Final call for tomorrow's writers
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Short stories have to be in by the end of the month for the new Asean Young Writers Award
The push is on to foster a new generation of writers across Southeast Asia, with June 30 the deadline for submissions for the Asean Young Writers Award.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, SEA Write Awards organising committee and Mahidol University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts are welcoming short stories from anyone age 15 to 24 and native to any of the member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The stories can be in English or their own language, and entrants can submit two different stories in the two languages.
“The Asean Young Writers Award was initiated last year as a lasting tribute to the celebrations of Bangkok serving as Unesco’s 13th World Book Capital as well as the 35th anniversary of the SEA Write Awards,” Deputy Bangkok Governor Amorn Kitchawengkul explains.
“The competition also marks an effort to incubate a new generation of writers and form a new literary network to welcome the official integration of the Asean Economic Community.”
Two winners will be chosen from each of the 10 member-countries to attend an Asean youth event in Bangkok in August and receive plaques from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, plus US$1,000 in cash.
They will also get to meet past Thai winners of the SEA Write Award, and their own winning stories will be published for distribution around the region.
“Thirty Thai finalists will be entitled to attend the inspiring workshop with the Thai SEA Write awardees and other distinguished writers,” says Dr Aphilak Kasampolkoon, Mahidol’s dean of liberal arts. “Then the two winning authors of the Thai- and English-language stories will represent the country on a study trip to the Asean Secretariat Office in Jakarta.”
One of the judges, Associate Professor Surapeepan Chatraporn, a deputy dean of arts at Chulalongkorn University says the contest “is open to imagination of the applicants”.
“So there is no set topic for the entries. The rule is that an applicant must submit a fiction-type short story of no more than 3,000 words, in English or in his or her national language. We’re hoping this new literary award will continue to grow healthily just like its predecessor, the much sought-after SEA Write Award.”
Pens ready?
For more information, call (02) 254 6895, extension 59, email the Project Coordinating Office at [email protected] or see www.AseanYoungWriters.com or the “aseanyoungwritersaward” page on Facebook.
