Writer Tran Duc Tien wins “Cricket Knight” Prize 2023

Writer Tran Duc Tien was awarded the “Hiep si De Men” (Cricket Knight) Prize at the presentation ceremony for the fourth “De Men Award for Children” 2023 in Hanoi on May 31.

It is the first time after a two-year absence that the organising board has found the winner of the grand prize of the “De Men Award for Children”.

Speaking at the event, General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang said that the Award, which was held by VNA’s The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) Newspaper, has gone through three editions, contributing to nurturing the spiritual lives of children and young talents in literature and arts.

The collection of works for children by writer Tien, including “A lô!… C?u d?y à?” (Hello! Is that you?) and 10 other books have made him eligible for the esteemed award.

These works include “?c mu?n h?n” (Soul-Borrowing Snail, 1992); “Vuong qu?c v?ng n? cu?i” (The Kingdom Without Smiles, 1993); “D? mùa Thu” (Autumn Cricket, 1997); “Th?ng Cúp” (Little Cúp, 2001); “Làm mèo” (Being a Cat, 2003, reprinted in 2015 and 2023); “Trang vùi trong c?” (Moon Buried in the Grass, 2006); “Chi?c lông ng?ng tr?i” (The Feather of the Sky Goose, 2011); “Nh?ng truy?n hay vi?t cho thi?u nhi c?a Tr?n Ð?c Ti?n” (Great Stories Written for Children by Tran Duc Tien, 2013); “Trên dôi cánh chu?n chu?n” (On Dragonfly Wings, 2015, reprinted in 2020); and “Xóm B? Gi?u” (The Riverside Village, 2019, reprinted in 2020, 2021, and 2022).

Four winners of the “Khát v?ng D? Mèn” (Cricket Desire) Prize were also named, including a collection of paintings by 11-year-old Hoang Nhat Quang from Lang Son province; “Ông Ba B? và nh?ng d?a tr? trong mo” (Mr. Ba Bi and the Children in Dreams, a long story by Lac An; “? m?t noi có r?t nhi?u r?ng” (In a Place with Many Dragons, a draft of a long story by Moc An; and “Vua ngan xóm h?” (The King of the Duckweed Village, a draft of a long story by writer Uong Trieu.

Two special prizes from the jury were awarded to the works “Nghé ? Hai Xoáy” (Nghé and the Two Hair Whorls), a long story by Pham Anh Xuan, “Tôi, b? tôi, và…” (I, My Dad, and…), “T? nh?ng b?c thu” (From the Letters) by 10-year-old Doan Lu Thuy Phuong.

This year, the organising board received 121 entries, and 10 were selected for the final round.

As scheduled, The Thao & Van Hoa Newspaper plans to hold the first solo exhibition for the young painter Hoang Nhat Quang on June 8. Quang and his family want to contribute to the “For the School of Children” charity programme launched by the newspaper, in case any of his artworks are sold.

The programme was launched on April 14, 2022, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the newspaper’s first publication (August 21), aiming to connect artists, philanthropists, and the education sector in local communities to improve infrastructure of schools in remote and disadvantaged areas. So far, it has raised 600 million VND (26,000 USD)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency