This year, the SEA Write Award is extra special. The region's most prestigious literary prize celebrates its 35th anniversary while Bangkok has been named the World Book Capital City of 2013 by Unesco.
The SEA Write Award Ceremony and gala luncheon will be held on Monday, presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. All 10 Asean countries will participate in the award, a circumstance that hasn't occurred in 11 years.
The 10 writers have been recognised for their distinguished works in the form of poetry, novels, short stories or plays.
Haji Masri Haji Idris from Brunei draws on cultural memories and uses his prowess in poetic prose to produce the winning novel Kiambang Di Perbatasan (The Water Lettuce At The Border). He has been involved in writing for 50 years.
Keynote speaker Edna O’Brien.
Lao author Soukhee Norasilp's works are known for their outward social and political criticism. His winning poem, Memory Of My Childhood, illuminates the life of a farmer, revealing Lao traditions now forgotten.
The youngest of the 10 writers, Sok Chanphal from Cambodia, works as a songwriter. He has won many awards for his short stories and has completed several novels.
Malaysian Mohamed Ghozali Abdul Rashid's literary talent also manifests itself in many forms. He has written three novels, three short stories collections, three collections of poems, as well as a book on his research into the Koran.
From Myanmar, winner Maung Sein Win worked as an engineer until 1988. He has published over 90 novels. Many of his books have been adapted into films and his poems into songs.
One of two female winners, Rebecca T. Anonuevo-Cunada from the Philippines, has authored six collections of poetry _ all of which have won major national awards. Apart from being a professor of literature, she also writes children's fiction, essays and reviews.
Singapore's Yeng Pway Ngon's winning entry is Art Studio, a novel about a group of artists in their struggles for art and love, spanning over 40 years in Singapore. His works, which meditate on the human condition, have been translated from Chinese into English, Malay and Dutch.
Thai winner Angkarn Chanthathip has been writing poetry since secondary school. He made the SEA Write Award shortlist in 2007 and won this year for his poem, Hua Jai Hong Tee Ha (The Fifth Chamber Of The Heart).
Thai Ba Loi fought for the Vietnamese People's Army against the US. He often writes about the ordeals of war and the agony of life. He won for his novel The Mastermind.
Linda Christanty from Indonesia has participated in literary events globally. She has written books and screenplays and some of her short stories have been translated into German, French, Arabic, English and Thai.
Keynote speaker Edna O'Brien hails all the way from Ireland. Her widely acclaimed first novel The Country Girls was published in 1960. The book was banned, along with several of her subsequent writings, for their controversial take on social issues in Ireland at the time. She has been heralded as "one of the greatest living writers" by the New York Times. She will talk about "Why Literature Matters in Our World".Along with a range of activities such as creating a SEA Write Library at Sudinsaharaat School in Ayudhya to promote literacy, the SEA Write Award is also publishing Beyond Borders: The 35th Anthology, a collection of translated works by past SEA Writer awardees to commemorate the 35th anniversary.
Angkarn Chanthathip.
