Winners of literature contest for ages 20 announced

The jury of the sixth "Literature ages 20" contest presented two second prizes to authors of the two literary works "Wittgenstein cua thien duong den" (Wittgenstein of the black paradise) by Maik Cay and "Nguoi la" (The Stranger) by Thao Yen.

Two literary works "Wittgenstein cua thien duong den" (Wittgenstein of the black paradise) by Maik Cay and "Nguoi la" (The Stranger) by Thao Yen presented with joint second prizes
Two literary works "Wittgenstein cua thien duong den" (Wittgenstein of the black paradise) by Maik Cay and "Nguoi la" (The Stranger) by Thao Yen presented with joint second prizes

The award ceremony was held by the Ho Chi Minh City Writers' Association, Tre Publish House and Tuoi Tre Newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City on December 23.

This years’ contest saw no first prize as the jury considered that the two aforementioned works are the same in quality and decided to present them with joint second prizes, said head of the contest organising board, Duong Thanh Truyen.

The organising board also granted three third prizes, four fourth prizes and a "most favourite work' to outstanding literary works.

The contest was launched from December 24, 2015 to May 31, 2018 on the topics of life, thoughts, dreams and actions of the youth. There were 458 entries, including 347 long stories and 111 short stories.

More than 50% of the authors were born in the 1990s. The youngest is a fourth-grade student from Nghe An province and the eldest was born in 1948. The organising board also received works by 14 young Vietnamese people who are working and studying abroad.

The "Literature ages 20" awards were presented in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014 and 2018. Many writers were discovered at the contest and have became famous names in the Vietnamese literature sector, including Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Nguyen Huong, Phan Viet, Duong Thuy, Truong Anh Quoc, and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan.