Burmese National Literary Awards

       The winners of the Burmese National Literary Awards (for books published in 2011) have been announced (with the actual awards ceremony to follow 14 December), but as Zon Pann Pwint notes in The Myanmar Times Cultural norms trump literary merit at state-run book awards.
       There were 16 categories, but in three no winner was named: Novel, Youth Literature and English-Language Fiction. This despite there being 827 (!) novels in contention; on the other hand there was only a single Drama entry and that got the prize ("it met the criteria we used for assessing quality, and also because it was a single excellent book published at a time when this type of drama is fading into virtual obscurity").
       But, yes, it wasn't always about quality -- especially, apparently, in the Novel category. So, for example:

One work in particular that was under consideration had the characteristics of good realistic fiction. There was a display of sentiment and fine presentation, but the story was all about a life of toil spent burning wood to make charcoal. When we evaluated it from an environmental point of view, we didn't chose it.

       Another was dismissed because:

We praise the author's knowledge and artistic merit, but the female character in the novel committed suicide in the end because of her feelings of defeat. It can give a false impression, and such actions are not encouraged in our religion and culture.

       Ah, yes, the drawbacks of prizes being decided on by a: "judging committee working under the Ministry of Information". Insisting on political correctness, Burmese style .....