Katara - Cultural Village has received 171 entries for the Katara Novel and Paintings Competition across the three prize categories.
There are 65 entries in the published novel category, 51 in the unpublished novel category, and 55 in the boys' novel category.
The highest number of entries, 92, came from Egypt and Sudan combined, followed by 38 from the Arab Maghreb, 31 from the Levant and Iraq, and 10 from the GCC countries.
The new edition of the Katara Novel and Paintings Competition will select the best nine cover paintings for the novels that won the Katara Arabic Novel Award in its ninth edition for 2023, which are scheduled to be printed in Arabic and other foreign languages, and distributed during the 10th edition of the Katara Arabic Novel Festival in October 2024, coinciding with the Arab Novel Week, held during October 13-20 each year.
The Katara Novel and Paintings Competition was launched for the first time during the Katara Arabic Novel Festival in its third edition in 2017.
Though, participation in the initial editions of the competition was limited to Qatari artists, in 2020 it was opened to all Arab artists.
The winner of the best cover painting for each novel wins a cash prize of $500. Besides, the winning painting will be printed on the cover of the novel alongside the name of the artists, while the copyrights will be owned by Katara.
