Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Cambodia retakes place on the world literary stage

Cambodia retakes place on the world literary stage

Sok Chanphal (second from right) with Chen Songsomphan (centre), president of the Writers’ Association of Thailand
Sok Chanphal (second from right) with Chen Songsomphan (centre), president of the Writers’ Association of Thailand. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Cambodia retakes place on the world literary stage

Cambodian writer Sok Chanphal was presented this week with the SEA Write Award for Cambodia, the first time in five years a Khmer writer has won the award.

Chanphal joined winners from the nine other ASEAN nations at a glittering ceremony in Bangkok to accept the award from Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The SEA Write Awards honour the best in Southeast Asian writing. With the inclusion of writers from Cambodia and Myanmar, this is the first time in 11 years that every ASEAN nation has been represented.

The awards, which have been running since 1979, coincide with Bangkok being recognised as the “2013 Book Capital of the World” by UNESCO.

The last Cambodian entry was Sin Touch in 2008, while Chanphal was the 11th in the award’s history.

After receiving the award, Chanphal, 29, seemed a little overwhelmed by the scale of the celebrations. “It is hard to describe, as this award is an honour and meaningful recognition for me to show the success of my . . . long writing career.

Especially, it is a very great honour and a beautiful experience in my life to be the first Cambodian for five years to win a SEA Write award, and also I’m the youngest awardee this year,” he said.

He continued: “Everything is the first time for me, but it’s a wonderful week, to feel part of the celebrations as an awardee. But I was quite nervous because I have to meet and face many people.”

Chanphal said that despite representing Cambodia, it is the art that is important for him, not his nationality. However, “I was proud of myself when I can stand as a writer from Cambodia, especially when I saw my national flag in the ceremony.”

He said the award is likely to be valuable in terms of experience in the future. “I’ve really enjoyed meeting the other awardees and, as a writer, I feel we have a lot in common. Sure, I am the youngest this year, so I feel a little as if the other writers are my father, mother, brother and sister.

“I’m a quiet person, but during the awards week I tried to talk with the other winners. They will come to visit me in Cambodia, and I’ll go to visit them too. It’s great for me to have many writers as my friends.” Chanphal foresees the award being helpful for all Cambodian writers and poets.

“I’m sure that with this valuable experience I have learned a lot to help other Cambodian writers. I’m also thinking to make a writer’s award here in Cambodia, if it’s possible.”

Chanphal has had three short stories published in English this year in Just a Human Being (Nou Hach, 2013) but has been winning awards since 2006. The SEA Write Committee praised the “existential, reflective quality” of his writing, while Teri Yamada, Professor of Asian Studies at California State University, part of the committee that chose Chanphal for the award called him “the best short fiction writer in Cambodia at this time”.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Siem Reap airport to close after new one opens

    After the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens in October, the existing complex serving the northwestern province will be “completely closed”, according to State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha. SAI developer Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co Ltd (AIAI) last month

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on