Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti (centre), General Manager of Katara Cultural Village, Hassan bin Ramadan (left), Chargé d’Affaires at the Tunisian Embassy in Doha, and Khalid Abdul Rahim Al Sayed, Manager of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, during the
The fifth edition of Katara Prize for Arabic Novel will be held from October 13 to 15 at Katara Cultural Village, officials announced at a press conference yesterday.
The press conference was addressed by Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara Cultural Village, Hassan bin Ramadan, Chargé d’Affaires at the Tunisian Embassy in Doha, and Khalid Abdul Rahim Al Sayed, Manager of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel.
A special feature of the fifth edition will be the launch of Arabic Fiction lab and a journal specialised in fiction, as well as other activities which will be announced at the function.
Tunisian writer and intellectual Mahmoud Al Massadi has been chosen as the Person of the Year for the fifth edition. Dr. Mohammed Abdul Rahim Kafoud will be awarded the Aldad Shield for 2019 in recognition of his significant contributions to the advancement of Arabic language.
“The Katara Prize for Arabic Novel has achieved all its objectives in promoting and supporting Arabic fiction. It is serving as a platform for writers to enrich their creativity and for Arab novelists and critics to highlight their role. The Prize is also promoting dialogue between civilizations and building a spirit of camaraderie among nations through the translation of the novels into multiple languages,” said Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti. He said that the prizes will be given in five categories, including the published Qatari novel category and the winners of the prizes will be announced at the ceremony.
Sayed Hassan bin Ramadan thanked Katara for choosing the late Tunisian writer Mahmoud Al Masadi as the Person of the Year in the fifth edition. He said that the works of Mahmoud Al Massadi made him one of the most influential writers of Tunisia in the modern era, because of the intellectual depths of his writings.
Khalid Al Sayed, Manager of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, said: “The number of participants for the prize reached 1,850 this year from various countries of the Arab world. This is an increase of 30 percent over the fourth edition, which received 1,283 participation.”
Seminars will be held on Tunisian novelist Mahmoud Massadi and renowned Kuwaiti writer Ismail Fahad Ismail and the third seminar is about cultural engineering and fiction, in addition to a fiction play by the novelist Sameh El Jabass.
