Saudi Arabia has launched the Global Pen Award for Novels for Arabic fiction.
The competition is now accepting original works written in Arabic, and the competition's monetary award is $100,000 for the winners and the overall prize pot is of $690,000.
The Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Sheikh Turki AlAlShik announced the competition on Twitter saying, "[I am] very excited about this big step that benefits Arab novelists and the film industry in the region."
The first-place winner will receive $100,000 and the second-place winner will receive $50,000. These two winners will also win an additional prize of having their works adapted to films.
The third-place winner will receive $30,000. The competition also has a Novel Track category, which will award $25,000 each to the best novels across genres.
The Best Screenplay Adapted from a Literary Work will award $100,000 to the winner, $50,000 to second and $30,000 to third.
An additional prize for the Best Translated Novel will be given, including a monetary prize of $100,000.
There will also be a $30,000 prize for an Audience Award, which will be chosen through an electronic voting system.
The works will be judged by a main jury consisting of three novelists, three screenwriters, and three producers from the Arab World.
Winners of the competition will be revealed during a TV ceremony.
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