The General Cultural Foundation Katara announced on Sunday, August 16, 2026, the shortlist of works selected for the 12th edition of the Katara Arabic Novel Prize across several categories. Several Moroccan names featured on the shortlist in different categories, as this year’s edition recorded a record 2,610 entries.
The edition includes Moroccan writers from different generations. In the Young Adult category, Younes El Didi was shortlisted for Zoqaq Al-Gharbal, while Mounir Serhane was selected for The Boy Who Was Saved by Books. In the Historical Novels category, Abdelali Alami was shortlisted for his novel Awlad Al-Wali.
In the Critical Studies category, El Hussein Ait El Amel was selected for his study Contemporary Arabic Fiction in the Light of Genetic Criticism: From the Paper Manuscript to the Digital. Hamid El Kettani was shortlisted for Arabic Fiction on the Threshold of Evolution: A Study of Periodization from the Perspective of Critical Classification Terminology, while Abdelrahim El Idrissi Bouzidi was selected for The Novel Confronting Itself: The Representation of Writing in the Moroccan Novel.
Established in 2014 by the General Cultural Foundation – Katara, the Katara Arabic Novel Prize is an annual award recognizing outstanding works of Arabic fiction and literary criticism. It also seeks to promote Arabic literature internationally by translating winning works into English and French, while publishing and promoting previously unpublished novels.
According to the foundation, the prize aims to encourage Arab novelists, raise interest in Arabic fiction and strengthen its presence both in the Arab world and internationally. It is based on the principles of independence, transparency and integrity, with both publishing houses and individual writers eligible to compete.
