Two writers have refused awards from the Vietnam Writers' Association, saying that the jury had not done their work properly.
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| Writer Y Ban refused awards from the Vietnam Writers Association |
Y Ban wrote a refusal letter to the association and made the letter public online.
In her letter, she explained that a secret ballot had been conducted for the works, "Only five jurors voted. Writer Bao Vu said he'd sent his reviews and votes via e-mail. Thai Ba Loi requested a late vote. Tran Van Tuan voted via phone however he voted for everyone because he hadn't had time to read all of the stories. After he was told he couldn't do that, Tuan voted for Thanh Pho Di Vang (Vacant city), the only story he had read. After that, five jurors went into a room with Nguyen Quang Thieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese Writers Association to conduct a secret ballot."
Y Ban said though she was unable to change anything, exposing the sloppy work of the jury was necessary.
"At least I hope the voting process next year will be different. The jurors are professional writers and that's why they need to publish their comments instead of holding a secret ballot." she said.
She was also against blank votes, saying such votes proved that the jurors didn't have enough ability or dedication. "Why are they still on the judging panel, to show off? They seem to only have enough ability to vote for the author's name, not for the work itself."
Answering press criticisms that it was sour grapes for only receiving a certification of merit, Y Ban said she was ready to face any criticisms. She further said she had refused a seat on the executive board because she wasn't able to do anything for the good stories as she felt her votes didn't count for much.
Meanwhile, writer Pham Ngoc Canh Nam wrote a refusal letter to the association, "I have just been rewarded with a certificate of merit by the Vietnam Writers Association for the work Mot The Ky Bi Mat (A lost century). I decided to refuse this award because the judging wasn't based on any literary criteria, and literature is about truth."
However, Dinh Kinh, spokeman of the Vietnam Writers' Association said they haven't received any feedback from Y Ban. Kinh said it was normal for writers to refuse awards, "Giving awards is the association's rights and refusing awards is a writer’s right. There's nothing abnormal about refusing an award. Even international awards have been refused."
On their website, the association denied Y Ban's claims. They said the voting process was fair and the jury did not issue blank votes. "The jury read all of the works and took legitimate votes. There were no 'blank votes'. In 2011, we voted twice. That's because we also voted for works published in 2010."
The Vietnam Writers Association Awards 2012 and Members' Admission Ceremony will be held on January 29 in Hanoi.