His Excellency the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, Counselor Turki bin Abdul Mohsen Al Sheikh, inaugurated the website for the “Golden Pen” Award for the Most Influential Literature at a ceremony held today. It is the first award aimed at transforming literary works into cinematic works produced by the General Entertainment Authority.

Al Sheikh said in his speech during the ceremony: “Three days ago, we were pleased with the announcement by His Highness the Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, of his sponsorship of this award, as part of the cooperation that took place through a large agreement between the General Entertainment Authority and the Ministry of Culture.”

His Excellency the Chancellor also stressed the desire to access a complete and integrated bank of Arabic novels, scenarios and content, to keep pace with the huge productions that will be in our Arab world in general, and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular.

Al-Sheikh pointed out in his speech, “This award is completely different in terms of the diversity of its committee members, its goal, and its results, as the opportunity will be available to every Arab young man and woman, or to those who write in Arabic, from the age of 18 years and above.” He also pointed out that "the big problem in the Middle East, and the Arab world in particular, is the limited number of workers in the novel or film production sector, and we aspire for this to be reflected in the development of Arab young men and women."

Regarding the Diwaniyah of the Golden Pen, His Excellency the Chancellor explained that it will be a special gathering place for writers, and its membership will be free. There will also be special criteria for selecting the beneficiary members, as it will be a shining point throughout the year in the Arab world.

For his part, the head of the Golden Pen Award, Dr. Saad Al-Bazai, announced in a press conference held on the sidelines of the award’s official launch ceremony, the main stages of it, explaining that the opening of applications for literary works will begin through the website on the 15th of this September, until... On the 30th of this month,

Then the long list will be announced on November 30, followed by the short list on December 30, 2024. The winners are scheduled to be revealed and awards distributed in a large ceremony to be held in February 2025, in the presence of an elite group of writers, intellectuals, film makers and stars.

He pointed out that the six award tracks are: the grand prizes, the novel tracks, the screenplay, the best translated work of fiction, the best Arabic publisher, and the audience award, with a total prize value of $740,000. In the grand prizes and screenplay tracks, the prizes for first place will be $100,000 and the production of a cinematic film.

The second place will receive $50,000 for the production of a cinematic film, and the third place will receive $30,000. As for the Novel Tracks Awards, there will be 8, with a value of $25,000 for each award, and they include the best novel for suspense and excitement, the best novel for mystery and crime, the best romantic novel, the best fantasy novel, and the best comedy novel. Best historical novel, best horror novel, and best realistic novel.

The award president stated that the prize for the best translated work of fiction will be $100,000, while the best Arab publisher will receive $50,000, while the audience prize will be $30,000, as voting will be opened to the public on the award website at a later time.

The award president stated that the prize for the best translated work of fiction will be $100,000, while the best Arab publisher will receive $50,000, while the audience prize will be $30,000, as voting will be opened to the public on the award website at a later time....