HÀ NỘI — Three winners in different age groups will be awarded first prize at a drawing contest for Vietnamese children organised to mark the 100th birthday of British writer Roald Dahl.

The winners are Nguyễn Tuấn Minh, Nguyễn Thảo Anh and Lê Phạm Phương Anh, all from Hà Nội.

Eight-year-old Minh, 11-year-old Thảo Anh and 13-year-old Phương Anh competed against some 300 other contestants for the first prize in three categories based on age groups 5-8, 9-12 and 13-15.

Three second, three third prizes and 20 certificates will also be awarded at the ceremony on Saturday in Hà Nội.

The contest titled Sophie in the Giant World was held from July 24 to August 24 by the British Embassy, the Kim Đồng Publishing House and the Global Art Club.

“I did not imagine children’s painting could be so beautiful. If only I could present an award to all the contestants, to encourage them to create and nurture their imagination,” British Ambassador Giles Lever said.

“That is the purpose of the contest. We are happy to know that British writer Roald Dahl is an inspiration for Vietnamese children.”

The ambassador is one of three jurors judging the contest. A representative of the Global Art Club and Kim Đồng Publishing House artist Vũ Xuân Hoàn are the other two jurors.

In addition, a fabulous party for Vietnamese children will be held at the ambassador’s private house in Hà Nội.

The party’s theme is based on Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Children will participate in storytelling, quizzes and drawing on the writer’s works.

Dahl (1916-1990) was a novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Norwegian descent, who rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world’s bestselling authors.

Dahl’s first published work, inspired by a meeting with C. S. Forester, was Shot Down Over Libya.

His first children’s book was The Gremlins about mischievous little creatures that were part of Royal Air Force folklore. The book, published in 1943, was commissioned by Walt Disney for a film that was never made.

Dahl went on to write some of the best-loved children’s stories of the 20th century, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and James and the Giant Peach.

He also had a successful parallel career as a writer of macabre adult short stories, usually with a dark sense of humour and a surprise ending. Dahl wrote more than 60 short stories and they have appeared in numerous collections, some being published in book form after his death.

His stories also brought him three Edgar Awards in 1954, for the collection Someone Like You in 1959, for the story The Landlad in 1980 and for the episode of Tales of the Unexpected based on Skin.

The BFG, a new film by director Steven Spielberg based on Dahl’s book titled The Big Friendly Giant, was released in July.

Meanwhile, Kim Đồng Publishing House launched three books by Dahl on this occasion. — VNS