National Book Awards honour research into Vietnamese fauna and flora, and southern region

The series on Vietnamese fauna (volumes 26 to 31) and Vietnamese flora (volumes 12 to 21), published by the Natural Science and Technology Publishing House, are comprehensive databases on plants and animals in Vietnam.

The set of books on the formation and development of Vietnam’s southern region, which is comprised of two general volumes and ten specialised volumes on various aspects, is the fruit of the efforts of a research team led by the late historian Phan Huy Le.

It is an authoritative and comprehensive research on the region, from its prehistory and early civilisations to the 17th-19th centuries with the establishment of Vietnamese sovereignty over the region as well as its modern history.

In addition to the two A prizes, organisers of the 2019 National Book Awards also presented B prizes to 13 books and C prizes to 12 books.

Winners of the A prizes received VND100 million (over US$4,300) each while recipients of B and C prizes took VND50 million and VND30 million each, respectively.

Speaking at the awards ceremony on December 26, Head of the Central Commission for Communication and Education Vo Van Thuong highlighted the role of books in humanity’s great advances and lauded the development of the reading culture in Vietnam.

He stated that the awards have motivated book writers, editors, publishers, and printing and distribution companies to create good books.

This year, the organisers saw the participation of 42 publishing houses nationwide with 259 titles, covering five areas, namely politics and economics; natural science and technology; social sciences and humanities; culture, literature and arts; and children.