Chung Wen-yin’s (鍾文音) Farewell (別送) has won the top prize at this year’s Taiwan Literature Awards, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature announced on Thursday.
After two rounds of reviews, Farewell, published by RyeField Publishing Co, was selected from a record 235 submissions this year, winning the Annual Golden Book Grand Prize and taking home NT$1 million (US$35,945) in prize money, it said.
Chung’s latest novel follows a woman’s long journey to Tibet after a change in family circumstances. In the freezing air of the plateau, she explores enlightenment and ruminates on life in a temple, city, wilderness and burial ground, the publisher said.
The judges described Farewell as “a magnificent, 410,000-word send-off,” lauding its dense writing and emotion.
However, although the topic is farewell, the story never truly lets go, the museum said.
Seven Golden Book awards and three Flower Bud awards were also given.
The seven Golden Book winners, who are to receive NT$150,000 each include Hung Ai-chu (洪愛珠) for Old-School Taipei Girl’s Shopping List (老派少女購物路線), her debut work about food and memory; Lo Chih-cheng (羅智成) for Desolate Candy Store (荒涼糖果店), a fantastical verse novel; and Chang Hsiao-hung (張小虹) for The Wigs of Eileen Chang (張愛玲的假髮), an academic work on Eileen Chang (張愛玲).
The four other winners are Ping Lu (平路) for The Gaps (間隙:寫給受折磨的你), a collection of essays about illness and healing; Huang Chong-kai (黃崇凱) for The Formosa Exchange (新寶島), a novel that explores the history of Taiwan; Hsu Chen-fu (徐振輔) for Taming Sheep (馴羊記), a book that records his life and observations in Tibet; and Zhen Egoyan (伊格言) for Zero Degrees of Separation (零度分離), an apocalyptic sci-fi work on artificial intelligence.
Winners of the Flower Bud Award, which recognizes up-and-coming writers publishing for the first time and comes with a NT$150,000 prize, are: Apyang Imiq (程廷) forFrom a Tree Hollow (我長在打開的樹洞), a collection of essays that explores his Aboriginal and queer identity; Chen Tsung-hui (陳宗暉) for The Farthest Place I’ve Been (我所去過最遠的地方), a collection of essays describes the author’s illness; and Hsu’s Taming Sheep.
The awards ceremony is to take place on Nov. 13 at the Hilton Taipei Sinban Hotel and is to be streamed live on the award’s Facebook page.
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