NEW YORK: The National Book Foundation in the United States will host, on Wednesday, the 75th National Book Award with the participation of the Kuwaiti novelist Bothayna Al-Essa. Essa qualified in the category of translated literature with her novel “The Book Censor’s Library”, published by the Books Restless. The original Novel, issued back in 2019 by Arab Scientific Publisher and Takween Publishing, discussed intellectual freedom and the impact of oppression on human identity in an interesting way that combined philosophical literature and science fiction.

The Kuwaiti Novelist competes with the Swedish Linnea Axelsson with her novel (Aednan), the Congolese novelist Fiston Mwanza Mujila with his novel (The Villain’s Dance), the Taiwanese novelist Yang Shuang-zi’s (Taiwan Travelogue), and the Syrian novelist Samar Yazbek’s (Where the Wind Calls Home).

The National Book Award is one of the most prestigious competitions in the United States occurring annually since 1950. It celebrates literary creativity and supporting writers and authors across several categories, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature. — KUNA