The 1st Golden Pen Awards Reveal

The first  Golden Pen Awards (2025) have been revealed recently by the Poets International  Pen Club, for the promotion and communication of international poetry writing. The winners are Da Xie from China, Doc Drumheller New Zealand, Duken Masimkhan from Kazakhstan and Yu Nong from China.

The awards ceremony will be held grandly at the Sydney Opera House in Australia on December 7, 2025, and the winning poets have been invited for their awards. It is reported to be the first-ever poetry event, held in this world-renowned landmark building. The ceremony will welcome well-known poets from more than ten countries and regions, including Australia, China, and the United States, etc. and they will also attend the 2025 Annual Conference of the the Poets International Pen Club.

Introduction of the Award-Winning Poets

Da Xie

Da Xie, birth name Jie Wenge, was born in 1957 in Hebei, China. He serves as a member in the Poetry Committee of the Chinese Writers Association and as the Vice President in the Chinese branch of the International Poets Pen Club. And he once held the position of Vice Chairman of the Hebei Writers Association. In over five decades of literary writing, his narrative epic Elegy (16,000 lines) has been acclaimed as the "Oriental Epic." His groundbreaking and locally rooted fable collection, Da Xie's Fables, is regarded as a pioneering work that "transcends absurdity and goes toward the nonsensical." His dream-realism novel, History of the Native Land, has opened new horizons in the field of fiction. His works have received numerous awards, including the Lu Xun Literary Prize.

Doc Drumheller

Doc Drumheller is an award-winning poet, musician, dramatist, who has published 11 collections of poetry. His poems have been translated into more than 20 languages, and he is the editor and publisher of the New Zealand literary journal Catalyst.

He was elected to represent New Zealand on the Executive Board of the World Congress of Poets, and is the editor in chief of the World Congress of Poets literary journal Fuego.

He has represented New Zealand at international poetry festivals all over the world, and has performed in Cuba, Lithuania, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Japan, India, China, Nicaragua, USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, and widely throughout NZ.

His latest collection is: Drinking With Li Bai, 100 Haiku from China and India, Cold Hub Press 2022.

Duken Massimkhanuly

Duken Massimkhanuly was born on April 20, 1963 in Akshi Village, Tekes County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. In 1982, he graduated from high school and was admitted to Minzu University of China in Beijing in the same year. In 1987, he graduated from the school with a degree in translation and language and literature. After graduating from university, he was assigned to the Institute of Literature of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences in Urumqi, and engaged in scientific research from 1987 to 1993. In 1993, at the special invitation of Al-Farabi National University of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Duken Massimkhanuly went to Kazakhstan. After the expiration of the contract, he stayed in Kazakhstan permanently and taught in the Far Eastern Countries Teaching and Research Section of the Oriental Studies Department of Kazakhstan National University. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the director of the teaching and research section. In 1999, he successfully passed the doctoral thesis defense, and in 2008, he successfully passed the postdoctoral thesis defense. In 2002, he was invited to teach at Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the director of the Oriental Studies Teaching and Research Section of the Department of International Relations of Gumilyov Eurasian National University. From 2010 to 2019, he served as the director and professor of the Chinese Language and Literature Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Language and Literature of the Eurasian National University. From 2019 to 2020, he served as the dean of the Institute of Sinology directly under the Eurasian National University. From June 2020 to date, he has served as the dean of the Suleymenov Oriental Research Institute of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Duken Massimkhanuly started his own creative journey during his university years and has published more than 40 books (covering literature, academic research and literary translation). In addition, Duken Massimkhanuly  has published about 500 scientific research and literary review articles in well-known scientific journals at home and abroad.  At the same time, Duken Massimkhanuly  translated and introduced the works of Chinese thinkers and famous poets and writers such as Confucius, Li Bai, Du Fu, Ba Jin, Lao She, Ai Qing, Yu Guangzhong, Wang Meng, Mo Yan, Zhang Chengzhi, Tie Ning, Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Chi Zijian, Chen Dongdong, Zhao Lihua, and Ding Dang to Kazakh readers at different times. In 2010, Tokayev, Chairman of the Senate of the Republic of Kazakhstan, commissioned the compilation of a Chinese-Kazakh dictionary. To this end, he and his wife, Dr. Ainur Abidinkyzy, spent about ten years and published a book called "Big Chinese-Kazakh Dictionary" in 2017. The dictionary has a total of 110 printed sheets and contains about 80,000 modern Chinese words. His main research areas include: comparative study of Kazakh and Chinese literature; history of cultural relations between Kazakhstan and China; special studies on Chinese literary history; and Turkological materials and research in China and Japan. Awards and honors: D. Masimhanuly was awarded the following orders: - "Order of the 10th Anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan" (2001); - "Best Teacher in Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan" (2010); - "Order of the 20th Anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan" (2011); - "Order of the 25th Anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan" (2016); - "Order of the 20th Anniversary of Astana" (2018). - "Twenty Years in Astana" (2018) - International Literature Prize "Alash" of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan (2012) - Shanghai Cooperation Organization "Silk Road: Humanistic Cooperation" Award (Gold) (2012) - The "Educator" Medal of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan for his outstanding contribution to scientific research and the training of young talents (2013) - D. Massimkhanuly was awarded the honorary title of "Honoured Person of Kazakhstan" by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2013) - Certificate of Honor issued by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Kazakhstan (2016) - Awarded the Medal "Wisdom" by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2022) - Badge "Contribution to the Development of the Mother Tongue" of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2024) - Awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of Lembek District" (2024) - Awarded the medal “30th Anniversary of the National Assembly of Kazakhstan” (2025) and many other national and international awards. As a poet, he has won numerous awards in national and international poetry competitions. He was invited to the Turkic National Poets Festival in Elazig, Turkey (2011 and 2022) and the World Poets Festival in Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand (2024). Participation in social organizations – - Member of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan; - Member of the State Council of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2003-2019); - Foreign member of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese of the People’s Republic of China. - Member of the World Association of Chinese Teachers. - Member of the Kazakh Association of Sinologists. - Member of the Kazakh National Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Program. - Editor-in-chief of the academic journal “Kazakhstan Oriental Studies”. - Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Problems of Oriental Studies” of Osh State University, Kyrgyzstan. - Member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal “Ancient Steppes” of the Azerbaijan Scientific Center. - Member of the Editorial Board of the Kazakh journal World Literature. - Member of the Board of Directors of the International PEN. - Member of the National Assembly of Kazakhstan. The research results and literary works of Duken Masimhanuly   have been translated into English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Kyrgyz and Uyghur.

禺农

Yu Nong, born in March 1966 in Yixing, Jiangsu China, now resides in Shanghai. He is a military poet and serves as the Executive President of the Chinese branch in the Poets International Pen Club, Vice Chairman of the Boao International Poetry Festival, and Publisher of World Poetry. His poms, more than a thousand, have been published in newspapers such as PLA Daily, PLA Literature and Art, and Chinese Culture Daily, and have also been featured in numerous overseas publications. He has received several awards, including the 4th Boao International Poetry Award—Poet of the Year, Second Prize in the Shanghai Citizens' Poetry Festival , the 20th Lebanon Naji Naaman International Literary Prize, the 4th Chinese Annual New Poetry Award—Outstanding Poet, and the 13th Italy Guido Gozzano International Literary Prize. His collections are Time Knows No Cold or Warmth and The Best Encounter.

Poets International Pen Club

November 1, 2025

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