In September, the Science Fiction Poetry Association announced that Lao American writer Bryan Thao Worra and Vongduane Manivong's book of art and poetry, "DEMONSTRA," won the 2014 Elgin Award for Book of the Year. Thao Worra currently resides in North California, where he works as a non-profit grant writer specializing in the arts and Southeast Asian refugee issues.
"DEMONSTRA" was released in 2013 by Canadian publisher Innsmouth Free Press and features the original visual artwork of Texas-based artist Vongduane Manivong, who exhibits nationally. Both artists' families are from Vientiane. They first met in 2002 and collaborated previously with Manivong providing the cover for his second book, "BARROW."
The timing of the award is particularly exciting for the community as it prepares to mark 40 years of the Lao Diaspora in 2015.
Established in 1978, the Science Fiction Poetry Association has almost 300 members internationally. The Elgin Award is named after SFPA founder Suzette Haden Elgin.
In the chapbook category, the winner was Helen Marshall's 2013 book "The Sex Lives of Monsters" from Kelp Queen Press.
Additional details can be found at the SFPA Website: http://www.sfpoetry.com/el/14elgin.html
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