World Today News has a must-read account of the Jeddah Book Fair, that recently finished in Saudi Arabia.
Some excerpts below.
Novel paths
The “Let the Novel Speak” symposium discussed the paths of the novel in attracting the reader towards enjoyable reading, the time it takes to write it, the basic rules on which it is built, in addition to the importance of criticism. The Iraqi writer Hawraa Al-Nadawi touched on the problem of literary criticism, and explained that the novel requires a long period of time before its publication to complete the reviews, reviewing the experience of writing her novel, which was nominated for the Arab Booker Prize, and took a year of review.
Egyptian novelist Rasha Samir explained that writing a novel is different from writing a story, noting that both writings are subject to rules that determine their path. The historical novel is considered one of the most difficult types of novels to write, pointing out that the first critic is the reader, and any errors in the historical narrative or interruptions in events cause him to refrain from reading.
“Novel Sketch”
The “Novel Sketch” workshop outlined the main features of constructing a novel work. It indicated the necessity of tracking characters, focusing on the plot that the hero seeks to untangle during the narration.
In this context, the novelist and journalist Jaber Madkhali explained that the structure of the novel in general can constantly change while its basic pillars that constitute it remain, indicating that change lies in the creation of new ideas, or different types of the novel.
Investing in the culture sector
At the discussion table, “The reality of the cultural sector and the future of investment in it” was attended, in a symposium in which the Director of the Cultural Research and Studies Department at the Ministry of Culture, Dr. Raed Al-Sufyani, spoke about the “Cultural Situation Report” in which the Ministry monitors cultural activity in the Kingdom, noting that this report established A reference for measuring the cultural situation and understanding trends in the sector’s growth and development.
Al-Sufyani explained that the report monitored the cultural situation since 2019, including features and statistics in Arabic and English, and is characterized by transparency and interaction through polling more than 3,000 participants on the reality of culture, making it a road map for culture by monitoring the challenges it faces.
Other areas covered include music and opera, and theatre and TV.
Read the full report from World Today News.
