Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 74 (2009) Winner
Nam Le
ナム・レー
Nam Le
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1978-01-01 （Vietnam）
- Nationality
- Australian
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Vietnam (birth) → Melbourne, Australia → Iowa, USA (study) → Norfolk / East Anglia, UK (fellowship)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Editor, Former corporate lawyer
- Active Years
- 2006-
- Affiliations
- Harvard Review (fiction editor), Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown, fellow), Phillips Exeter Academy (fellow), University of East Anglia (fellowship)
- Influenced By
- Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Poetic tradition / poets (general influence)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Melbourne | Faculty of Arts / Faculty of Law | Arts / Law | BA (Hons); LLB (Hons) | 不明 | Australia |
| Iowa Writers' Workshop (University of Iowa) | — | Creative Writing | Master's in Creative Writing (MFA) | 2004 | United States |
University of Melbourne
Faculty of Arts / Faculty of Law
/ Arts / Law
Degree:
BA (Hons); LLB (Hons)
Period:
不明
Country:
Australia
Arts thesis supervised by poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe
Iowa Writers' Workshop (University of Iowa)
Creative Writing
Degree:
Master's in Creative Writing (MFA)
Period:
2004
Year of Graduation:
2004
Country:
United States
Attended Iowa Writers' Workshop; completed master's degree in creative writing
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Pushcart Prize | — | — | Pushcart Press | Won |
| 2008 | Dylan Thomas Prize | The Boat | — | Dylan Thomas Prize | Won |
| 2007 | Michener-Copernicus Fellowship | — | — | Michener-Copernicus | Fellowship |
| 2009 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award | The Boat | Fiction | Anisfield-Wolf | Won |
| 2008 | National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' Honoree | — | — | National Book Foundation | Honoree |
| 2010 | PEN/Malamud Award | — | — | PEN/Malamud | Won |
| 2025 | New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Book of the Year | 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem | Book of the Year | New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Won |
| 2025 | NSW Multicultural Award | 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem | — | New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Won |
| 2025 | Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry | 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem | — | New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Poetry) | Shortlisted |
| 2025 | Mary Gilmore Award | 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem | — | Mary Gilmore Award | Shortlisted |
| 2009 | Prime Minister's Literary Award (Fiction) | The Boat | Fiction | Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Won |
Pushcart Prize
2007
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
Won
Dylan Thomas Prize
2008
Work:
The Boat
Organization:
Dylan Thomas Prize
Result:
Won
Michener-Copernicus Fellowship
2007
Organization:
Michener-Copernicus
Result:
Fellowship
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2009
Work:
The Boat
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf
Result:
Won
National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' Honoree
2008
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
Honoree
PEN/Malamud Award
2010
Organization:
PEN/Malamud
Result:
Won
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Book of the Year
2025
Work:
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem
Category:
Book of the Year
Organization:
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Result:
Won
NSW Multicultural Award
2025
Work:
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem
Organization:
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
Result:
Won
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
2025
Work:
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem
Organization:
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards (Poetry)
Result:
Shortlisted
Mary Gilmore Award
2025
Work:
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem
Organization:
Mary Gilmore Award
Result:
Shortlisted
Prime Minister's Literary Award (Fiction)
2009
Work:
The Boat
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
Result:
Won
Awards & Nominations
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (2009) Winner
PEN/Malamud Award (PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award)
1 appearances
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 46 (2025) Excellence Award
Works
Major Works
The Boat
2008 Short story collectionA collection of seven short stories set in places such as Colombia, New York City, Iowa, Tehran, Hiroshima and small-town Australia, each depicting pivotal moments in the characters' lives.
Migration / diasporaIdentityFamilyMemoryMoral choice
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem
2024 Poetry collectionA poetry collection exploring forms and voices of Vietnamese poetry, addressing cultural memory and intersections of language.
PoeticsCultural memoryLanguage and translation
Bibliography
- The Boat (short story collection) (2008)
- 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyric, language-focused yet structurally attentive proseTight short-story craftsmanship emphasizing scene-based tension
- Recurring Motifs
- Exile and movementParental sacrificeMemory and confessionCultural identity conflict
Legacy
Recognized for bringing the short story back to the literary spotlight with The Boat. Internationally awarded and praised for his poetic language and diverse settings including perspectives from the Vietnamese diaspora.
Quotes
-
I loved reading, and if you asked me why I decided to become a writer, that's the answer right there: because I was a reader and I was just so enthralled and thrilled by the stuff that I'd read that I just thought; what could be better?
Source: ABC Radio 'The Book Show' interview (2008) -
My relationship with Vietnam is complex... I feel a responsibility to the subject matter.
Source: Interview (2008) (2008)
Trivia
- Came to Australia from Vietnam as a boat refugee when he was less than one year old
- Worked as a corporate lawyer before turning to creative writing
- Served as fiction editor at the Harvard Review