104-year-old man wins A prize at National Book Award

(Dan Tri) - The A prize of the 7th National Book Award was awarded to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu (104 years old) from Ho Chi Minh City.

On the evening of November 29, the 7th National Book Awards ceremony took place at the Hanoi Opera House with the participation of comrade Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda Department.

Speaking at the ceremony, comrade Nguyen Trong Nghia assessed that the 7th National Book Awards had many innovations and creativity, attracting the participation of many publishers and publishers nationwide.

"The books and book series that were awarded are all carefully invested, dedicated publications with typical and unique values ​​in various fields. Many books are publishing phenomena, attracting the attention, understanding and love of readers, especially young readers," emphasized comrade Nguyen Trong Nghia.

Comrade Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda Department (Photo: Organizing Committee).

This year, the 7th National Book Awards saw active participation from 51 publishers nationwide, an increase of 10 units compared to 2023. The Organizing Committee received 372 titles and book series, an increase compared to last year, demonstrating growing interest from the publishing community.

After the preliminary, final and strict review rounds, the Award Council selected 59 sets of books and books to award prizes, including 3 A prizes (100 million VND/prize), 10 B prizes (50 million VND/prize), 21 C prizes (30 million VND/prize), 21 Encouragement prizes and 4 Readers' Favorite Book prizes (20 million VND/prize).

Thanks to support from businesses and sponsors, the total prize value this year increased to nearly 2 billion VND.

Authors received A prize (Photo: Cong Sy).

The 3 outstanding works that won the A prize include: The book series Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City: Long Mile of History (1698-2020) by researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu; Handbook of Diagnosis and Treatment of Internal Medicine , Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Dao Xuan Co (Editor-in-Chief); Collection of Military Writers - Strange Love - Works (15 volumes) by the Army Literature Magazine.

Researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu traveled from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi to receive the award. This is the second time he has won the highest prize at the National Book Awards.

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Tu said: "I feel honored to receive the A prize of this year's National Book Award. For a monographer and book writer, having the professional council recognize the work as winning the highest award, there is no greater honor than that."

Mr. Tu flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi to receive the award (Photo: Tue Minh).

The book series Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City: Miles of History (1698-2020) is considered a valuable handbook, helping readers to look up and research deeply about the history and development of Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City.

Based on reliable scientific sources, the author systematizes historical events and activities in areas such as administration, economy, society, culture, education, health, religion, and sports from 1698 to 2020.

This book has been Mr. Tu's passion for the past 20 years. To complete this project, he spent a lot of time collecting documents from sources to ensure accuracy. In particular, many French documents took time to translate, contributing to making the book more valuable for readers.

Award-winning book series by author Nguyen Dinh Tu (Photo: Tue Minh).

Sharing the reason for writing a book about Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City, researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu shared: "Previously, many authors wrote books about Ho Chi Minh City with individual content. I want to write a comprehensive book about the formation process and life of the city over the past 300 years. The book helps people in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and the whole country in general understand more clearly about life here.

On a personal note, I would like to use the two volumes of this book to express my gratitude to the people of Ho Chi Minh City who have always protected and helped me from my youth until now."

Over the years, researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu has been tirelessly contributing valuable research and compilation works on the history and culture of the South. Even now, at the age of 104, he still reads documents, researches and records historical data every day.

"The book series is the crystallization of all the author's research and collection over the past 20 years and is completely worthy of receiving the A prize of the National Book Award. He is an inspirational figure of reading culture and efforts to learn about national culture," a member of the National Book Award Council emphasized.

Valuable books on display at the award ceremony (Photo: Tue Minh).

The 7th National Book Awards this year were held with many notable new features. The Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications coordinated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to expand the scale and improve the quality.

One of the important innovations is the introduction of the Readers' Favorite Book category for the first time, based on nominations and votes from the public. This helps increase the popularity, encouraging interest from many social classes.

The review process has also been improved, ensuring transparency when announcing the nomination list after two preliminary and final rounds. Videos telling stories about the book creation journey, interspersed with the award ceremony, bring a fresh and emotional perspective on reading culture.

Topics such as Tradition and Modernity , Dedication and Recognition , and Spreading Knowledge Values ​​are conveyed through stories by authors, translators, and readers, creating an atmosphere that is both solemn and intimate.

Within the framework of the award, the Vietnam Publishing Association cooperated with publishers to organize an exhibition of valuable books, especially political theory works and all award-winning books from previous seasons. This is an opportunity for the public to look back on the development journey of Vietnam's reading culture and enjoy books of special value.

The National Book Awards are organized and awarded annually by the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the Vietnam Publishing Association and the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution are the direct implementing agencies.

The books submitted to the National Council for consideration are divided into 6 categories: Political and economic books; Social sciences and humanities books; Natural sciences and technology books; Culture, literature and arts books; Children's books; Books loved by readers.

The National Book Award is held to select books with high quality content, strong influence in society, and positive contributions to the construction, protection and development of the country.

At the same time, the award also aims to encourage and honor creators and those working in the field of Vietnamese book publishing, promote valuable works to a wide range of readers, and promote the development of the publishing career...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/cu-ong-104-tuoi-danh-giai-a-giai-thuong-sach-quoc-gia-20241129214713901.htm