This week, our team from around the world brings news of literary award shortlists and winners! From the launch of the inaugural issue of Debunk Quarterly, to the winners of the Sawiris Cultural Awards, to the recent closure of a historical bookstore in Tokyo, read on to learn more!
Bella Creel, Blog Editor, Reporting from Japan
Where are Japan’s bookstores going? In the last two decades, the number of bookstores in Japan has nearly halved, dropping to only 11,495 in 2023. The figure speaks to the many locally-owned bookstores that have had to close over the years, unable to keep customers in a rapidly digitizing era. Some of these closures have garnered international and domestic attention, the latest of which was the historical “Bookshop 書楽” (Shogaku) in Tokyo’s Suginami ward.
Owned by Mitsuru Ishida, Bookshop Shogaku has a long history in its small corner of Tokyo, located just outside of Asagaya Station for the past 43 years. The area of Asagaya itself—dubbed 文士の街, or “Literati Town”—has been a hub for creatives for well over a century, lined with jazz clubs, Showa-era coffee shops, and of course, bookstores. While famous literary figures such as Dazai Osamu and Masuji Ibuse once frequented the street and its many shelves, playing shogi and drinking as the “Asagaya Club,” over time Bookshop Shogaku became the last bookstore selling new titles in the area, until it closed as well.
In mid-November of 2023, Ishida announced that the store would close after the New Year. The announcement drew immediate attention, from local book lovers to NHK News, until finally a major bookstore, Yaesu Book Center, caught wind of it. By the end of December, it was decided that Yaesu Book Center would open a branch in Bookshop Shogaku’s old building, and the new store re-opened the doors this month, February 10.
For now, the books on the shelves, the layout of the floor, and even Bookshop Shogaku’s staff are preserved at Yaesu Book Center, Asagaya. In a way, Bookshop Shogaku will continue on, and perhaps all that’s lost is a name: 書楽, a fusion of writing (書) and ease (楽). But two days before the doors shut—twelve days before they would reopen—customers were still passing by to say goodbye.
To Ishida and the community, Bookshop Shogaku was more than just selling books. From 9 a.m. to midnight, the store was open to anyone looking to read, from students to housewives to old regulars. A young office worker, who would often stop by on his way home from work, told Ishida that the closure felt like losing the place where he belonged. Ishida reflected on the role his bookshop had played in their community; more than the selling of books, the heart of Bookshop Shogaku was the time spent searching through the aisles, reaching a hand towards one that catches the eye—the moment “of encounter” with a new story. He lamented that this era of exploring the shelves seemed to be coming to an end, as reader interests shifted and more convenient vendors emerged.
Indeed, the main reason for Bookshop Shogaku’s closure was financial; the way things stood, they would have been in the red within as short as five years. Today, between the convenience of online bookstores and the draw of digital media, there simply aren’t enough customers to make it work for locally-owned stores, though major companies like Yaesu Book Center are still pushing through.
The shift from Bookshop Shogaku to Yaesu Book Center, Asagaya, is bittersweet. The store was closing anyway, and at least the space has been filled by another bookstore. But the dwindling figures loom; bookstores in Japan continue to close, and locally-owned shops, those without the history and luck of Bookshop Shogaku, continue to fall through the cracks.
All this said, book-lovers are not scarce in Japan, and they are taking strides to save their local bookshops. Store owners have begun offering cashless self checkout and unmanned stores to save on labor costs, as well as promoting community events to draw writers and readers closer together. When news of Bookshop Shogaku’s closure spread, people came together to raise money for Ishida, in hopes that their local store wouldn’t be lost. We can be certain: while the future of bookstores in Japan is unclear, there is a community that is fighting for their preservation.
Ibrahim Fawzy, Editor-at-Large, Egypt
On the evening of January 8th, the Sawiris Foundation organizers announced the winners of the 19th edition of the Sawiris Cultural Award, one of the few literary awards in the Arab world given by a non-governmental organization, in seven categories. Sixteen emerging and established writers were honored at the ceremony, held at Tahrir Cultural Center.
