Young readers seek relevant stories
17:00 01/04/2009

     

Books for teenagers are in short supply, as only a small number of interesting novels and short stories for their age group were published in recent years.

"There are no standout works after Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho (Give Me A Ticket Back to Childhood) by Nguyen Nhat Anh and Vua Nham Mat Vua Mo Cua So (Opening The Window With Closed Eyes) by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan," Nguyen Ngoc Lan, 16, said.

Anh and Thuan’s stories, published some years ago, still receive a warm response from young readers.

"We need more stories," Lan said.

"An increasing number of teen readers from throughout the country have sent us letters asking for more stories about their lives," said Quach Thu Nguyet, manager of Tre Publishing Co.

The company and Kim Dong Publisher are among the few publishing houses paying special attention to the teen market.

Since 2002, Kim Dong has published two titles a week especially for teenagers by young writers, most of whom are high school students.

However the young writers’ stories focus too much on activities in schools and fail to attract readers, industry insiders say.

"It’s difficult to find the right mix of style and content that appeals to teenagers," writer Tran Ke Tuong said.

"Writers must understand their wishes and how they think, " he said.

Tuong is well known for short stories that depict teenagers and their innocent experiments with love.

Many were published in weekly magazines like Muc Tim (Violet Ink) and Hoa Hoc Tro (Student Flowers).

"Teen stories must contain some sense of truth," writer Anh said.

"Today, the expectations are more difficult as today’s children have less time and books must compete with other forms of entertainment."

Young readers hope they’ll have new and interesting stories to read soon as the city this month launched a 2009 literature competition for writers in their twenties.

The competition organised by the HCM City Writers Association, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) daily and the Tre Publishing House, aims to encourage young writers to voice their aspirations and thoughts about their daily lives.

Organisers said the prize-winning stories would be published this year.

The last competition, which was organised in 2005, received nearly 400 literary works, including novels as well as long and short stories from young authors from throughout the country.

 

 

 

Source : vietnamnet.vn