(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
DOHA: The Cultural Village Foundation-Katara yesterday launched a three-day event to celebrate the second edition of Katara Prize for Arabic Novel.
The opening day witnessed last year";s award-winning novelists in the published and unpublished categories hold book signing of their works that have been translated into English and French.
Three concurrent exhibitions, on Youth Novel, Pens"; Collectibles and Naguib Mahfouz, were launched on the sidelines of the event yesterday at buildings 18 and 19.
Aimed at adding value to the Arabic novel scene, the event hosts a variety of activities culminating with the announcement and awarding of winners for the second edition of the Prize.
'Over a short period of time, Katara Prize for Arabic Novel has become a highly-reputed and recognised platform where Arab creative writers and intellectuals meet, share experiences and get their works celebrated,” said Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti.
Al Sulaiti pointed out that the astounding number of submissions during this edition of the Prize has exceeded all expectations with 1004 entries, which was split into three major categories: unpublished novels which received 732 works, published novels which saw 234 works, and literary criticism studies which received 38 papers.
He noted that these contributions came from a vast literary geography that covered the whole Arab world, emphasizing that the Katara Arab Novel Prize is for all Arabs.
Katara received 375 submissions from Egypt and Sudan, 260 submissions from Iraq and the Levant, 257 submissions from northern Arab-African countries, 105 submissions from the GCC countries and Yemen and seven submissions from non-Arab countries.
Last year";s Prize in the unpublished categories was grabbed by Abdeljalil Ouazani Touhami (A Woman in the shadow), Jalal Barges (Snakes of Fire), Mayslon Hadi (Throne and Stream), Zakarya Abo Maryah (Psalms of Departure and return), and Sameh Al-Jabas (An old rope and a tight knot).
The winners of Katara Prize for Arabic Novel 2015 for published novels comprised; Muneera Swar (Jaria), Waciny Laredj (Butterfly Kingdom), Amir Tag El-Sir (366), Nasra Al-Sadoon (Escaping The Vortex), and Ibrahim Abdel Meguid (Adagio).
The categories for the 2nd edition of the Prize includes the top five published submissions which will each be awarded $60,000; the top five unpublished submissions which will each be awarded $30,000; the top five unpublished studies on research, evaluation and literary criticism which will each be awarded $15,000 and the top five unpublished young-adult novels which will each be awarded $10,000 .
Sessions on ‘Variables in the contemporary Arabic novel,” 'Transformations in the Arabic novel,” Arabic novel: local and humanitarian” and 'Reality of novel";s transformations in the Gulf” will be held today.
The awarding of winners of the second edition will mark the conclusion of the event tomorrow night at the Opera House.
Deadline for submission of entries for the third edition of the Prize will be on December 31.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.