Chung Wen-yin (鍾文音)'s novel "Farewell (別送)" was selected out of 30 shortlisted entries for the Annual Gold Book Grand Prize at this year's Taiwan Literature Awards organized by the National Museum of Taiwan Literature on Nov. 13.
Chung Wen-yin pointed out that it felt bittersweet receiving the prize, as she used to be an avid traveler who had been to five continents, but later she stayed at home and took care of her sick mother. Simultaneously, she began to write her series "Outlander (異鄉人)."
One of the works in Chung's "Outlander" series, "Farewell" revolves around the life and death of a mother and a daughter. Chung noted that "Farewell" is a prophetic book, and hopes that her mother will depart this world in accordance with the ending of her novel.
A total of 235 works were submitted to this year's Taiwan Literature Awards. In addition to Chung Wen-yin, seven winners of the Golden Book Award and three winners of the Flower Bud Award were also announced.
The seven Golden Book winners include Hung Ai-chu (洪愛珠) for "Old-School Taipei Girl's Shopping List (老派少女購物路線)," Lo Chih-cheng (羅智成) for "Desolate Candy Store (荒涼糖果店)," Chang Hsiao-hung (張小虹) for "The Wigs of Eileen Chang (張愛玲的假髮)," Ping Lu (平路) for "The Gaps (間隙:寫給受折磨的你)," Huang Chong-kai (黃崇凱) for "The Formosa Exchange (新寶島)," Hsu Chen-fu (徐振輔) for "Taming Sheep (馴羊記)," and Zhen Egoyan (伊格言) for "Zero Degrees of Separation (零度分離)."
Winners of the Flower Bud Award include Apyang Imiq (程廷) for "From a Tree Hollow (我長在打開的樹洞)," Chen Tsung-hui (陳宗暉) for "The Farthest Place I've Been (我所去過最遠的地方)," and Hsu Chen-fu for "Taming Sheep (馴羊記)," a book which details the author's life and observations during his time in Tibet.
(Photo courtesy of National Museum of Taiwan Literature)