Works are invited for the competition of the “2017 Taichung Literature Award”. Organized by the Cultural Bureau of Taichung City Government, the overall price for this award is up to NT$1.7 million. The deadline for submission of works is July 14. The Taichung Literature Award is the cradle for the incubation of seeds for literature and this event has attracted a large number of participants in the past, said Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-Ying. Works for the 6th instance of the event are invited. People are expected to be more eager than before in participation of the event so that Taichung could be developed into a city of literature and a center of culture.

“The 6th Taichung Literature Award Press Conference” was held on the 11th in the City Government Building on Taiwan Boulevard. Deputy Mayor Lin, Director Wang Chi-Cheng of the Cultural Bureau of Taichung City Government, Taichung City Councilor Liu Shi-Chou, the Representative of the Office of Legislator Hsu Yung-Ming, the Representative of the Office of Taichung City Councilor Liu Shu-Lan, Writer Liu Ke-Hsiang, and Chen Hsian-Jen, were present in the conference. Singer Chung Li-Chin attended the occasion and sung a song in her native dialect. The participants put six planets representing the categories of works for competition into the Milky Way symbolizing the exploration of words in the Milky Way of literature, which also spelled out the universe of the Taichung Literature Award.

The Taichung Literature Award has been highly applaud by the public and the event of each year has attracted more than 1,000 pieces of works. This is the cradle for the incubation of seeds of literature and is an objective for hard work, said Deputy Mayor Ling. I was very pleased that works are starting to be invited to the competition of the 6th Taichung Literature Award, Mayor Lin went further. There are 6 categories of works in the competition and more works will be anticipated for the event this year. Writers of every age are welcome to take part in the competition to make Taichung the city of literature and the center of culture. Taichung nurtured the heritage of literature and is the home for several famous literature writers. There are renowned young writers carrying on the torch, said Director Wang of the Cultural Bureau. The literature award is a good stage for the writers to exchange points of view for self-discipline in artistic creation. Works are invited to the competition of the award. One category of youth prose has been exclusively introduced for encouraging students to participate in the event. All are welcome to submit their works for the competition. Together, we could advocate the development of literature and convert Taichung into a city of culture.

The Literature Award is just like a train that needs ceaseless driving, and the feeling will be enhanced incrementally, said Writer Liu Ke-Hsiang, the winner of the Contribution Award of the Taichung Literature Award held last year. When I was young, I always took part in the competition for literature awards. Through these competitions, I was motivated to create more works. I am still excited by the awards I won, and they are always in my mind, he went further. The Taichung Literature Award has been held for several years and it is an important event of the government. The localization of this event is a platform that allows young people who are interesting in arts and culture to get on the train leading to literature to Taiwan and even the world.

The Literature Award provides a platform for expression and creates an environment for encouraging writing. This also allows for more good quality works in the literary world. I have participated in the competition several times and deeply feel the importance. This is particularly true for the youth prose category that helps the rooting of literature and encouragement of young students who are interested in literature to “walk out of the classroom to become a writer”. Furthermore, the Taichung Literature Award is open to all writers of the Chinese language all over the world so that people in other countries and regions can know about Taichung. I wish the Taichung Literature Award can be held without hindrance and make Taichung the center of culture, said writer Chen Hsia-Jen.

The theme for the Taichung Literature Award of this year is “Exploring the Heat of Words”. Works for competing in the Literature Contribution Award and the Literature Creativity Award are invited and the overall prices amounts to NT$1.7 million. The first price for the Literature Contribution Award is NT$120,000 and for the Novel Award is NT$100,000. The Literature Contribution Awards will be presented to senior writers who are domiciled in Taichung with contributions to literature creation for a long time. Institutions, groups and organizations or individuals are encouraged to register for the event. Works in different categories are invited to the competition, including novels, prose, new poetry, fairy tales, and the “prose of the youth” exclusively designed for the students of senior high schools and vocational high schools. In addition, the “Mother Tongue Chorus” is also introduced for the encouragement of expression in native dialect. All writers of the Chinese language all over the world and in Taiwan are welcome to the competition except for the group of youth prose, which is exclusive to the students in senior high schools and vocational high schools.

Works are invited until July 14 as shown by postal stamp. The Cultural Bureau asks writers in all walks of lives to participate in the competition. For further information, please visit the official site of the “6th Taichung Literature Award 2017” at http://taichung-literature-award.tw/.