Katara Cultural Village, through its publication wing Katara Publishing House, is building a bridge between cultures and languages by bringing out translations of prize-winning Arabic novels in English and French.
Katara Publishing House, which was officially opened last month, has so far published around 16 novels both in English and French, translated from Arabic. These novels had won prizes at the annual Katara Prize for Arabic Novel in its first and second editions in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Translated versions of Arabic novels that won the 2017 Katara Prize for Arabic novels are expected to be released on the occasion of the announcement of the 2017 awards later this year. “By translating the prize-winning Arabic novels to two major foreign languages, English and French, we are giving an opportunity to non-Arab readers to know Arabic literature, especially Arabic fiction. Arabic literature, which was traditionally dominated by poetry is now witnessing a transition in favour of novels,” said Khalid al-Sayed, manager of Katara Publishing House.
“Knowing Arab fiction means knowing the life and culture of the Arab people from across the Arab world, with its different expressions and manifestations. These novels tell stories of love, human relations and tragedies, interspersed with social and political realties and conflicts in the Arab world,” explained al-Sayed. The novels published by Katara Publishing House in English and French deal with diverse themes in the backdrop of the political and social turmoil in the Arab world.
For instance, Blue Tongues, a novel by Algerian writer Salmi Nasser, is a narrative adventure that revolves around the tragedy known in Algeria as Black Decade. Wind Rider by famous Palestinian writer Yahia Yakhlef is an intriguing novel constructed from the myth of Jaffa, the historic Palestinian city when it was ruled by Sultans. It is the story of an artist who came out of Jaffa’s myths, sea and walls and lives in a world of fantasy, love, and tales of intense human relations and tragedies.
Other titles include Shadows of Body-Shore of Desire by Iraqi writer Saad Mohammed Raheem, Throne and Stream by Iraqi novelist Maysalun Hadi and Al Azbakia by Egyptian novelist Nasser Iraq, among others.
The books, which maintain high production quality, are on offer for sale at Katara Publishing House building in Katara Cultural Village, at reasonable prices. Al-Sayed said that Katara Publishing House has plans to market the books extensively, with the large foreign communities in Qatar in view, using all possible platforms and technology including e-books. The Publishing House also plans to hold a book fair exclusively for novels later this year.
Besides the English and French translation of Arabic novels, Katara Publishing House has published a number of books in Arabic, including fiction and literary criticism, and books on Qatari culture, heritage and traditions.
One of the works translated into English.
