The Katara's Cultural Village Foundation on Thursday inaugurated the monument of Katara as a city of Arabic novel at its premises between buildings 14 and 15. Katara takes pride in having the fine artist Fatma al-Shebani as the designer of monument, which was crafted from bronze, weighing 450kg, and took a month to complete.
Artist al-Shebani highlighted that the monument features a book the christened with the phrase Katara, the city of the Arabic novels, resting on a monument base. Above, a hand holds a rope that reaches deep into the book, an epitome of creative spirit of Qatari masterpieces, akin to the image of pearl divers plunging into the profound depths of the sea to unearth its hidden treasures.
This inauguration signifies ALESCO's formal designation of Katara as the City of the Arabic Novel. The monument promotes Katara's initiative in devoting a world novel week to be annually observed during the period Oct 13-20. In 2025, Katara prize for Arabic fiction marks its 20th anniversary with approximately 17,000 participants across six categories, notably published and unpublished novels, studies in novel criticism, unpublished young adult novels, unpublished historical novels, as well as Qatari novels. To date, over 250 titles have been published, including translations into English and French for 169 winners.
