AlMultaqa Arabic Short Story Prize Announces the 2016 Shortlist

The AlMultaqa Arabic Short Story Prize jury has announced the ten shortlisted authors for the 2016 prize.

The 10 AlMultaqa Prize Nominees are:

	Author Name	Short Story Collection	Country	Publisher
1	Ahmed Omar	Hudhud Fi Zujaja	Syria	Halab Publishing
2	Anis Arrafai	Masahat Al Dumi	Morocco	El Eain Publishing
3	Haider Abdulmohsen	Qetat Aareya	Iraq	Dar Imdaa
4	Khadija Alnemer	Al Afkar Al Sabeha Bayn Al' wal Ard	Saudi Arabia	Difaf Publishing
5	Ziad Khadash	Asbab Rae'a lel Buka'	Palestine	Al Ahliya Publishing
6	Abdessamia Bensaber	Al Skabandu	Morocco	Dar ALFarasha Publishing & Distribution
7	Issa Jabli	Ka'an Amdi Khalf Juthati	Tunisia	Dar Zayneb Publishing
8	Lutf Alsarary	Al Raja' Adam Al Qasf	Yemen	Arweqah Publishing
9	Mazen Maarouf	Nekat Al Musalaheen	Palestine	Riad El-Rayyes-Al-Kawkab
10	Mohamed Rafie	Asal Al Nun	Egypt	Rawafed Publishing

Over the past few months, a jury comprised of accomplished writers, critics, and academicians reviewed 189 collections of short stories from published authors from 15 different countries; Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Oman, Kuwait, and Algeria.

AlMultaqa Jury Members are:

Mr. Ahmed Al-Madeeni (Chair of the Jury)
Mr. Ezzat Al-Qamhawy (Jury Member)
Mr. Salma Saleh (Jury Member)
Dr. Fadya Al-Faqeer (Jury Member)
Dr. Ali Ajail Al-Anezi (Jury Member)

Chair of the Jury, Mr. Ahmed Al- Madeeni stated that the committee had evaluated the submitted works based on the fulfillment of certain criteria and technical elements necessary for short story writing. The committee also looked at the spirit of innovation, novelty, and consistency of form and content, as well as the presence of an integrated humanitarian aspect in the selected short story collections.

The jury will continue its work to announce the five shortlisted authors in November, 2016. The 2016 winner will be announced in December, 2016 at a ceremony that is to be held at the American University of Kuwait that brings together the five shortlisted authors and well-known figures from the literary world.

The author of the winning short story will receive USD 20,000 (Twenty Thousand US dollars), a trophy and a certificate of recognition, as well as a grant towards the translation of the prize-winning short story into English. The winning writer or publisher will communicate with the translator and arrange for publishing the story with foreign publishers.

About AlMultaqa Prize

AlMultaqa Prize was launched in December, 2015 as a joint initiative by the Cultural Circle's Founder and Manager, Mr. Taleb Al-Rifae and the American University of Kuwait to promote and encourage writers to pursue and master the art of writing Arabic short stories.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 1st October 2016