Jointly organized by the Vietnam Women’s Forum in Europe and the Vietnam Writers’ Association, the contest received 182 entries - including 98 essays and 84 poems - submitted by 144 authors from 18 countries including the UK, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the US, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Japan, France, Romania, Czech Republic, Spain, and Sweden.

The panel of judges featured renowned poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association; poet Tran Dang Khoa, Vice Chairman of the association; and novelist and screenwriter Pham Ngoc Tien. A total of 18 works were awarded across both categories. The first prize, worth USD 2,000, went to a winning essay.

This marks the first-ever literary competition centered on the theme of Vietnamese women living abroad. The Vietnam Women’s Forum in Europe launched the contest with the aim of honoring these women and helping domestic readers better understand their lives far from home.

At the award ceremony, poet Tran Dang Khoa remarked that the competition was unique in drawing such heartfelt contributions from women living overseas. “Though most participants are not professional writers or poets, their honest, unscripted, and vividly personal expressions make their works deeply moving,” he said.

Dr. Phan Bich Thien, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Forum in Europe, shared that the contest had exceeded expectations, creating a powerful ripple effect. Entries poured in from women across 18 countries - not only in Europe but also from the US, Japan, Morocco, and Malaysia. “More than a literary competition, this has been a journey of connecting souls - a place where the heartfelt voices of hundreds of women were expressed through poetry and heartfelt prose,” she said.

“The jury appreciated the sincerity of the submissions. While they might not be polished literary masterpieces, they resonate deeply because they are drawn from the authentic experiences of the women themselves. This contest offers readers a new perspective and a deeper understanding of the lives of Vietnamese women abroad,” Dr. Thien added.

She emphasized that the competition also encouraged overseas Vietnamese to use and preserve the Vietnamese language through writing. “Writing in Vietnamese is not only a creative act but also a way of preserving our mother tongue and, with it, our cultural identity.”

As part of the awards ceremony, the anthology Hoa Viet noi xu tuyet (Vietnamese Blossoms in a Snowy Land), published by the Vietnam Writers’ Association, was introduced. The collection features 50 outstanding entries from the contest.

An Nhien