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  • Welcome to ALT Magazine & Press: Hazawi Prize Announces 2023 Shortlist: (Sana'a, Yemen) - The shortlist for the 2023 Hazawi Prize for Yemeni Literature has been revealed, announcing the ten writers who have been selected as finalists for this prestigious award.
  • Now in its second yearly round, the Hazawi Prize recognizes exceptional contributions to fiction in Yemeni literature. Organized by the Hazawi Cultural Foundation, this annual prize aims to promote Yemeni literature and support creative writers.
  • This year's shortlist features both emerging and renowned Yemeni authors. The ten works advancing to the final round of judging are:
  • - Abdullah Faisal shortlisted for his novel, Spirits and Secrets.
  • - Aisha Saleh shortlisted for her novel, Under the Ashes
  • - Farouk Merish shortlisted for his novel, A Dignified Stranger
  • - Ahmed Ashraf shortlisted for his novel, A Painful Belt
  • - Ghassan Khalid shortlisted for his novel, A Sky that Rains Fear
  • - Hosam Adel shortlisted for his novel, The Lord of the Black Dog
  • - Asmaa Abdulrazak shortlisted for her novel, Shrapnels
  • - Abdullah Abdu Muhammad shortlisted for his novel, The Road to Sana'a
  • - Najah Bahkeim shortlisted for her novel, The Final Decision
  • - Samir AbdulFattah shortlisted for her novel, What We Cannot See
  • The winner will be revealed at an award ceremony in Sana'a later where they will receive $1,500 USD. Second and third prizes of $1,000 USD each will also be awarded. All shortlisted works are celebrated for chronicling Yemen's rich culture and wartime experiences. This prestigious prize continues highlighting the nation's thriving literary community.

Balm – Nabilah Al-Sheikh – trans: Hatem Al-Shamea

**Balm**

Why did they say?
Love won’t return
Another time
Like friendship
Then they said
It’s a memory of a wound
Twisting
And sees the tremor of a heart
With its aspirations cautiously observed
It will long for
The tear of the eye for a memory
Folded, wounded
And constrained
They lied
Something like light came
Smiling
Surpassing every wound
With grace and elegance
He didn’t add a bit of bitterness
Mourning, crying in longing
He was the last
He was light
He was, in his eyes,
A story
Without blame
And melodies of complaint
Then he gifted her a book
Fragrant, a bouquet
Writing,
“May God protect you”
In a few lines
In a card.


Violet – Nabilah Al-Sheikh – trans. Hatem Al-Shamea

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