Casablanca – With four Moroccan writers among the winners, Moroccan literature flourished in the 8th edition of the Katara Prize for Arab Novels last week in Paris.
For the first time in the history of the Arab Novel Awards, the announcement was made at a ceremony held in Paris at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The contest was organized on the sidelines of the UN organization’s commemoration of the inauguration of International Novel Week, which runs from October 13 to October 20 each year.
In the category of Studies on Research and Literary Criticism, Moroccan contestant Said Fellak was awarded for his study “Narratives, from structural theory to a cultural approach.”
Abdelmajid Noussi was awarded for his research entitled “Composite text: a study on the patterns of the contemporary Arab novel,” while Said Yaktine was awarded for his “Applied narratives: readings in the narrative of the Arab novel” study.
Each prize is valued at $30,000, and the prize committee is responsible for printing, publishing, and marketing the contestants’ publications.
Read also: Moroccan Novelists Among Nominees for International Arabic Fiction Award
In the boys’ novel category the winners were Abdellatif Nila from Morocco for his novel “The Wonderful Journey to Al Hamra,” Imad Dabboussi from Tunisia for his novel “The Hidden Cities,” and Muhammad Ashour Hashem from Egypt, for his novel “Little Wars.”
Each of the winners were awarded $15,000 for their entries.
In the category of published Arab novels, the prizes went to Ezzedine Jalaouji from Algeria, Bouchra Khalfan from Oman, and Nabiha Al-Essa from Tunisia.
As for the unpublished Arab novels category, Syrians Noureddine Al Hachimi and Malk Al Yamamah Al Qari, as well as the Sudanese Abdelkader Madoui gained recognition.
Each prize is valued at an estimated $30,000 and the awarded works will be translated into languages such as English and French.
