Author Nguyen Hoai Phong (center) receives the best award at the 8th Fairy Tale Flower Contest - Photo: T. DIEU
That was the message that student Nguyen Hoai Phong ( Tay Ninh province) - the winner of the outstanding prize in the fairy tale writing competition "Flower of Fairy Tales" - shared about the message of the short story that helped him win the competition at the awards ceremony on the afternoon of December 6th.
Hoai Phong is currently a second-year student in the Literature Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. He was awarded first prize (in the Free category) and the best performance award in the competition for his fable " Applying to Turn Off Sadness".
Previously, Hoai Phong had won second prize in a poetry writing competition and an honorable mention in a folk literature research competition organized by the Long An (formerly, now Tay Ninh) Provincial Association of Literature and Arts when he was a high school student.
Nguyen Hoai Phong said both adults and children need to relearn how to be sad - Photo: T. DIEU
Sadness also deserves to be loved.
The app "Turn Off Sadness" is the first children's story Phong has written, and also his first time participating in the "Flower of Fairy Tales" competition.
Hoai Phong recounts that the "Turn Off Sadness" app was created one very coincidental night. That night, he came home late from school, collapsed onto his bed, and found the room eerily silent. Suddenly, Phong remembered his home in the countryside, where his grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and younger siblings lived, and felt incredibly lonely.
Phong realized that for so long, he had been so preoccupied with studying, worrying, and finding fleeting happiness on social media that he had forgotten his loved ones and even the feeling of genuine sadness. Phong cried. Those tears opened the story of the "Turn Off Sadness" app .
Writer Le Phuong Lien (far left) - Head of the judging panel - presents the first prize to the three authors - Photo: T. DIEU
The app "Turn Off Sadness" tells the story of Lien, a young girl who installs an app that helps her "turn off" all sadness with just a touch. Initially, this makes life easier, but gradually Lien loses her ability to empathize, becoming insensitive to the pain of others.
It wasn't until she met the boy Mít – who "saved his sadness to tell the tree" – that Liên realized: sadness isn't a bad thing, but an essential part of helping people understand and love.
"I want to convey that in the modern world , where technology is increasingly replacing human expression of emotions, we, both adults and children, need to relearn how to be sad, how to cry, and how to love."
"Because if we try to shut off all emotions, one day we might become 'empty vessels,' no longer able to feel anything for life... Sadness also deserves to be loved, because it is what makes people grow," Phong said.
You also realize that writing for children isn't about "teaching children," but rather about children teaching you how to see life with innocent eyes and a heart that knows how to listen.
The authors who won second prize - Photo: T. ĐIỂU
Some contestants submitted 200 entries.
The "Flower of Fairy Tales" children's story writing competition is an annual event organized by the Bac Cau Foundation, aiming to discover and nurture talented writers for Vietnamese children, while also contributing to expanding the creative space for young writers.
In 2025, the competition continued to make a special mark with the highest number of entries ever, showcasing the richness of themes and the depth in how young authors observe and reflect the world.
The competition received 4,161 entries from 1,604 contestants from 34 provinces and cities. across the country, with the participation of Vietnamese authors living in Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, China, the Netherlands, and Japan.
Notably, some contestants submitted as many as 200 works, demonstrating the intense passion for creative writing among the younger generation. In the end, 17 works were awarded prizes in 3 categories: Free Style, Primary School, and Secondary School.
Besides Hoai Phong's first prize and best performance award, two other students shared the first prize: Truong Vo Ha Anh (born in 2015, Nghe An), with the work "Planet of Sticky Rice and Beans, " in the Primary School category, and Nguyen Thu Huyen Trang (2012, Hanoi), with the work "My Summer," in the Secondary School category.
In addition, the organizers also awarded 5 second prizes, 9 third prizes, and 6 consolation prizes.
The 17 winning works are edited and illustrated in the anthology *Flower of Fairy Tales* - Vol. 8.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chung-ta-phai-hoc-lai-cach-buon-20251206211508483.htm
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