The recipients included novelist Nguyen Tri Huan with “Dong song cua Xo Net” (The River of Xo Net) and novelist Trinh Thanh Phong with “Canh Dong Chum” (The Plain of Jars).

Others were poet Nguyen Anh Ngoc with “Truong ca song Mekong bon mat” (Four-faced Mekong Epic), and poet Pham Sy Sau with four collections of poems named “Gui ban be lam xong nghia vu” (To those who had fulfilled their duties), “Chia tay cua rung” (Farewell at the entrance to the forest), and “Diem danh dong doi” (Roll-call of companions in arms).

The Mekong River Literature prize-giving ceremony will take place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from February 18-24, and aims to inspire writers and poets from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to create works on the friendship shown between the three countries.