General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation - Katara Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti honouring a winner of the 11th Katara Prize for Arabic Novel 2025 at a ceremony at the Katara Opera House yesterday.
Doha: The Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) yesterday announced the winners of the 11th Katara Prize for Arabic Novel (2025) at a ceremony at the Katara Opera House.
The ceremony was attended by a number of Ministers, Ambassadors, and representatives of diplomatic missions, along with a large number of writers, intellectuals, media professionals, and a large audience interested in cultural affairs.
The winners in the published Arabic novel category were: Hamid Al-Ruqaimi from Yemen for his novel “Blindness of Memory”; Rula Khaled Mohammed Ghanem from Palestine for her novel “A Sigh of Freedom”; and Mohammed Jabaiti from Palestine for his novel “The Cook Who Ate His Heart.” Each prize is worth $30,000, in addition to the translation of the winning novels into English.
In the unpublished novels category, the winners were: Ahmed Saber Hussein from Egypt for his novel “Yafi,” Saad Mohammed from Iraq for his novel “Shadow of the Circle,” and Maryam Gosh from Palestine for her novel “A Dream on the Eyelashes of Galilee.” Each prize is worth $30,000, and the winning works will be printed and translated into English.
Three critics won in the studies category, which focuses on novel research and criticism: Dr. Sami Mohammed Amin Ahmed Al-Qudah from Jordan for his study “Narrative Techniques of the Postmodern Novel (The Gulf Novel as a Model),” Dr. Abdul Razzaq Al-Masbahi from Morocco for his study “Responding with the Novel: A Study of Cultural Narrative Strategies,” and Dr. Mohammed Musharraf Khader from Egypt for his study “Narrative Strategies in the Arabic Novel: The Dialectic of Aesthetics and Culture in Post-Arab Spring Novels.”
Each prize is worth $30,000, and the award committee is responsible for printing, publishing, and marketing the studies.
In the Young Adult Novel category, the winners were: Rabih Farid Murshid, from Syria, for his novel “Jima and Juma in Our Known Capitals,” Samira Ben Issa from Algeria for her novel “Sivar,” and Naima Fannou from Morocco for her novel “Wings of Wooden.” Each prize is worth $15,000 and will be printed and published.
In the Unpublished Historical Novel category, Omar Al-Jamali from Tunisia won for his novel “Dien Bien Phu: A History of Those Neglected by History.” In the Published Qatari Novel category, Dr. Huda Al-Naimi won for her novel “Zafrana.” In his speech at the ceremony, General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation - Katara, Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti extended his sincere congratulations to the winners of the 11th edition of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel.
He expressed his pride in the achievements of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel over the past 11 years, cementing its position as the most important Arab platform celebrating the art of the novel and enhancing its presence regionally and internationally.
He pointed out that the prize has witnessed a growing demand from writers and creatives, with their number reaching approximately 17,110 over the past 11 years, of whom 183 have been crowned winners of the Katara Prize for Arabic Novel in its six categories, including 142 males and 41 females.
He stated that the award has contributed to bringing the Arab narrative voice to the world through Unesco’s adoption of the World Novel Week, which takes place from October 13 to 19 of each year.
