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21:38 GMT
The winner of Al-Multaqa Arabic Short Story Prize for the year 2015-16 Palestinian author Mazen Maarouf
KUWAIT, Dec 5 (KUNA) -- Palestinian author Mazen Maarouf won Monday Al-Multaqa Arabic Short Story Prize for the year 2015-16, for his collection of short stories, Jokes for the Gunmen.
The judging panel announced Maarouf as the winner of Al-Multaqa Prize, in a ceremony held under patronage of Minister of Amiri Diwan Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, among 189 Arab short story authors.
Maarouf will get USD 20,000 cash in addition to a translation of his winning short stories into the English and French languages.
Dr. Taleb Al-Rifaee, founder of Al-Multaqa, which was launched last year by the American University of Kuwait (AUK) in partnership with the Cultural Cirlce, said Al-Multaqa was a dream that came true aimed at developing art and literature of short stories.
The short story is very concentrated and equals the writing of poems, he explained.
This annual prize, he said, aimed at encouraging people to write short story and maintain it.
Maarouf said the writing of short story "is essential and an urgent literary need."
Jokes for the Gunmen are a surrealistic collection of 14 short stories about the reality of a child living in a war zone. (end)
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