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Course Description:
This program, previously called “The Art of Writing a Novel”, is an intensive writing camp which seeks to create a new and distinctive writing model. Participants will share their own experiences in writing fiction through their selected manuscript, and work on them under the supervision of experts and published novelists throughout the course. The program depends on the presence of several experts and specialists who will come in to discuss the elements of writing a novel, joined by a number of novelists, critics and publishers who will share their experiences and discuss relevant topics with the participants, who will, in turn, be able to share their manuscripts with these treasured guests and listen to their feedback. This program offers new research material that has been especially curated for this course by a team of specialists. Moreover, participants will also be doing written exercises that have been put together and reviewed by tenured experts.
Target audience:
This program targets aspiring young novelists seeking to develop their skills in writing, help them meet experts and share their experiences. At the end of the program, participants will develop their own proposals for novels.
Activities:
The program is primarily focused on the lively discussion between participants in the presence of experts, through several activities including brainstorming in the form of a painting or a video, individual practical exercises and discussions about each participant’s writing proposal.
Topics:
- The Idea, the Story and the Theme.
- The Narrator and the Novelist.
- Characters.
- Dialogue, Language and Narration Terminologies.
- Time and Setting.
- Structure.
- Depiction and Narration.
Recommended for:
Novelists with previous fictional experiences. Interested in learning the basics, methods of writing a novel, and wishing to publish their first novel works.
Facilitators
Mansoura Ez-Eldin
Mansoura Ez-Eldin is an Egyptian novelist and writer of short-stories that have been translated to more than ten languages. Not only is she the current Deputy Editor-in-Chief for the Egyptian Akhbar Al-Abad literary newspaper, but she is also the editor of the book department. As a successful author, Ez-Eldin has published three story collections, namely, Shaken Light, Towards Madness, and Shelter of Absence, as well as six novels: Mariam’s Maze, Beyond Paradise, Emerald Mountain, Shadow Play, Disappearance Atlas, and The Orchards of Basra. Her work has been published in many popular international media platforms such as the New York Times, Granta, Public Space, and the German Sud Deutsche Zeitung.
Alaa Farghali
Born on December 5, 1976, Alla Farghali is an Egyptians screenwriter, novelist, author, and editor. He holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature, which he attained at Cairo University in 2019, as well as a Diploma in Cinematic Studies, which he attained at the Cinema Palace Center in 2020. With his knowledge, he became a lecturer and content presenter in creative writing to share his knowledge with the world. Furthermore, he is a member of Egypt's Writers’ Union as well as the UAE’s Journalists’ Association.
Mohammed Ait Hanna
Born in Rabat in 1981, Mohammed Hanna is a Moroccan author and translator. His work doesn’t stop there, he is also a researcher in philosophy, literature, and aesthetics. As a postgraduate diploma holder in Philosophy and History of Science, Hanna paved his way to earn the Tabriz Certification in Philosophy. He further shares his vast knowledge by teaching at the Regional Center for Professions of Education and Training in Casablanca. Nevertheless, he has also been a judge for several awards, including the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2021, and the Morocco Book Prize.
Zahran Alqasmi
An Omani poet and novelist, he was born in Dima Wattayeen in the Sultanate of Oman in 1974 AD. He has many poetic and fictional works and literary texts. Among his most prominent publications is the novel (The Sniper), which won the Cultural Creativity Award from The Omani Society for wrieters & literati in 2015, and the novel (تغريبة القافر), which won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2023. He is the first Omani novelist to receive this award.
Jalal Barjas
Is a Jordanian literary author and journalist, he studied military aviation engineering and worked in the Royal Jordanian Air Force until 2007, after which he moved to work as a journalist and served as a member of the editorial board of a number of cultural magazines. He worked in more than one civil aviation company until he was appointed to the Jordanian Center for Design and Development.
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