The yearly prize is an effort at adding value to the Arab novel scene as the event hosts a variety of literary activities, culminating with announcement of winners of Katara Prize for the Arabic Novel.
Over a short period of time, Katara Prize for Arabic Novel has become a recognised platform where Arab creative writers and intellectuals meet, share experiences and get their works celebrated.
In this edition, there were 1,144 entries, which comprised 550 submissions in the category of unpublished novels, 472 in published novels, 38 unpublished research studies and 84 in the unpublished novels by young-adults. During the ceremony, the General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation-Katara Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, said: “As we acknowledge and mark the 12th of October as the International Arabic Novel Day, which equivalently proves that the award is a new vital station in the Arabic Novel path, that ideally deserves the festive celebrations that Katara is undertaking today in a noble aim to honour novelists and literary critics while motivating and pushing them towards creativity and literature.”
The Katara chief also praised the importance of the strategic partnership with the Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALESCO), for their adequate support. Furthermore, Dr al-Sulaiti praised the role of the jury panel, representing a wide array of nationalities, as they are uniquely characterised by their sufficient transparency, impartiality, and objectivity. Stressing on the fact that the committees conducted arbitration work for all participants; without knowing the names, nationalities, or any information on the participant.
The General Supervisor of Katara Prize for Arabic Novel Prize, Khalid al-Sayed, stated that the literature initiative marched towards integrating the fiction novel with the fine-arts sector, as this year’s edition enthusiastically witnessed the participation of a group of Qatari artists who eagerly customised book-covers, that expressed the real spirit of the novel and books which intended to combine the beauty of art with high-end creativity. It is worth mentioning that the financial prizes allocated for the third edition equals $575,000, and that is after adding a new category, named: ‘Young-Adult Unpublished Novels’.
The prize is split into major categories, having the total financial prize allocated for the Published Novels category is $300,000, noting that the top five winners will be awarded $60,000 each. The top five Unpublished Novels will each be awarded $30,000, totalling a total financial amount of $150,000 for this category.
The top five Unpublished Studies from the Research, Evaluation and Literary Criticism category will each be awarded $15,000 totalling $75,000. While, the top five in the category of; Unpublished Young-Adult Novels will each be awarded $10,000 totalling a prize of $50,000.
On the sidelines of the annual festival, the opening of ‘Al-Tayeb Salih, The Genius of Arabic Literature’ exhibition took place at building 18. It is worth mentioning that the exhibition presented a biography of the Sudanese novelist who was often described as the genius of the modern Arab novel by literary critics.
Hosted in building 18, the event also had a signing ceremony, in which the awarded novelists of last year’s edition signed their novels that will be translated into English and French, representing the published and the unpublished categories.
Furthermore, the third edition of Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, witnessed a play titled, The Secret War as it depicted a novel, by an Algerian novelist, Waciny Laredj, that fascinated the audiences at Katara Drama theatre.
Finally, the festival concluded with the awards distribution ceremony, that unveiled the winners of the event, in the categories of; Published and Unpublished novels in addition to the categories of Research-Literary Criticism and Young-Adult Unpublished novels. For the Published Novels, the awarded novelists, comprised the following list; Said Khatibi for his novel titled, (Forty Years Awaiting Isabel), Sameha Kheres (Fostoq Abeed), Shaker Noori (Khatoon Baghdad), Hoshank Osi (The plight of the questions and the lust of imagination), and Mohamed Barada (Mawt Mokhtalif).
As for the Unpublished Novels, prizes were awarded to; Husein al-Sakaf (False Face Statue), Taha Mohamed Taha (The Apple Tree), Abdelwahab Eisawi (Safar Amal al-Manseyen), Mohamed al-Meer Ghalib (Shahd al-Maqaber), and Mona al-Shimi (Watan al-Jeeb al-Khalfi). Kataras prizes for research and studies went to; Dr al-Basheer Dayfallah, Dr Khalid Ali al-Yas, Dr Abdelhamid al-Hossami, Dr Mostafa al-Nahal and Dr Youssef Youssef.
The Young-adult Unpublished Novels category were grabbed by Ahmad Shehata (Jabal al-Khorafat), Ghamar Mahmoud (Babels Mirror), Kauther al-Gondi (Serens Notebook), Moneera al-Darwai (It is not a condition to be a superhero to succeed), and Nasr Sami (Al-Taer Al-Bashari).
