A press conference to announce the start of the second Sanmao Prose Award is held in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province on April 20, 2018. [Photo/zj.ifeng.com] 

The winners for the second Sanmao Prose Award, a literary award in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province were recently announced in Hangzhou, capital of the province. 

Altogether 13 prose collections and 13 essays were awarded, including two works on marine literature, the essay Sea in 30 North Latitude from Zhoushan writer Fu Da, and the collection Book on Islands from Sheng Wenqiang, a writer from Shandong province. 

The Sanmao Prose Award, co-hosted by the Zhejiang Writers' Association and the Dinghai authorities, is named after the contemporary Chinese writer Sanmao, or Chen Ping, whose ancestral home is in Dinghai district. It is currently one of the top literary awards in Zhejiang province and has gained recognition worldwide.

This year's award has seen the participation of 650 Chinese writers from home and abroad, including those from the overseas countries such as the United States, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Canada, as well as from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. 

Among the winners, there are two Chinese writers from Malaysia and Taiwan, respectively, among others. 

The awarded works represent some of this year's most extraordinary Chinese prose. They cover themes from history to culture, rural and urban life and mental reflections, and feature distinct writing styles and narrative techniques.

The awarding ceremony and related activities will be held in Dinghai district, Zhoushan on April 20.