In the Bangkok Post Kong Rithdee reports that: 'Despite winning this year's SEA Write Award, Thai author Daen-Aran Saengthong says he won't be attending the presentation ceremony', in Out of the Shadow.
Daen-Aran Saengthong (แดนอรัญ แสงทอง -- but actually Saneh Sangsuk (เสน่ห์ สังข์สุข), the name under which his books are published abroad) won the 2014 SEA Writes award, for his อสรพิษและเรื่องอื่นๆ -- no surprise, apparently: Marcel Barang knew he was a shoo-in. But, while appreciative of the prize and attention it brings to his books, the author makes clear: "that his top priority now, by all means, is to dodge the official ceremony".
As to what he thinks of the prize:
Daen-Aran Saengthong (แดนอรัญ แสงทอง -- but actually Saneh Sangsuk (เสน่ห์ สังข์สุข), the name under which his books are published abroad) won the 2014 SEA Writes award, for his อสรพิษและเรื่องอื่นๆ -- no surprise, apparently: Marcel Barang knew he was a shoo-in. But, while appreciative of the prize and attention it brings to his books, the author makes clear: "that his top priority now, by all means, is to dodge the official ceremony".
As to what he thinks of the prize:
The rule and criteria are ancient. This prize is narrow-minded. It answers to the middle-class taste and it still concerns itself with the kind of writing that promotes morality. Well, the world is bigger...Which is refreshing -- not the stuff you usually hear from prize-winners.