Nguyen Nhat Anh – hottest writer of 2010 (The thao & Van hoa newspaper 9-12-2010)

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Nguyen Nhat Anh – hottest writer of 2010

Today 9th of December, "Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ xanh" (I see yellow flowers on green grass) by Nguyen Nhat Anh has officially been published nationwide. In 2010, Nguyen Nhat Anh introduced two books which were both bestsellers in Vietnam.

At a book fair in Ho Chi Minh City in early 2010, writer Nguyen Nhat Anh had a tired hand after to sign autographs for readers when his book Đảo mộng mơ (Dreamy island) published by Dong A book company and Tre publishing house was introduced at the book fair...

“Hot” thanks to his works



According to Tre Publishing House, Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ xanh was bought as a package by the publishing agency – that is, they paid cash in one time instead of consigning the book like Tre Publishing House usually does. It proved that books by Nguyen Nhat Anh are very popular. Tre Publishing House has also planned to reprint this book by next week.

In the situation of the book market where books, especially works of literature, each have an average of 1,000 printed copies, books by Nguyen Nhat Anh really become a phenomenon as his books each have tens of thousands of copies printed at a time.

On its 30th anniversary, Tre Publishing House said it would sell 23 types of books by Nguyen Nhat Anh at a 30% discount on the 11th and 12th of December. Looking at the list of 23 books by Nguyen Nhat Anh, some of which are very familiar with readers, people can see how interesting his books are to readers whether they are old or new. That is why books by Nguyen Nhat Anh are reprinted again and again. His book Trước vòng chung kết (Before the final round) by Nguyen Nhat Anh was published for the first time in 1984 and now almost 30 years has passed but that book is still popular. Trước vòng chung kết is also in the list of books to be sold at a discount as a way Tre Publishing House thanks readers on this rare chance.

However, not all books by Nguyen Nhat Anh are sold at a 30% discount, although the chance will only last for two days. Some very hot books by him like Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ xanh, Cho tôi xin một vé đi tuổi thơ (Give me a ticket to childhood), Tôi là Bêtô (I am Beto), Đảo mộng mơ are not sold at a discount. Now it is near the end of 2010 and several book companies and publishers are selling their books at a discount for a week called “tuần lễ sách giảm giá” to reduce the number of books on shelf, but books by Nguyen Nhat Anh are still sold at their fixed prices. It indicates how hot his books are.

In 2010, books by Nguyen Nhat Anh have been hotter because of related events. Books lie Bóng bóng lên trời (Balloons go up into the sky), Nữ sinh (School girls), Bồ câu không đưa thư (Pigeons that don’t deliver mail), Trước vòng chung kết (Before the final round), Những chàng trai xấu tính (Bad-tempered boys) by him were made into comics by ArtSign Co.,. Most recently, Cho tôi xin một vé đi tuổi thơ earned him the 2010 ASEAN Literature Award.

Another writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu is also hot in 2010. Yet Nguyen Ngoc Tu is not hot simply because his book is interesting. Nguyen Ngoc Tu has introduced Khói trời lộng lẫy (magnificent sky smoke) which attracts its own public opinion. However, Khói trời lộng lẫy just happened to have a chance to attract readers’ attention. Particularly, the movie Cánh đồng bất tận (Floating lives) made from a book of the same title written by the writer from Ca Mau (Nguyen Ngoc Tu) was still attracting public opinion for different reasons when Khói trời lộng lẫy was introduced. That was why the resonance made Khói trời lộng lẫy an interesting event. Nguyen Nhat Anh, the writer of childhood and teenage, is hot for other reasons.



Writer Nguyễn Nhật Ánh during the day his book "Tôi thấy hoa vàng trên cỏ xanh" was introduced

“Hot” because of hard work

Taking a look at the books by Nguyen Nhat Anh, we can see how hard he has been working; and any book by him can attract a lot of readers. One of the reasons why Nguyen Nhat Anh has been writing so many books, according to several writers, is that he “pays more attention to writing than being too choosy about words”.

Many writers have a bad habit of being too choosy about words and pay less attention to writing, while everyone knows a writer’s work is a book as a whole. His priority to writing and writing and writing has helped Nguyen Nhat Anh finish a lot of books. He now has more books than the number of years since he was born.

His simple style rather than being picky about words has earned him love and praise from readers and writers.

Nguyen Nhat Anh has proven so reliable in the eyes of several publishers because he always keeps his promises in business. In 1995, Nguyễn Thắng Vu – Director of Kim Dong Publishing House placed order requesting Nguyen Nhat Anh to write a set of books called Kính vạn hoa (Kaleidoscope). At first, Nguyen Nhat Anh finished five episodes to be printed every week. Then, a book of Kính vạn hoa was published every month. It became a set of books which was popular among teenagers for a pretty long time. When giving the first five episodes of Kính vạn hoa to the publisher, Nguyen Nhat Anh received an advance of VND50 million (it was worth 10 taels of gold then). The publisher wanted the writer to worry nothing about money and focus all his mind and soul on writing. Writer Nguyễn Nhật Ánh said, “To have a good book, both the publisher and writer must do their work in a professional manner. After professionalism is love. It is the love between two parties that takes professionalism to new heights”. According to publishers in Ho Chi Minh City, they find Nguyen Nhat Anh very reliable in business when they place their orders. Of course, writer Nguyen Nhat Anh always knows who is the best publishers for him to work for.

In addition to his income from writing, now, Nguyen Nhat Anh also has another income from his restaurant called Do Do which serves dishes popular in central Vietnam. His books and his restaurant are very attractive to customers. One may wonder whether his diligence and prestige have earned him popularity.

By HOÀNG NHÂN

(The thao & Van hoa newspaper 9-12-2010)