UAE | Heritage and Culture
Booker Prize equivalent created for Arabic fiction
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction was announced yesterday with the support of the Emirates Foundation, UAE's philanthropic organisation, in association with the UK's Booker Prize Foundation.
- By Rania Habib, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 April 6, 2007
Abu Dhabi: The International Prize for Arabic Fiction was announced yesterday with the support of the Emirates Foundation, UAE's philanthropic organisation, in association with the UK's Booker Prize Foundation.
The annual prize, set to be awarded in 2008 for the first time, is only designed for prose fiction, and will award $60,000 (about Dh220,344) to the winner, and $10,000 (about Dh36,724) to each of the five runners-up.
Dr Peter Clark, representative of the Booker Prize Foundation, said that the prize is also designed to encourage translation and publication of Arabic language literature into other major languages.
Omar Saif Ghobash, Deputy CEO of the Emirates Foundation, said that this new award is important for the Arab world.
"It marks our commitment to celebrating the richness, diversity and importance of the Arabic language and culture, and introducing both a global audience," he explained.
The prize is managed by an independent board of 16 trustees that represent an international mix of writers, experts in Arabic literature and translation, publishing, media and figures in academia.
Ghobash said that appointed judges will represent a mix of ages and genders, and will be drawn primarily from the Arab world.
An announcement is expected to be made at the end of this month to discuss nomination procedures and submission dates for the International Prize of Arabic Fiction.
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