Saudi Arabia launches global competition for Arabic fiction with a prize pot of $690,000

In part, the literary prize focuses on works that can be adapted into film

Turki Al Sheikh is spearheading the kingdom's expansion into becoming a global leader in entertainment, with sporting, music and film events at the centre. Getty Images

A global competition for Arabic fiction is being rolled out by Saudi Arabia.

The Golden Pen Award for Novels is accepting original works in Arabic with a monetary prize of $100,000 for the winners, and an overall prize pot of $690,000.

Turki Al Sheikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, announced the competition on X, posting: “[I am] very excited about this big step that benefits Arab novelists and the film industry in the region."

The first and second place submissions will win $100,000 and $50,000 respectively, with the additional prize of being turned into films. The third place submission will receive $30,000.

The Novel Tracks category will award $25,000 each to the best novels across genres such as romance, fantasy and historical fiction.

The Best Screenplay Adapted from a Literary Work will award $100,000 to the winner, $50,000 to second and $30,000 to third. An additional prize for the Best Translated Novel will be awarded $100,000 along with a $30,000 Audience Award, which will be chosen via an electronic voting system.

The main jury for the literary award will consist of three novelists, three screenwriters and three producers from the Arab world along with an additional committee for the initial screening stage of the competition.

Winners will be revealed during a TV ceremony, to be broadcast across various platforms, with more details on how to enter the competition and conditions to be announced soon.

The Golden Pen Award for Novels joins other fiction competitions from the region focusing on Arabic writing. The International Prize for Arabic Fiction, which was established by the Booker Prize Foundation in London in 2007, is supported by the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates Literature Foundation also holds an annual short story writing competition for UAE and GCC students, sponsored by Oxford University Press.