The
S.E.A. Write Award, or
Southeast Asian Writers Award, is an award that
has been presented annually since 1979 to
poets
and
writers in
Southeast Asia.
The awards are given to a writer from each the countries that
comprise the
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, though not all countries in ASEAN have been
represented every year. The award is sometimes given for a specific
work by an author, or it could be awarded for lifetime achievement.
The types of works that are honored vary, and have included
poetry,
short
stories,
novels,
plays,
folklore and
scholarly and religious works.
The
ceremonies are held in Bangkok
, with a
member of the Thai royal family
presiding. The award was conceived by the management of
The
Oriental
hotel in Bangkok, which then sought further backing
from Thai Airways
International and other companies. The ceremonies have
featured some notable guest speakers, including
Iris Murdoch,
Peter
Ustinov,
Jeffrey Archer,
James A. Michener,
Gore
Vidal,
William Golding,
Rita Dove and
Paul
Theroux. The 2006 keynote speaker,
Nobel
Prize laureate
Wole Soyinka
canceled his keynote speech in protest against the
Thai military's coup against the
government, and was replaced at the last moment by
S.P. Somtow.
List of S.E.A. Write Award winners
1979-1989
Until
1984, ASEAN
comprised of Indonesia
, Malaysia
, The Philippines
, Singapore
and Thailand
.
Brunei
was admitted
in 1984 and its first S.E.A. Write honoree was named in
1986.
1990-1994
1995-1999
Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995 and named its first S.E.A. Write
honoree in 1996. Laos and Myanmar were admitted in 1997 and named
their first honorees in 1998. Cambodia joined ASEAN in 1999, and
named its first S.E.A. Write honoree that same year.
2000s
References
- The Nation, Why artistic freedom matters, 16 November
2006
- Hatta wins Southeast Asian Writers Award, New
Straits Times, retrieved 2008-10-15
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