Win Lyovarin (Thai: วินทร์ เลียววาริณ, RTGS: Win Liaowarin, birth name: Somchai Lyowarin, Thai: สมชัย เลี้ยววาริณ, born 23 March 1956) is a Thai writer. He is a two-time winner of the S.E.A. Write Award.
His novels and short stories have been hailed in Thailand for being provocative and encouraging young readers to develop critical thinking skills.[1]
Personal life
Win was born in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province, Thailand. His father was a Chinese immigrant who settled in Hat Yai and earned his living as a shopkeeper. Win has a son named Trin who is currently a doctor in Singapore.[2]
Win graduated a bachelor's degree in architecture from Chulalongkorn University. He worked as an architect in Singapore for 4 years before moving to New York to work and study. When he came back to Thailand, he started a career in advertising as an art director and pursued a master's degree in marketing from Thammasat University. He began writing during this time.[3]
His experience in architecture and advertising heavily influenced some of his more experimental works. His experimental short stories usually contains both image and short text, both providing equally important context to the story.
Awards
S.E.A. Write Award
S.E.A. Write Award in 1997, for the novel Pracha Thippatai Bon Sen Khanan (translated in 2003 as Democracy, Shaken and Stirred)
S.E.A. Write Award in 1999, for the short story collection Sing Mi Chiwit Thi Riak Wa Khon ("the creatures called humans")
National Book Improvement Committee
Outstanding Book Award in 1995, for Aphet Kamsuan
Outstanding Book Award in 1995, for Pracha Thippatai Bon Sen Khanan
Honorable Mention in 1995, for Samut Pok Dam Kap Baimai Si Daeng
Outstanding Book Award in 2003, for Pik Daeng
Thailand Research Fund
One of 88 Good Science Books in 2001, for Duean Chuang Duang Den Fa Da Dao
One of 100 Good Books That Children and Young Adults Should Read, for Sing Mi Chiwit Thi Riak Wa Khon
Silpathorn Award
Win received the Silpathorn Award for Literature in 2006, awarded annually by the Thailand Ministry of Culture Office of Contemporary Art and Culture to living contemporary artists in the fields of literature, music, filmmaking, visual arts, and performing arts.[1]
Works
Novels
Pracha Thippatai Bon Sen Khanaan (ประชาธิปไตยบนเส้นขนาน; 1994) ISBN978-974-85854-7-5
Published in English in 2003 as Democracy, Shaken and StirredISBN978-974-91296-9-2. A review by Ron Morris states that the Thai title of the book translates as "Democracy Along Parallel Lines".[4]Winbookclub product details