S.E.A. WRITE AWARD at Oriental Bangkok

( words)

Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratna honoured the 2012 S.E.A. Write Award with her presence.
Once a year the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok sponsors the SEA WRITE award, designed to honour leading poets and writers in the ASEAN region (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). 

Since its establishment, Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok has always had an affinity with the literary world, best exemplified in the Authors’ Residence which houses suites named after Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and James Michener. Suites in the River Wing have been named after various authors such as Graham Greene, Norman Mailer and Barbara Cartland, to name but a few.
As a tribute to this literary tradition, The S.E.A. Write Award was established in early 1979 to bring recognition to the creative literary talents of the region. The idea emerged from discussions amongst the management of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Thai Airways International Public Co., Ltd., and the Italthai Group of Companies. HH Prince Prem Purachatra was elected as the chairperson of the organising committee. The organising committee also received valuable support from the PEN International Thailand-Centre under the Royal patronage of HM the King as well as from the Writers’ Association of Thailand who took the role of setting the criteria and selecting the winning work and author from Thailand each year. Later on the Jim Thompson Foundation, Bangkok Bank Public Co., Ltd., Thai Beverage PLC., and other private and governmental organisations joined the organising committee.
The annual awards presentation and gala dinner has always been presided over by a member of the Thai Royal Family. The list of guest speakers reads like the Who's Who of the world of literature.

Guest Speakers
2012   Mr. Simon Winchester
2011   Prof. Dr. Edwin Thumboo
2010   Mr. William Dalrymple
2009   Mr. Paul Theroux (first time in 1985)
2008   Mr. Antony Beevor
2007   Ms. Sarah Bradford
2006   S.P. Somtow (Somtow Sucharitkul)
2005   Ms. Rita Dove
2004   Ms. Meira Chand
2003   The Honourable Victoria Glendinning CBE FRSL
2002   Mr. Mario Vargas Llosa
2001   Mr Pico Iyer
2000   Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul
1999   Lord David Puttnam
1998   Mr Norman Mailer
1997   Mr Frederick Forsyth
1996   Miss Jung Chang
1995   Dame Iris Murdoch
1994   Mrs Margaret Drabble Holroyd
1993   Lord Jeffrey Archer
1992   -
1991   Dr Norman Sherry
1990   Mr Sheridan Morley
1989   -
1988   Mr Wilbur Smith
1987   Sir Peter Ustinov
1986   Mr Morris West
1985   Mr Paul Theroux
1984   Mr William Golding
1983   M.R. Kukrit Pramoj
1982   Mr Gore Vidal
1981   Dr Han Suyin
1980   Mr James A. Michener

From our book THE ORIENTAL BANGKOK