UAE: Omani novel on water wins top Arabic fiction prize

Zahran Alqasmi's The Water Diviner gets International Prize for Arabic Fiction

By AFP

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Published: Sun 21 May 2023, 10:32 PM

Omani poet and novelist Zahran Alqasmi was named on Sunday winner of the prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction with his book "The Water Diviner".

Alqasmi, 49, will receive $50,000, and the prize committee will provide funding to translate the novel into English, organisers of the annual award said on their website.


"The Water Diviner" tells the story of Omani villager Salem bin Abdullah, hired by his community to find groundwater reserves.

It touches on issues of water scarcity and extreme weather events such as floods.


"'The Water Diviner' by Zahran Alqasmi explores a new subject in modern fiction: Water and its impact on the natural environment and the lives of human beings in hostile regions," Mohammed Achaari, chairman of the judges' panel, said in a statement.

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Alqasmi, who has published four novels and 10 poetry collections, is the first Omani winner of the prize, now in its 16th year.

He was announced this year's winner at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

In an interview for the prize's website, Alqasmi said the book had an additional focus "on how women also caused changes in the life of the main protagonist”.

Five other shortlisted authors, from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya and Egypt, will each receive $10,000, the organisers said. The award is supported by Abu Dhabi.

“A huge congratulations to Zahran Alqasmi who has won the #ArabicFiction2023 with The Water Diviner. Set in an Omani village, The Water Diviner concurrently explores both the life-giving qualities of water, and its potential to bring peril and death through scarcity or flooding,” the organisers said in a tweet.


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