Writer Anh Duc and his best work Hon Dat (right photo). Duc died on Thursday, aged 79. — File Photos

HA NOI  (VNS) — Well-known Vietnamese writer Anh Duc died on Thursday in HCM City aged 79 after many years fighting illnesses.

Anh Duc was born Bui Duc Ai in 1935 in the southern province of An Giang.

He took part in the American war at a young age and was assigned to work at Nam Bo Cuu Quoc newspaper in 1953. Around this time, he received his first national award of Cuu Long Literature and Arts.

Three years later he won first prize in the short story category at a competition organised by the Literature and Arts Magazine.

Later, he was awarded the Nguyen Dinh Chieu Prize for Literature in 1965 for his novel Hon Dat about the war.

An extract from Hon Dat is often used for high school literature students, and it has been turned into a movie with the same name by director Hong Sen.

In 2000, Duc grabbed the Ho Chi Minh Prize, one of the top awards in the country, for his great contribution to Vietnamese literature during the war.

Duc has been described as gentle, profound, free and easy, which are all reflected in his works.

Duc did not write many works but his masterpieces such as Mot Chuyen Chep O Benh Vien, Giac Mo Ong Lao Vuon Chim and Buc Thu Ca Mau have become bedside reading for many generations of Vietnamese literature lovers.

Duc was also a successful manager. He was editor-in-chief of Van Nghe Giai Phong newspaper, editor-in-chief of Van Magazine and a member of the HCM City and Viet Nam Writers Associations' executive committees.

His funeral will be held on Sunday and he will be laid to rest at the city's Thu Duc Cemetery. — VNS