The winning collection will be translated into English and French

AUK hosted events for the second cycle of AlMultaqa Prize for Arabic Short Story that ran from the 4th to 5th of December.

The events commenced with an award ceremony where Syrian author Shahla Al-Aujaili was declared winner of the second cycle. The ceremony started with a short video that showed how the AlMultaqa Prize came to be and what it aims to achieve in the Arabic literary world. AlMultaqa founder Mr. Taleb Al-Rifae stated in the video, "Kuwait is proud to support the art of Arabic short story writing, and be the landmark for all Arab authors to meet every year in celebration of this craft." During his opening remarks in the ceremony, Al-Rifae credited the tremendous support of the Minister of the Amiri Diwan Affairs, Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for highlighting the AlMultaqa Prize within the Arabic literary culture. Al-Rifae also stated, "I hope that the celebration of the Prize's second cycle will further solidify its integrity within both Arabic and foreign literary cultures since the winning collections will also be translated into multiple languages." Al-Rifae concluded his speech by thanking AUK and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) for supporting the art of Arabic literature.

Head of the AlMultaqa judging panel Dr. Hassan Al-Naami also gave a speech during the ceremony where he remarked, "The judges need to face a challenge in evaluating each story, and that challenge was achieved where each individual story was unique, and the search to find a common thread within the collection was intellectually stimulating." Al-Naami also announced Shahla Al-Aujaili as the winner of the second cycle for AlMultaqa Prize for her short story collection entitled ‘Sareer Bint Almalek', published by Thafaf.

The remainder four shortlisted authors were also honored during the ceremony with certificates and small trophies presented by AUK President Dr. Tim Sullivan, Mr. Taleb Al-Rifae and Dr. Hassan Al-Naami.

After receiving her award, winning author Shahla Al-Aujaili thanked AUK, the AlMultaqa Prize and the judges for reading and holding her collection in such high regard as a piece of literature that awakens both our emotional and intellectual psyches. She also stated, "As a woman, I hope that this win will reaffirm our presence in literature throughout history."

Among the events of the second cycle of AlMultaqa prize is a literary forum that was held on the 5th of December where all 5 finalist authors discussed their collections along with a lecture entitled, ‘Arabic Literature and Translation'. Participants of the forum included Farouq Merdem Bek, Dr. Saeed Binkrad, and moderated by writer Mohammed Khudair.

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. In its first year, AlMultaqa received 189 entries from all around the Arab world. In its second year, AlMultaqa entries reached a total of 239 short story collections. Every year, the author of the winning short story receives 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.  


Mr. Taleb Al-Rifae, Founder of AlMulataqa Prize for Arabic Short Story


Dr. Hassan Al-Naami, Head of the AlMultaqa Prize Judging Panel


AlMultaqa Prize Second Cycle Winner Shahla Al-Aujaili


Author Shahla Al-Aujaili addressing the audience after her win


AlMultaqa Prize Second Cycle Winner Shahla Al-Aujaili


Winning author Shahla Al-Aujaili receiving her award
From Left: AlMultaqa Founder Taleb Al-Refae, winning author Shahla Al-Aujaili, AUK President Dr. Tim Sullivan, Head of the AlMultaqa Prize Judgine Panel Dr. Hassan Al-Naami


Shortlisted author Tamim Hunaidy receiving his trophy and certificate from President Sullivan
From Left: AlMultaqa Founder Taleb Al-Rifae, Shortlisted author Tamim Hunaidy , AUK President Dr. Tim Sullivan


Shortlisted author Mahmoud Al-Rahby receiving his trophy and certificate from President Sullivan
From Left: AlMultaqa Founder Taleb Al-Rifae, Shortlisted author Mahmoud Al-Rahby, AUK President Dr. Tim Sullivan


Shortlisted author Louay Hamzah Abbas receiving his trophy and certificate from President Sullivan
From Left: AlMultaqa Founder Taleb Al-Rifae, Shortlisted author Louay Hamzah Abbas, AUK President Dr. Tim Sullivan, Winner Shahla Al-Aujaili


MC Esraa Al-Johar addressing the audience during the ceremony


Audience members standing for the Kuwaiti National Anthem


Group photo of shortlisted authors with the judges


Images From the 2nd Day Cultural Events


Images From the 2nd Day Cultural Events


Images From the 2nd Day Cultural Events