Al-Rifai: “The Arab Short Story Forum Award” Will Soon Return for Its Ninth Edition
Kuwait officials, including writer Talib Al-Rifai, head of the Advisory Council for the Al-Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story, clarified that the launch of the ninth edition of the prize (2026-2027), which was scheduled for May-June of last year, has been postponed due to current difficulties in holding the event.
Al-Rifai told Al-Rai that, given the transparency the prize has adopted as a guiding principle, the Advisory Council discussed the details of the ninth edition and decided to postpone it to a near future date to be announced as soon as possible. He emphasized that, with a track record spanning more than a decade, the prize will remain the most prominent presence in the genre of the Arabic short story, and that its ninth edition will be presented in a new format, with broad Arab and international participation.
He added, “The launch of the Al-Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story in Kuwait in 2015 was a significant cultural and creative turning point in the history of the modern Arabic short story, at a time when novel awards dominated the Arab cultural landscape, leaving a major negative impact on the production and publication of short story collections. Indeed, a large number of Arab publishers refrained from publishing any short story collections.”
He considered the establishment of the Al-Multaqa Prize as a lifeline for the Arabic short story, particularly given the presence of many prominent Arabic short story writers on the prize’s first Advisory Council, including Zakaria Tamer, Mohammed Khider, Saeed Al-Kafrawi, Sulaiman Al-Shatti, Ismail Fahd Ismail, and Leila Al-Othman, in addition to foreign publishers, critics, and translators. “This made the prize project launch on a grand scale, under the auspices of the American University of Kuwait.”
He continued, “This notable launch quickly led to the prize’s widespread dissemination, and soon Arab short story writers from all corners of the Arab world and beyond rallied around it. In fact, the number of applicants each year exceeded 250 writers, which in turn reignited Arab publishing for the short story genre. In its third edition (2018-2019), and with the establishment and launch of the Arab Awards Forum in Riyadh, the prize secured the position of Vice President, which strengthened its status to become the most important Arab prize for the Arabic short story. This is especially true since the winning collections from the prize have found their way into global translations, making the prize the central hub and the most significant reference for the Arabic short story.”
He pointed out that the writers who won the Al-Multaqa Prize have made a notable presence on the Arabic short story scene, including Mazen Ma’ruf, Shahla Al-Ajili, Diaa Jabili, Shaikha Halawi, as well as Anis Al-Rafai, Samir Al-Fil, Najma Idris, and Mahmoud Al-Rahbi. He affirmed that the hosting of the last two editions of the prize by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters ensured a respected presence for the prize, given the Council’s substantial cultural standing as the premier cultural institution in Kuwait.
