Elite+ magazine’s 12th anniversary gala dinner on Friday, 3 April 2025, held at the Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok, Lau Yee-Wa of Hong Kong was named the inaugural Chommanard International Literary Award grand prize winner for Lau Yee-Wa’s debut novel, Tongueless. The selection was made after almost a year from the call for submissions by female authors from ASEAN member states and East Asian region, including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Ms Lau Yee-Wa began, “I never expected to receive such an award or to have my novel translated into so many languages, including Thai. This violence is called deschooling, which the philosopher Ivan Illich warned us about more than 50 years ago.”Ms Lau Yee-Wa closed by saying, “I believe that Tongueless is my own small, stubborn act of deschooling. You can find additional information by visiting the Chommanard International Women’s Literary Award website @ https://virf.io/chommanard/home or by contacting virf@elitecreative.co.th.

Source: International New York Times April 10, 2026 15:07 UTC