Introduction to the Katara Festival
The General Foundation for the Cultural Village in Qatar (Katara) is celebrating the late Saudi writer and diplomat Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, who was chosen Person of the Year, and the Saudi novel, which was chosen as the “Guest of Honor” in the current awards ceremony. The Saudi literary presence in the Qatari capital Doha is part of the activities of the “Katara Festival for Arabic Novel” in its eleventh edition.
Festival Activities
The festival includes the opening of the exhibition of the late Saudi writer and diplomat Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, as well as the exhibition “A Journey through the Saudi Novel from Basic to International” to mark the selection of the Saudi novel as the guest of honor for the current awards ceremony. The Saudi novel will be represented with the symposium “The Saudi Novel… Origins and Development”, moderated by Muhammad Al-Amiri, at which the Saudi academic and critic Dr. Mojab Al-Adwani will speak and give a lecture entitled “On Criticism of the Dominant Paths of Saudi Novel Writing”.
Katara Book Fair
Following the opening of the festival, the “Katara Book Fair” will open its third edition, with around 90 Qatari and Arabic publishers taking part. The first day’s activities include a ceremony to sign the winning books in the tenth awards session, including novels translated into English, French, and Arabic. The day’s activities will conclude with a symposium entitled “The Saudi Novel…Origins and Development.” On the same day, the third edition of the “Katara Book Fair” will take place in Hall 12, with around 90 Qatari and Arabic publishers taking part.
Collaborative Novel Project
On the second day of the festival, Tuesday, October 14, the project “The Novel Brings Us Together” will be announced, in which a Qatari writer will collaborate with a group of Arab writers to produce a collaborative novel. Two seminars will take place on the same day: the first deals with the late writer and diplomat Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and deals with his personality and his creative experience, the second is entitled: “The historical novel – reference and imaginary”.
Symposia and Workshops
The symposium on the Saudi poet, writer, and diplomat Ghazi Al-Gosaibi is entitled “Ghazi Al-Gosaibi – Personality and Creative Experience”, in which Dr. Mojab Al-Zahrani, Dr. Muhammad Al-Safrani, and Dr. Saeed Al-Sarihi will speak and will be moderated by Muhammad Boodai. On the third day of the festival, Wednesday, October 15, the groundbreaking “Katara Novel and Artificial Intelligence Competition” project will be announced, keeping pace with the boom in the use of artificial intelligence.
Katara Awards for Arabic Novel
The fourth day of the festival, Thursday, will see the eleventh session of the Katara Awards for Arabic Novel, honoring the winners in the six award categories: published and unpublished novels, boys’ novels, unpublished historical novels, critical studies, and the Qatari novel. This ceremony will take place at the Opera House and will be broadcast live on Qatar television. Ahead of the award ceremony of the eleventh session of the “Katara Award for Arabic Novel”, the “Arabic Novel Podcast” project is announced, a pioneering project that complements the Prize’s efforts to strengthen the presence of the Arabic novel regionally and internationally.
Final Days of the Festival
On the fifth day of the festival, Friday, there will be a theater performance entitled “The Novel in the Puppet Theater”. In addition to two seminars, the “Katara Youth Novel Competition” is also being offered for university students in Arab countries. On the sixth day of the festival, Saturday, two seminars and a training workshop on the topic of cultural engineering in the novel sector will take place. On the seventh and final day of the festival, Sunday, October 19, two seminars will take place; the first symposium is titled: “Dialogue and Peacebuilding in the Arabic Novel: Models and Trends,” in collaboration with the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, and the second symposium is titled: “Intellectual Property and Legal Protection for Novelists,” where experts in the field will speak.
Conclusion
The festival’s activities include workshops at the Katara Library of Arabic Novels headquarters, including a workshop on cultural techniques in fiction, a workshop on writing techniques in historical novels, and a workshop on boys’ novels and visual arts. The Katara Festival for Arabic Novel is a celebration of Arabic literature and a platform for writers, publishers, and readers to come together and share their love for the Arabic novel.
