HA NOI – A Vietnamese writer was among eight ASEAN artists granted the Southeast Asian Writers Award (SEA Writers Award) 2011 on Thursday.

The 83-year-old veteran, Nguyen Chi Trung, won the prize thanks to his 2007 novel Tieng Khoc Cua Nang Ut (The Cry of Ms Ut), based on the life of a young woman during the Tra Bong up-rising against the US-backed Sai Gon regime in central Quang Ngai Province in August 1959.

The novel previously scooped up a Vietnamese Writers' Association award in 2008.

The SEA Writers Award has also been awarded to several other Vietnamese writers and poets, including Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Cao Duy Son, Nguyen Nhat Anh, To Huu, Ma Van Khang and Huu Thinh.

Founded in 1979 with support from late Prince Prem Purachatra, one of Thailand's most prominent literary figures, the annual award recognises and honours the work of contemporary poets and writers within Southeast Asian countries. – VNS