Including Sudanese Author Muhannad Al-Dabi: Winners of the 12th Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction Announced
Doha – Sudan Horizon
Cultural and literary circles have celebrated the winners of the 12th edition of the 2026 Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction, including Sudanese writer Muhannad Rajab Al-Dabi.
The General Organization for the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara, announced the winners on Thursday.
In the Published Arabic Novels category, the winners were Samar Nour of Egypt for her novel Asha the Scarab and the Moon; Maha Abdulaziz Al-Yamani of Saudi Arabia for My Hands Do Not Tremble; and Muhannad Rajab Al-Dabi of Sudan for The Siege of Al-Ghazala Wau.
Each winner in this category will receive US$30,000, and the winning novels will also be translated into English.
In the Unpublished Arabic Novels category, the winners were Sarah Salti of Algeria for We May Meet; Huda Al-Mashrawi of Palestine for Death Has Another Day; and Nasser Al-Sharif of Saudi Arabia for The Voice That Ziryab Never Reached. Each winner will receive US$30,000, and the winning works will be printed and translated into English.
In the Literary Studies in Novel Research and Criticism category, three critics were honored: Dr. Amal Younes Erahim of Palestine for her study, The Contemporary Arabic Novel and the Allure of Cinema: The Novel Destinies: A Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba as a Case Study; Dr. Hamid Al-Kattani of Morocco for The Arabic Novel on the Threshold of Development: A Study of Periodization from the Perspective of Critical Classification Terminology; and Dr. Mahmoud Farghali of Egypt for Representations of the Environment in the Novel: An Ecocritical Reading of the Works of Zahran Al-Qasimi.
Each winner in this category will receive US$30,000. The prize committee will also oversee the printing, publication, and marketing of the winning studies.
In the Young Adult Novel category, the winners were Khadija Telli of Algeria for The Tailor of Tolga; Dr. Manal Taha Al-Jarash of Yemen for Sunglasses; and Hani Al-Qatt of Egypt for The Kingdom of Stone. Each winner will receive US$15,000, and the winning novels will be printed and published.
In the Unpublished Historical Novel category, Noha Fahim of Egypt won for her novel Sunset of Alcázar.
In the Published Qatari Novel category, Khalaf Al-Khalaf won for his novel The Covenant and the Pact.
In his address at the ceremony, Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, Director-General of the General Organization for the Cultural Village Foundation, Katara, congratulated the winners of the 12th Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction. He described them as ambassadors of Arabic language and culture, expressing confidence that their creative work would enrich the Arab literary library.
The Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction is an annual Arab literary award launched by Qatar’s Katara Cultural Village Foundation in early 2014.
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