Ngarmpun Vejjajiva (, ; born January 27, 1962, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is a Thai

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

. She was the recipient of the

S.E.A. Write Award The S.E.A. Write Award, or Southeast Asian Writers Award, is an award that is presented annually since 1979 to poets and writers of Southeast Asia. The awards are given to the writers from each of the countries comprised in the Association of S ...

for Thailand in 2006 for her first novel, ''

The Happiness of Kati ''The Happiness of Kati'' (ความสุขของกะทิ) is a novel written by Ngarmpun Vejjajiva, for which she received the S.E.A. Write Award for Thailand in 2006. The book was adapted into in 2009. Synopsis ''The Happiness ...

''. A

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

user, she has had

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

since birth and finds comfort in immersing herself in the imaginary world of reading and writing. As is customary for Thais, she has a short nickname, thus many people know her as "Jane". Ngarmpun is the sister of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

's former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Abhisit Vejjajiva Abhisit Vejjajiva (; , , ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in t ...

Biography

Early life

Born as Jane Vejjajiva in England, where her parents were completing their medical studies, she returned to

at age 3 and grew up in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. She graduated with first class honors with gold medal from

Thammasat University Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French literature. She then studied French, Italian and English at the Translators and Interpreters School in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Career

She started her career as translator in a magazine publisher in 1988 before setting up her own company, publishing and editing a children's magazine until 1995. She is now managing director of a

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

agency, Silkroad Publishers Agency. She also works as freelance translator, with her works including ''Seta'' by

Alessandro Baricco Alessandro Baricco (; born 25 January 1958) is an Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a number of languages. Early life, family and education Baricco was born in Turin, Italy. He has earned degrees in ...

, ''Le moine et le philosophe'' by

Jean-François Revel Jean-François Revel (born Jean-François Ricard; 19 January 192430 April 2006) was a French philosopher, journalist, and author. A prominent public intellectual, Revel was a socialist in his youth but later became a prominent European propon ...

and

Mathieu Ricard Matthieu Ricard (; , born 15 February 1946) is a Nepalese French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Monastery, Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities ...

and ''

The Trumpet of the Swan ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' is a children's novel by E. B. White published in 1970. It tells the story of Louis, a trumpeter swan born without a voice who overcomes this difficulty by learning to play a trumpet in order to impress a beautifu ...

'' by E.B. White. Other translations include

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600&nb ...

's ''

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...

'',

Kate Dicamillo Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo (born March 25, 1964) is an American author of children's fiction. She has published over 25 novels, including '' Because of Winn-Dixie'' (2000), '' The Tiger Rising'' (2001), '' The Tale of Despereaux'' (2003), '' T ...

's ''The Tale of Desperaux'' and

Emmanuel Dongala Emmanuel Boundzéki Dongala (born 1941) is a Congolese chemist and novelist. He was born in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in 1941. He was Richard B. Fisher Chair in Natural Sciences at Bard College at Simon's Rock until 2014. As a chemist, hi ...

's ''Les Petits Enfants Naissent Aussi des Etoiles'' (''Little Children Are Also Born From Stars'').

Novels

Her first novel, ''

'' (ความสุขของกะทิ), came about during a rare one-month break from her translation work. Always wanting to write a novel, but never having the time, Ngarmpun was inspired one day while working in the kitchen with a

spatula A spatula is a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. In medical applications, "spatula" may also be used synonymously with tongue depressor. The word ''spatula'' derives ...

and

frying pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It typically ranges from in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small ...

, which served as the beginnings of characters for the children's story. ''The Happiness of Kati'' is about a young Thai girl mourning the death of her mother yet also enjoying life in a small Thai village on the banks of the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

, living with her grandmother and cousins. The book was published by Praew Books, an imprint of Amarin Printing and Publishing, and has been translated into English, German, Japanese, French and Catalan. Although generally well received, ''The Happiness of Kati'' has received some criticism for its simplistic and bourgeois portrayal of Thai rural life. A sequel, entitled ''The Happiness of Kati: Chasing the Moon'' (ความสุขของกะทิ ตอน ตามหาพระจันทร์) was published in Thai in 2006. Aside from her novels, Ngarmpun has also written short stories for magazines.

Awards

* 1999 - Chevalier

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

. * 2006 -

References