DOHA: Arab Spring countries have submitted the largest entries at the inaugural Katara Prize for Arabic Novel.
“Despite going through difficult situations, Arab Spring countries led by Egypt have the largest participation in the prize which proves creativity is not limited by anything,” said Katara General Manager, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti.
He said it only reflected the impact of the award on Arab writers as it aims to cement a strong presence of Arab novels at international level and inspire Arab novelists to move forward towards the horizons of creativity and excellence, to raise interest and demand to read Arabic novels and increase cultural awareness.
The awards committee also received novels in Arabic from non-Arab countries such as Eritrea, Chad and Iran.
With the total number of submissions reaching 711 after the October 31 deadline, Dr Al Sulaiti said participation in the inaugural round of the prize had been unprecedented.
Of the entries 475 are unpublished and 236 published novels — unpublished novels representing 67 percent and published ones 33 percent of the total submissions.
This, he said, reflected the keenness of Arab novelists, especially young and promising writers, in such a prize. Majority of the novels were written this year, a few last year in addition to entries written in 2012 which will not be part of the competition.
There is considerable participation by women writers as the committee has received 157 entries, representing 22 percent of total participants, written by women from Arab countries.
Dr Al Sulaiti said an academic committee had been formed to review and study the novels.
The panel has been tasked to assess the content, topics and issues the novels address.
It will provide an analysis of the direction and trends in Arab novels, and concerns and situations of Arab societies. The results of the study will be published in a book at the conclusion of the prize.
The winning novels will be translated to English, Spanish, French, Chinese and Hindi. They will be published and marketed and some will be adapted into dramas.
Details of prize distribution will be announced on March 31.
The Peninsula
