Nam Le won the £60,000 (US$93,198) Dylan Thomas prize, which honors writers under the age of 30, for his debut collection of stories, The Boat. The Guardian noted that Le, who was born in Vietnam, raised in Australia and lives in New York, "ranges across the globe with stories set in locations from the streets of Tehran to a tiny Australian fishing village."
"Nam tackles his own background and circumstances as well as that of others with a clear eye, focused intelligence and wonderful use of words," said Peter Florence, chairman of the judges. "He is, in this panel's opinion, a phenomenal literary talent, and I look forward to following his career as it progresses."