She is the First Algerian Winner of the Nazik Al-Malaika Prize

Algerian Storyteller Zaina BuRoweisa brought pride to her country by being the first Algerian to receive the Nazik Al-Malaika Prize in the short story category, entitled “Stop the Auction!” The 7^th Nazik Al-Malaika Award ceremony, which commemorates Arabic female writers, took place in Baghdad last week.

Zaina BuRoweisa lives in the province of Mila in Algeria and has a master’s degree in literature and linguistics. Her story “Stop the Auction” talks about the necessity of supporting creativity in the minds of the Arab and Algerian youth, and supporting the fields that they excel at, so that it may motivate them to stay in their societies and develop them, rather than travel abroad. The thirteen page story truly touched on a serious problem the youth is facing, in which they are being auctioned off to foreigners, who are higher bidders with their supportive arts and creativity programs.

Zaina BuRoweisa won second place in her category. Iraqi writer Iman Rady Abdul Hussein won first, while Egyptian storyteller Ghada Mohamed AlAbsi won third.