Amid a great participation .. The launch of the Katara Award for Arabic Fiction

Imad Murad-Doha

Amidst the great participation of Arab writers, critics and academics, the activities of the fifth edition of the Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction kicked off in Doha on Sunday.

The number of participants in the current session reached 1850, distributed among the five branches of the award, in the category of published novels, the number of 612 novels, unpublished 999 novels, and in the category of unpublished studies reached 77 entries, and 147 entries in the category of unpublished novels boys, in addition 15 Qatari novels published in the fifth category which were added to the award in its new version.

Katara General Manager Khaled Al-Sulaiti considered that the Arab Novel Award has become a cultural forum for Arab writers, academics and researchers as evidence of the increasing volume of participation year after year from different parts of the Arab world.

Al-Sulaiti explained that the award needs to establish its objectives in the Arab world confirms the success of Katara in the service of the Arab creativity movement and the adoption of effective cultural initiatives and influential Arab and international.

New category
Al-Sulaiti said in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that the Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction is the largest prize for the novel in the Arab world, explaining that the current edition is witnessing the entry of the category of Qatari novel for the first time in the award with the participation of 15 novels, in addition to the launch of the novel laboratory that will help those interested in this development. As well as the issuance of a global international magazine concerned with all matters of the Arabic novel.

Al-Sulaiti pointed to the continuous increase in participation in the Katara Award for Arabic Fiction, where the current edition recorded 1850 novels, while the previous session recorded 1283 entries, reflecting the importance and leadership of the Katara Award for Arabic Fiction and its presence in the scene of Arab creativity, which highlights the great interaction of novelists and critics with the award Which has become a new stop in the world of Arabic fiction.

The General Supervisor of the Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction Khaled Abdul Rahim Al-Sayyid agreed with Al-Sulaiti that the increasing participation in the Prize year after year demonstrates the great confidence that the Prize has enjoyed at the level of the Arab world and the prestigious position it occupies. For all Arabs.

Egypt and Sudan lead
Regarding the geographical distribution of the participants, the general supervisor of the award said that the countries of Egypt and Sudan came in the forefront of the Arab countries in terms of the number of 639 entries, followed by the Levant and Iraq with 573 entries, then the Maghreb countries with 505, and the Gulf states recorded 128 entries, while five entries were recorded. From non-Arab countries.

Al-Jazeera Net adds that the award is a great addition to enrich the Arabic library, especially in the category of boys novels and critical studies, adding that adding the fifth category of published Qatari novels comes in order to enhance the presence of the Qatari novel in the local and Arab literary scene and encourage Qatari novelists to further Of creativity in the field.

The general supervisor of the Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction explains that the selection of Tunisian writer and intellectual Mahmoud Al-Massadi inspires the participants to identify this character, which has a great impact on the Arabic novel and its development, as well as introducing the Arab Mashreq to one of the leading writers and thinkers of the Maghreb.

He pointed out that the award aims to diversity in the selection of the personality of the year in view of the selection of Ghassan Kanafani in the next session and accepted by Tayeb Saleh, and in the first session was the writer Naguib Mahfouz.

Following the launch of the festival, a photo exhibition documenting the life of Tunisian writer Mahmoud Al-Masadi and his most important stations was inaugurated, and last year's signing ceremony for the fourth edition of the prize was published in the category of published novels, unpublished novels, unpublished novels and critical studies.

The prizes of the fifth edition total $ 635,000. The five winning published novels and the winning Qatari published novel are translated into English, and unpublished novels, unpublished studies and unpublished boys' novels are printed, published and marketed.