General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang (R) hands over the prize to writer Tran Duc Tien at the ceremony. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Writer Tran Duc Tien was awarded the “Hiep si DeMen” (Cricket Knight) Prize at the presentation ceremony for the fourth "De MenAward for Children" 2023 in Hanoi on May 31.
It is the first timeafter 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, GeneralDirector 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 threeeditions, contributing to nurturing the spiritual lives of children and youngtalents in literature and arts.
The collection of works forchildren by writer Tien, including "A lô!... Cậu đấy à?" (Hello! Isthat you?) and 10 other books have made him eligible for the esteemed award.
These works include "Ốc mượn hồn"(Soul-Borrowing Snail, 1992); "Vương quốc vắng nụ cười" (The KingdomWithout Smiles, 1993); "Dế mùa Thu" (Autumn Cricket, 1997); "ThằngCúp" (Little Cúp, 2001); "Làm mèo" (Being a Cat, 2003, reprintedin 2015 and 2023); "Trăng vùi trong cỏ" (Moon Buried in the Grass,2006); "Chiếc lông ngỗng trời" (The Feather of the Sky Goose, 2011);"Những truyện hay viết cho thiếu nhi của Trần Đức Tiến" (GreatStories Written for Children by Tran Duc Tien, 2013); "Trên đôi cánh chuồnchuồn" (On Dragonfly Wings, 2015, reprinted in 2020); and "Xóm Bờ Giậu"(The Riverside Village, 2019, reprinted in 2020, 2021, and 2022).
The Cricket Desire Prize is presented to the winners. (Photo: VNA) Four winners of the "Khát vọngDế Mèn" (Cricket Desire) Prize were also named, including a collection ofpaintings by 11-year-old Hoang Nhat Quang from Lang Son province; "Ông BaBị và những đứa trẻ trong mơ" (Mr. Ba Bi and the Children in Dreams, along story by Lac An; "Ở một nơi có rất nhiều rồng" (In a Place withMany Dragons, a draft of a long story by Moc An; and "Vua ngan xóm hồ"(The King of the Duckweed Village, a draft of a long story by writer Uong Trieu.
Two special prizes from thejury were awarded to the works "Nghé ọ Hai Xoáy" (Nghé and theTwo Hair Whorls), a long story by Pham Anh Xuan, "Tôi, bố tôi, và…"(I, My Dad, and...), "Từ những bức thư" (From the Letters) by10-year-old Doan Lu Thuy Phuong.
This year, the organisingboard received 121 entries, and 10 were selected for the final round.
The prizes are granted to young artists (Photo: VNA) As scheduled, The Thao& Van Hoa Newspaper plans to hold the first solo exhibition for the young painterHoang 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 firstpublication (August 21), aiming to connect artists, philanthropists, and the educationsector in local communities to improve infrastructure of schools in remoteand disadvantaged areas. So far, it has raised 600 million VND (26,000 USD)./.
