 20 books in many different genres, including novels, short stories, novellas, memoirs, documentary scripts, etc.
Notable works of Nguyen Mot include “Tien mat la dong song” (The River Before the Face) which won the short story award of the weekly Van Nghe Hoi Nha Van (Writers Association) in May 2002; “Dat troi vu” (the novel was translated into English and kept in the US Library of Congress) and “Ngoc mat troi” (Trinh Hoai Duc Award in 2017).
Writer Nguyen Mot believes that the great significance of this literary award is that through literature, people become closer to each other, understand each other better and have cultural exchanges and harmony with each other.
Writer Nguyen Mot hopes that Vietnam will also have an award for writers in the region to have the opportunity to exchange culture, and especially literature.
Considered one of the most prestigious literary events in the region, the Southeast Asian Writers Awards was initiated by the Thai Royal Family in 1979 to recognize and honor the works of contemporary poets and writers from ASEAN countries.
Through 43 editions, the Southeast Asian Writers Awards are now fully represented by all 10 ASEAN countries.
TB (according to VNA)