Doha: The Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) will launch its 10th Katara Festival for Arabic Novel next Sunday.
Lasting until October 20, the festival will feature various cultural events.
The award ceremony of the 10th Katara Prize for Arabic Novel is set to be held on the evening of the festival’s launch day at the Katara Opera House in which winners of the six categories will be honored (published novels, unpublished novels, young adult novels, unpublished historical novels, critical studies, and the Qatari novel).
The festival includes the launch of the 2nd Katara Book Fair with the participation of Qatari publishing houses, in addition to local libraries, cultural and research institutions, and four Kuwaiti publishing houses.
The 10th Katara Festival for Arabic Novel will feature a signing ceremony for the winning titles of the previous edition including novels translated into English, French and Arabic, as well as dialogue sessions and workshops featuring well-known writers and critics.
The festi
val also includes signing ceremonies for several special titles recently published by Katara Publishing House and other Qatari publishing houses, giving readers the opportunity to meet and interact with the authors, promote the habit of reading and increase interest in literature.
Moroccan novelist Tuhami Al Wazzani was selected as personality of the year for this edition. The literary figure will be celebrated for his remarkable impact on Arab novel development by showcasing an exhibition narrating his story.
A press conference will be held next Monday attended by the winners of the 10th Katara Prize for Arabic Novel to give them the opportunity to discuss their experiences and review their proposals for developing the prize to ensure its continuity with the same momentum and excellence ever since its launch.
Over the course of a week starting from October 14, eight seminars and dialogue sessions will be held covering a variety of topics including the development stages of the Moroccan novel since its fou
nding by Al Wazzani featuring talks by the President of the Moroccan Writers Union Dr. Abdel Rahim Al Alaam and Moroccan novelist, critic and academic Zahra Karam.
Egyptian novelist Ibrahim Farghali will present a workshop on fantasy and the novel.
General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti stated that the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel made great achievements since its launch and has contributed to giving the Arabic novel its place in the Arab and international cultural scene.
Following Katara’s proposal in 2016 and in coordination with Arab countries, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the World Novel Week at the end of 2021 to be held from October 13 to 20 of each year, Dr. Al Sulaiti underlined.
Katara’s first celebration of the week was held at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris in October 2022.
Dr. Al Sulaiti added that the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel worked since its launch in 2014 to consolidate the
position of Arabic novels regionally and internationally by launching a number of initiatives that resulted in Katara being classified as the ‘City of the Arabic Novel’ by the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in November 2023.
General Supervisor of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel Khaled Abdel Rahim Al Sayed said that the prize has established itself since its launch as a key supporter of the Arabic novel by diversifying its categories which motivated talents across the Arab world to showcase their work and participate in the prize that continues to have great momentum reflected in the increasing number of participants in its various categories.
Al Sayed added that the initiatives that accompanied the successive editions of the prize helped discover promising novelistic talents through novel writing workshops held throughout the year, as well as other initiatives that linked the novel with drama and visual art. The prize also linked the novel with sports through an applicatio
n that allowed its users to listen to audio versions of previously awarded unpublished Arabic novels.
He affirmed that the initiatives of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel will continue with the aim of spreading and introducing the Arabic novel to the world.
The total prize for the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel in its various categories amounts to approximately USD 375,000.
Source: Qatar News Agency