The League of Women Writers of Morocco has announced the launch of an annual prize for creativity in the field of poetry, short stories, novels and theater called the “Maghrebian Writer Prize”.
The creation of this prize, which she subsequently intends to make an Arab prize, is part of the promotion of a culture of creativity, quality and excellence, by raising the level of aesthetic awareness and cognitive development and encouraging empowerment and cohesion, the League said in a statement.
It also aims to enrich the Maghreb cultural scene and strengthen the cultural partnership between Maghreb writers by encouraging them to be creative and to be part of a spirit of competition. Each edition will bear the name of a Maghrebian woman who would have distinguished herself in the field of culture and creativity, the League still notes.
And to underline that the first edition will bear the name of the late Moroccan writer Touria Lihi. In this regard, the League of Women Writers of Morocco opened the reception of applications for this first edition, from July 1 to October 30, 2021, the announcement of the winners of the prize being scheduled at the International Publishing Fair and of the book of Casablanca. The winners will be celebrated through the publication of their works on the occasion of the National Day of the Moroccan writer, March 9.
In detail, the eligible works are those written in classical Arabic, Amazigh, Hassani dialect or foreign languages, not previously published, whether in print or digital version, and with a number of pages not exceeding 100 pages for poetry and short stories, and 200 pages for novels and theater. The candidate cannot participate in more than one category of the prize.
The texts must be sent in paper format in one copy to the temporary address of the League at the Press Club in Morocco, avenue Mohamed El Yazidi, Hassan district in Rabat, as well as in electronic format to email [email protected], all attached with a biography of the author.
The supervision and direction of the prize are ensured by a body resulting from the Council of Elders of the League, while the Executive Board and a committee of the Board of Directors will be responsible for the classification of the nominated works. The juries are made up of personalities from the five Maghreb countries in accordance with the principles of transparency and objectivity, with a view to choosing a winning work in each of the prize categories, according to precise aesthetic and critical criteria.
A prize will be awarded to writers winning the first places, as well as a reward for those arriving in second and third places, with the publication of their works.
.