Mightier than the sword

British author and journalist Simon Winchester is the guest speaker at this year’s Southeast Asian Writers Awards presentation ceremony and gala dinner on Friday at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.
On behalf of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana is gracing the function, which is being held in the Royal Ballroom.
Thai International Airways in flying in this year’s SEA Write winners from Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
So who’s coming to pick up their awards?

BRUNEI

Pengiran Haji Mahmud Bin Pengiran Damit

A lecturer at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Mahmudamit is a poet and the author of short stories whose works have been published in newspapers and magazines and as anthologies.
He has produced two anthologies of poems namely “Dwimadah Ekawadah” (2008) and Sepi di Tengah Kota (2010), both published by the Sultanate of Brunei’s Language and Literature Bureau.

INDONESIA

Oka Rusmini

Bali-based Rusmini is a novelist and poet who has won quite a few literary awards.
She is a well-known figure at such literary events as the Winternachten Literary Festival in the Hague and in Amsterdam, and has been a guest writer at Hamburg University in Germany.
Her novel, “Tarian Bumi”, has been translated into German and published in Germany under the title “Erdentanz”.

LAOS

Duangxay Luangphasy

A native of Vientiane and a former soldier of the Lao People’s Liberation Army, Luangphasy began his literary career in 1960.
His study of the history of Laos won a major award from the country’s president in 1994.
One of his novels was awarded by the Mekong Literature Award in Cambodia in 2009.
He was honoured as a National Artist in 2010.
Luangphasy wins the SEA Write Award for his novel “The Same Blood Origin” (“Sai Leuad Dio Kan”), the story of the struggle for national liberation in Laos through the eyes of one family.

MALAYSIA

Ismail Kassan

A playwright, director and producer, Ismail has won several awards for his works of drama, among them “Pelayaran Inderaputera 2”, “Menanti Puteri Hijau”, “Gelanggang Tuk Wali”, “Jambatan Merah”.
He also wrote the scripts for “Restu” and “Tun Mahathir The Musical”.

PHILIPPINES

Charlson Ong Ong

A writer-in-residence at the National University in Singapore, Ong has published three collections of short fiction and three novels. His novel “Embarrassment of Riches” won the Philippine centennial prize in 1998. He also teaches creative writing at the University of the Philippines.

SINGAPORE

Suchen Christine Lim

Born in Malaysia and educated in Penang and Kedah, Lim migrated to Singapore at the age of 15 and continued her education at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus at Katong and later at CHIJ, Victoria Street.
Her first novel “Rice Bowl” was published in 1984, and she co-wrote the award-winning short play “The Amah: A Portrait in Black And White” in 1986.
Her non-fiction book, “Hua Song: Stories of the Chinese Diaspora”, was published in 2005.

THAILAND

Wipas Srithong

A native of Phatthalung, Wipas attended secondary school at Sarawittaya School, but had to drop out to help out in the family business.
He continued to study on his own and earned himself a place at Ramathibodi Hospital Medical School. Ten years into his medical studies, he dropped out to pursue his passion for arts, and is today involved in filmmaking, visual arts and writing.
He has published two collections of short stories and poetry. He wins the SEA Write Award for his first novel “Kon Krae” (“Dwarf”).
 
VIETNAM

Trung Trung Dinh

After serving in the People’s Army, Trung studied creative writing and went on to become the editor of the People Army magazine.
Today, he serves as director of the Publishing House Writers’ Association and on the Executive Committee of Vietnam Writers’ Association.
He wins the award for his novel “The Battlefield Soldier”
 

Asia-Pacific writers reach for the world in two-day forum
The SEA Write Award organisers team up with the Asia Pacific Writers and Translators Association and the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University in staging the first international writers’ and translators’ forum.
“Reaching the World” takes place today and tomorrow at the Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Building.
The event features talks, panel discussions and author showcases on such topics as “The Value of Literary Prizes”, “SEA Write Selection Criteria” and “Taking Writers Global Through Translations”.
Writers and translators from more than 20 countries are participating.
The forum opens with a speech by Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who is also chairman of the SEA Write organising committee.
Registration for the two-day event costs Bt1,600.
The full list of readers and speakers is available at APWriters.org. For more information, see SEAWrite.com.
 

The Nation