Muscat: The Cultural Village Foundation in Qatar, Katara, has announced the winners of the eighth edition of its award for Arabic Fiction.
The novel "Dilshad: The Biography of Hunger and Satisfaction" by the Omani writer Bushra Khalfan won the Arabic Novel Award published alongside an Algerian writer.
The winning author will be awarded an amount of more than $50,000, in addition to translating the winning novel into English.
Bushra Khalfan has been writing short stories, novels, and articles for nearly 25 years a quarter of a century, including in some local newspapers. Her collection of open texts, Dust (2008), was awarded the Omani Writers’ Association Prize.
From 2010 to 2012, Khalfan was head of the Literature and Creativity Committee at the Muscat Cultural Club, and by 2014, she had founded the Omani narrative laboratory.
Earlier, Dilshad was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) this year.
The plot, which revolves around the young native of Muscat named Dilshad, takes place in the Omani capital during the first half of the 20th century. Omani culture and some of the poverty present in the country, are reflected on through the story of the protagonist and his daughter.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
