Mohammed Hassan Al-Nahat was announced the winner of the Mohammed Saeed Nawed Short Story Award 2020 on September 16, 2020.
The Mohammed Saeed Award is named after the Eritrean novelist, historian, and activist who has become, according to Nassir Al-Sayeid Al-Nour “an iconic representation of the literary soul of the Eritrean revolution” during that country’s struggle for liberation in the last century.
The award, chiefly designated to those who write in Arabic, was established six years ago by the Aghordat Public Library, which organizes and sponsors the prize. It is the first Eritrea-based award for the Arabic short story set up to encourage creative writers of the region with participation from Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia.
The winner of the 2020 prize went to Sudanese short-story writer Mohammed Hassan Al-Nahat for “باحة بروكا” (“Broca’s Area”).
The story was praised by Sudanese translator and critic Nassir Al-Sayeid Al-Nour, chair of the judging committee, for how it, “Precisely depicts and illustrates, diachronically, the developing events within a powerful visionary narrative using a poetic language inspired by human suffering and the contradictions of daily life.” According to organizers, the winning short story will be published and widely circulated at media platforms.
Mohammed Hassan Al-Nahat bags the $500 US monetary award.
This post was originally written by our friends from Arablit.org.
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