Aspiring authors attended a 72-hour-long writing contest at Qatar National Library, held in collaboration with Tomoh for Voluntary Work Management, a non-profit initiative promoting volunteerism among youth in Qatar. Established local authors shared tips with attendees on how best to bring one’s ideas to the page.
At the workshop, participants drafted a total of six manuscripts. A judging panel comprising senior local authors announced the winning group of Ayesha Ayet Hajjaj, Mohammed Shabrawi, Abdul Jabbar Fares and Iman Al-Azzabi, whose manuscript, Shaa’a Bainahum (Spreading Rumors), fully met the competition’s criteria. The manuscript highlighted the opportunities and challenges created by social media and the internet, and ways to best use these technologies.
The winning group will receive support from fellow authors and Lusail Publishing and Distribution, a local publishing house, in order to turn their winning manuscript into a published book.
“Today we took our first steps to become future writers, and I am delighted that we were announced as the winners of this competition. This event gave us a chance to show our creativity and meet some of the best authors from Qatar,” said Abdul Jabbar Fares, a member of the winning team.
“The Library provided the best venue for the competition. The participants received great support from both the Library and the Tomoh team. We are looking forward to publishing the manuscript and producing great writers in the future,” said Wala Ahmed, consultant to the winning team.
The other five manuscripts produced during the three-day creative writing practice included: From Seed to Bloom, Qatari Heritage: A Concourse of Modernity and Authenticity, Giving a Hand, How to Cope With Psychological Stress, and Four Entrepreneurial Minds.
