The two second prize winners, Vu Ngoc Thu (second from left) and Ngo Tu Ngan (third from left), received certificates and congratulatory flowers from Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association Nguyen Quang Thieu (left cover) and Chairman of the jury Nguyen Binh Phuong (right cover) - Photo: Organizing Committee
The 2022-2024 Van Nghe Newspaper short story contest concluded and awarded prizes on July 24 in Hanoi .
Right before the award ceremony, there was analysis by a critic who criticized the second prize winning work of author Ngo Tu Ngan for learning to “write in the style of Ms. Tu” (writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu), but in a “faulty version”.
Award-winning works also need fate
The biggest “flaw” of the work that the critic pointed out was: “What is the meaning of this short story? What idea does it convey? Reading the whole story, I only see a miserable man looking for his mother, joining a theater troupe, then dying of cancer, and being brought back to his hometown! Describing such a miserable life to come up with a few old “literary morals””.
Ignoring the "trivial" errors in language or lack of logic, many people agree with the question posed by the critic: What is the purpose of writing a story about such a sad fate?
And the organizers also anticipated public opinion, as if praise and criticism were inevitable with the results of any literary award.
Writer Nguyen Binh Phuong - chairman of the contest's jury - is not surprised that there will be people who disagree with the jury's assessment.
Because "in art, the same work of art can be received, absorbed, and sympathized with differently by each person, leading to different evaluations."
He affirmed that in competitions like this short story competition, in addition to quality being the top priority, winning a prize also depends on many other secondary factors.
Such as the balance between traditional values and new creative values, between the value of pure literary beauty and the value of humanistic education , including the balance between thematic areas.
And we cannot fail to mention the element of chance. Award-winning works are those that have the lucky chance to gain the sympathy and acceptance of the majority of members in a particular council.
“Mentioning this so that we can see together that the works that have not won awards in this competition are not necessarily of lower or weaker artistic quality, and the works that have won awards are not necessarily outstandingly excellent or absolutely perfect,” said Mr. Nguyen Binh Phuong.
Literary prize judges should include more critics
Overall assessment of the quality of the entries, Mr. Phuong affirmed that most of the entries reflected and depicted many aspects of social life, from universal phenomena to secret, private changes, from community issues to individual behavior.
With their sharpness, insight and utmost responsibility, the authors have focused on dissecting current life.
Besides authors and works that adhere to a traditional writing style, there are many authors and works that clearly demonstrate the spirit of exploration and discovery of new ways of expression, from approach to tone, from writing style to layout.
The entries accurately reflect the reality of today's literature.
As a member of the final jury of the 2022-2024 Van Nghe newspaper short story contest , sharing with Tuoi Tre Online, writer Bao Ninh did not comment on the winning works, but suggested that the judges of literary contests should include the voices of critics.
The 2022-2024 Literature and Arts Newspaper Short Story Contest has no first prize.
The organizing committee awarded two second prizes to The Silent River Bank by author Vu Ngoc Thu and Tram Ngan by author Ngo Tu Ngan.
Two third prizes (each prize worth 30 million VND) for Nhi Thu by author Ha Dinh Can, Mien Xa Ngai by author Pham Xuan Hung and 6 fourth prizes.
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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giai-thuong-truyen-ngan-bao-van-nghe-bi-che-ban-to-chuc-noi-gi-20250724204834506.htm
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