Taking place from June to November 30, 2015, the 2015 Gifts of Life Short Story Writing Contest received a total of 5,743 entries from 3,124 authors. After three rounds of preliminary judging, 128 works with strong ideas advanced to the final round.
After more than a month of evaluation, the final judging panel selected 26 outstanding works. On November 7, the award ceremony for the 2015 Gifts of Life Short Story Writing Contest was officially held in Hanoi.
The Organizing Committee presented the First Prize to the short story The Happiness Collector by author Nguyễn Hồng Cúc.
With its content fully meeting the judging panel’s strict criteria on theme, ideas, and artistic expression, the short story The Happiness Collector by author Nguyễn Hồng Cúc (Ho Chi Minh City) won the First Prize of the contest. The two Second Prizes were awarded to The Return by Nguyễn Văn Vin and Don’t Let Mother Cry by Nguyễn Dũng Chinh. In addition, the Organizing Committee presented three Third Prizes and twenty Consolation Prizes.
After the contest, the winning works will be adapted into short films to be broadcast in the Gifts of Life program (aired daily at 10:00 p.m. on VTV3 – Vietnam Television). This Vietnamese animated film series has been warmly received and loved by audiences for its humanity and the positive values of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty it spreads throughout the community.
At the award ceremony, the Organizing Committee also officially launched the 2016 Gifts of Life Short Story Writing Contest. The submission period runs from December 1, 2016, to May 31, 2017. Each short story must not exceed 1,500 words and should convey humanistic messages, philosophies, and lessons about life. There is no limit to the number of entries each author may submit.