Six gifted Arab authors will today, Tuesday 30 October, start a
week-long writer’s workshop as part of the International Prize for Arabic
Fiction’s 2012 nadwa programme. This annual
gathering brings together emerging talent from the Arab literary world,
identified by former IPAF judges as ‘ones to watch’, and gives them the
opportunity to hone their skills under the tutelage of IPAF shortlisted
authors.
The workshop, sponsored by His
Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative
in the Western Region, will take place over eight days in the privacy of a
desert retreat in Abu Dhabi. During this time, the six writers will each
produce a work of fiction. Guided by their mentors, the writers will be encouraged to critique each others’ work as well as
discuss broader subjects of literary interest, such as the use of dialect in
fiction. In due course, this new work will be translated into English and published
as a bilingual volume.
This year’s authors range between 33 and 43 years of age. The two female
and four male writers come from six countries across the Middle East including
Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine and Iraq. Two of them - Sara al-Jarwan and Waleed Ouda – are based in the United Arab Emirates.
Sara al-Jarwan made history as the first female Emirati novelist, when she
published in 1992 (though written years before in 1984) her novel, Shajan
Bint Al Qadar Al Hazin (The Melancholy of the Daughter of a Sad Destiny).
The participants will be mentored by Iraqi novelist and journalist Inaam Kachachi and Sudanese writer Amir
Tag Elsir. Inaam Kachachi was shortlisted for IPAF for her second novel, The
American Granddaughter, in 2009. She was a mentor at the inaugural nadwa in
2009, including Egyptian writer Mansoura Ez Eldin, who went on to be
shortlisted for IPAF in 2010 for her novel Beyond Paradise. Amir Tag
Elsir was shortlisted for the Prize in 2011 for The Larvae Hunter.
Inaam Kachachi comments:
‘The IPAF nadwa provides an
opportunity to discuss the art of the novel. It is always an enjoyable and
mentally stimulating event. The first time I participated, on the island of Sir
Bani Yas, it was a unique experience because of the varied ages, perceptions
and literary styles of the participants. We also felt a genuine pleasure in
seeing new writing taking form in front of us, holding it in our hands, and
then later reading it in a printed book.’
IPAF Administrator Fleur Montanaro, who is coordinating
the nadwa, adds:
‘The nadwa is like no
other literary workshop in the Arab world. It brings together young writers
from many different Arab countries in a non-competitive atmosphere and allows
them to discuss each other's work and support each other in their creative
endeavour. Some changed the way they write as a result of the workshop, and
others have gone on to be nominated for IPAF and other
prizes.’
The inaugural nadwa took place in November 2009 and
included eight writers. The resulting fiction was published in English and
Arabic by Dar Al Saqi Books in Emerging Arab Voices: Nadwa1, launched at
Sharjah International Book Fair on 27 October 2010 and in the UK in January
2011. Two further workshops have taken place in Abu Dhabi, in October 2010 and
October 2011 and a second book, Emerging Arab Voices: Nadwa2, published
by Arab Scientific Publishers, was launched at Abu Dhabi International Book
Fair 2012. All three previous nadwas were run under the patronage of His
Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in the
Western Region, UAE.
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is the leading international prize for Arabic literature.
Funded by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA
Abu Dhabi) and run in association with the Booker Prize Foundation in the UK,
the Prize aims to celebrate the very best of contemporary Arabic
fiction and encourage wider international readership of Arabic literature
through translation.
2 comments:
These kind of Activities can help poor Students who have great education background but because of shortage of money they can't continue their studies .....
Arab Writers Union conference is a good initiative by Arab officials to promote Arab literary work. It’s a best platform where cultural personalities can gather and such events encourage cultural and poetic events in the country.
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