Writer Nu Nu Yi (Inwa).

A FORMER winner of Myanmar’s National Literary Award has been nominated as a contender for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize to be handed out on November 10.
Nu Nu Yi (Inwa) is among 23 nominees from all over Asia who have been selected from 243 submissions.

Five of the 23 will be shortlisted in October to compete for US$10,000 to be awarded on November 10.

Her book, Smile As They Bow, follows the lives of three young Myanmar people: Daisy James, a gay nat medium, his partner Min Min and a young beggar girl who falls in love with Min Min at Myanmar’s most famous nat festival, Taungbyone, in Mandalay.

“I’m happy,” Nu Nu Yi (Inwa) told The Myanmar Times. “For 20 years I have devoted my life to what I love. Despite all of the hardships and obstacles I have had to endure, my name has finally transcended Myanmar’s boundaries.”

The original version of her novel was published in local monthly magazine Shwe Amute in the Myanmar language as a series of entries from March 2006 to February 2007. An American freelance translator, Alfred Birnbaum, translated the book this year.

“Alfred reads and writes Myanmar very well,” said the author. “His wife is Myanmar and helped him to translate as close to the original as possible. She even demonstrated a nat dance for him to grasp the meaning.”

Hyperion Publishing House in New York has agreed to publish her novel in English at a later date.

Only unpublished works are eligible for the Man Asian Literary Prize.
The publishing house chose Smile As They Bow over Kamayut in Blue-Green, which won the National Literary Award in 1993.

“They chose it because they felt Smile As They Bow reflects Myanmar culture more vividly,” said Nu Nu Yi (Inwa). “They were also the ones who suggested sub-mitting it for the Asian award. I just gave them the green light.”

When The Myanmar Times asked her why there are so few Myanmar writers penetrating the international market, she said gaining international attention can be difficult.

“I don’t think there is a language barrier or lack of creativity. There are plenty of talented people who can write in English and it’s not hard to have it translated. I think it is just a matter of catching the eye of international publishers — that’s the hard part.”

Smile As They Bow is Nu Nu Yi’s (Inwa) first translated novel, although some of her short stories have been translated into Japanese and English. She has written 16 novels and six collections of short stories.

Peter Gordon, chairman of the Man Asian Literary Prize, said the selection process was harder than they had anticipated.

This is the first year the prize will be awarded.

“This first year’s submissions exceed our expectations both in quantity and breadth. We are very pleased at the reception this inaugural Prize has received throughout the region,” he told AFP.