ALMATY, Kazakhstan: On 14-17 November 2014, the British publishing house Hertfordshire Press, with the help of the National State Book Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Kazakhstan, will host the third Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival (OCABF).
This year, the festival organisers plan to hold the four day celebration in Kazakhstan, with events in both Astana and Almaty, to focus attention on the development of the publishing sector across the whole Central Asian region.
The forum will celebrate Central Asian writing and writers, both past and present, and will unite not only representatives of publishing companies and authors, but also their audiences, including libraries, educational institutions and the media. The organising committee are delighted to announce that a third literary contest will be held, with a total prize value equivalent to $17,000, allowing the publication of the winning entry’s work. Last year Abdulla Isa, from Azerbaijan, won the contest with his work “Man of Mountains” which will be published later this year and follows the successful publication of the first contest winner, Galina Dolgaya, whose work, “The Gods of the Middle World” is already published. Neither of these would have been published without the help of OCABF and Hertfordshire Press.
The event follows on from the last two years’ hugely successful Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festivals. The first of these took place on 24-25 November, 2012, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, with a total of 1,300 attendees at what was the first such event since independence. Last year’s festival took place in London on 5-9 November, 2013 allowing English audiences to get a real feel for the talent and style of Central Asian authors. Both festivals featured appearances by international literary stars including Janusz Leon Wisniewski (Poland), Hamid Ismailov (UK and Uzbekistan), and Elchin Safarli (Azerbaijan).
Open Central Asia Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Nick Rowan, says of the event, “It’s very exciting that this event is now in its third consecutive year and will return to Central Asia. Kazakhstan will provide a wonderful host country as it has already done so for many other international events recently. The depth and breadth of participants, publishers and authors attending make this an important place of discovery for Central Asian writing both past and present and I look forward to another year of success.”
OCABF ’14 Contest – Now Open for Entries!
The Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival 2014 will again host a literature competition in four categories: literary work, literary translation, illustration and video.
Authors, translators and illustrators from Azerbaijan, Central Asia and worldwide are invited to take part in the event with prize fund worth $17,000, which will go towards publishing the book of the winner and launching it at the annual London Book Fair in 2016 by Hertfordshire Press.
Three other prizes have also been established for the Forum 2014:
1. Nemat Khelimbetov Award of $10,000 for first ever contest in Central Asia to find the best video or experimental movie based on Central Asian works of literature;
2. Marziya Zakirianova Award of $5,000 for the best female work in any category;
3. Nur Mukhammad Award of $3,000 for the best work based on a Uigur theme in any category.
The categories and entry requirements are as follows:
Literary work
One entry per participant will be accepted and in electronic form only. Please send a synopsis and the entire work to konkurs@gorizonti.com with the category name in the subject line and accompanying letter. Submissions must not have been previously published, in any language.
Preference will be given to works in English. Entries must be in the literary modes of poetry; short stories; full-length novels or essays, but can be on any relevant topic.
The deadline for submissions is 15 September, 2014. Entries will also be uploaded to the festival website so that members of the public will also have an opportunity to vote for their favourite works.
Literary translation
One entry per participant will be accepted and in electronic form only. Please send the entire work tokonkurs@gorizonti.com with the category name in the subject line and accompanying letter.
The entry must be a translation of one of Hertfordshire Press’ previously published works or of the works of a previous year’s finalist. A list of acceptable works and links to the full versions can be obtained upon application. Alternatively, applicants may provide a translation of a literary work being entered into this year’s contest.
Applicants should judge for themselves the section and length of translation to enter into the competition.
The deadline for submissions is 15 September, 2014; entries will also be uploaded to the festival website so that members of the public will also have an opportunity to vote for their favourite works.
Illustration
One entry per participant will be accepted and in electronic form only. Please send the entire work to konkurs@gorizonti.com with the category name in the subject line and accompanying letter.
The entry must be of illustrations to accompany one of Hertfordshire Press’ previously published works or of the works of a previous year’s finalist. A list of acceptable works and links to the full versions can be obtained upon application. Alternatively, applicants may provide illustrations to accompany a Literary Work being entered into this year’s contest.
The deadline for submissions is 15 September, 2014; entries will also be uploaded to the festival website so that members of the public will also have an opportunity to vote for their favourite works.
Video
One entry per participant will be accepted and in electronic form only. Please send the entire work to konkurs@gorizonti.com with the category name in the subject line and accompanying letter.
The entry must be in video format as a film or movie to accompany one of Hertfordshire Press’ previously published works or of the works of a previous year’s finalist. A list of acceptable works and links to the full versions can be obtained upon application. Alternatively, applicants may provide videos to accompany a Literary Work being entered into this year’s contest.
The deadline for submissions is15 September, 2014; entries will also be uploaded to the festival website so that members of the public will also have an opportunity to vote for their favourite works.
Selection
Based on online public voting on the festival website, and the decision of a commission made up of organising committee members and invited experts working in the fields of publishing and literature, nine finalists will be selected in each category . Finalists will be able to present their works during the festival, participating with renowned published authors, and each will receive a certificate.
An awards ceremony for the winners in all four categories will take place during the festival. Those in third place will receive the title of Third Degree Laureate; those in second place will receive the title of Second Place Laureate and their entry published electronically in London. The winner, First Degree Laureate, will also have their entry published electronically in London and be eligible for selection as the overall winner of the contest.
The overall winner of the competition will be published and launched in the UK by Hertfordshire Press.
