You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Short stories from Kuwait win EIBF award
A short story collection by Kuwaiti author Mai Al-Nakib has won the 2014 Edinburgh International Book Festival’s First Book Award.
Al-Naikib’s debut collection of short stories, The Hidden Light of Objects (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing), was chosen by voters from 47 adult and young adult writers who brought their debut novel, novella or short stories to Edinburgh in August, including those whose work was published in English for the first time.
The First Book Award encourages the Book Festival audience to discover debut fiction featured in the Festival Programme each year and vote for their favourite. This year, over 2,200 people voted at the Festival or online.
The Hidden Light of Objects is a collection of short stories that peels away the private struggles of adolescence, marriage and middle age from a Kuwaiti-American perspective against the backdrop of the recent history of the Middle East.
Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “This is an extraordinarily moving and assured debut collection depicting the lives of ordinary people in a region of the world that is high on the news agenda. Melancholy and yet full of hope, these stories add up to a delicately devastating portrait of the Middle East, the like of which has perhaps never before been rendered in the English language. This book, and its huge endorsement in this public vote, heralds the arrival of a rising literary star.”
He also said he was “excited” that a collection of short stories had been chosen for the first time in the history of the First Book Award.
Al Nakib, who teaches at Kuwait University, said: “I am incredibly grateful for this award. This was my first time at the fantastic Book Festival, and I can’t thank the organisers enough for their support. To be surrounded by people who care so much about books, ideas, and writing was inspiring. To have my book selected by readers is especially gratifying and encouraging. It means so much to know that readers from all over the world are connecting with The Hidden Light of Objects.”
She continued: “This award is especially meaningful to me because it is my first and because it comes from Edinburgh, the city I spent some time in when I was a baby. Winning an award from this city’s Book Festival feels like I’ve come full circle. I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
The authors eligible for the 2015 First Book Award will be announced in June 2015. Full details of all nominees for this year’s First Book Award can be found at the awards website.