The “Best Novel by an Emerging Author” award went to Ahmed Naji’s Happy Endings (النهايات السعيدة). On his Facebook, Naji pledged to donate the award money to the Gazan people. “This award comes amidst a deluge of tragedies affecting our people, from civil wars to the brutal rule of sheiks and military militias across our Arab countries and the systematic genocide of the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza. This makes any celebration or joy taste like ash in the throat,” Naji wrote. Naji’s Happy Endings also won the translation award, which means the prize will support its translation to English. Karoline Kamal took second place in this category with Victoria (فكتوريا).
The “Best Book for Children Under the Age of 12” award was given to Omar AlTaroty’s Near the Hill and Perhaps Not (بجوار التبة وربما لا) for the best text and Ahmed AbdulMohsin for the best illustration. Near the Hill and Perhaps Not, suitable for children under 12 and over 122, is a diary of a young refugee and how she perceives her surroundings. In the “Best Play” category, Khaled Hassouna’s The Last Dance of Kabul (رقصة كابول الأخيرة) won second place, while the first prize was withheld because, according to the Judges, there were no worthy candidates.
The “Literary Criticism and Literary Narratives” award had co-winners: Ahmed Ezz ElArab for his Tales of A Chalk-Drawn Bird (حكايات طائر الطباشير) and Samia Mehrez for her The Many Lives of Ibrahim Nagui: A Journey with My Grandfather, which is scheduled to be translated and published by AUC Press in the fall of 2024. Mehrez’s book delves into the literary works of her grandfather, Ibrahim Nagui (1898-1953), a prominent poet and physician. He is widely recognized as one of the Arab world’s most celebrated romantic poets, known for his famous poem “Al Atlal,” performed by Umm Kulthum. Mehrez’s journey of exploration and reconciliation unfolds throughout the narrative, as she never had the opportunity to meet her grandfather. She was born two years after his passing.
From Egypt to Saudi Arabia, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) unveiled its 2024 six-title shortlist on February 14, featuring works from Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Palestine. Notably, five of the six authors are debutants, while Raja Alem, a previous winner, returns with her book Bahbel: Makkah Multiverse, 1945-2009. The shortlisted titles explore themes of history, identity, and freedom, resonating with global struggles. This year’s selection marks a significant moment with a novel emerging from an Israeli jail, a first in the prize’s history. “With passion and perception, the novels engage with the wars, exiles, and uprisings endured by the Arab world at the current moment. Their rich creative worlds are not limited to their localities but span the globe, highlighting common struggles. Their visions and aesthetic expressions are diverse, tinged with self-awareness and imaginative Verve,” said Jury chair Nabil Suleiman in a prepared comment on the shortlist. The longtime chair of the board, Yasir Suleiman, added: “Through all of this, we find ourselves in the Mecca of bygone years, the Old City of Jerusalem of the tormented present, and in the city of Aleppo in which the scars of the recent past are indelibly marked on the bodies of its people in their rich demography.” The winner will be announced in Abu Dhabi on April 28. Stay tuned!
Wambua Muindi, Editor-at-Large, Reporting from Kenya
On Tuesday, February 13, Debunk Quarterly, a magazine of nonfiction and reportage, was launched at Alliance Francaise by Debunk Media. Contributors of the inaugural issue include Kiprop Kimutai, Clifton Gachagua, Wanja Michuki, and Hadassah Saya, who participated in readings from their published works and a panel discussing their inspirations. As a member of the audience, I was particularly dazzled by two essays: Diana Chepkemoi’s “Escaping Domestic Slavery in Saudi Arabia” and Dalle Abraham’s “Thinking Back to Government Quarters”. Chepkemoi’s intimate writing explores her experience as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia, her prose silently echoing the Indian Ocean diasporas as represented in Literature of the African Diaspora. Abraham, on the other hand, employs strategic nostalgia to remember a childhood bound by the reality of living in government spaces in a marginal Marsabit, North Eastern Kenya.
On Friday, February 9, the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature winners were announced. The prize recognises poetry and prose in the Kiswahili language. Tanzanians made a clean sweep of the prizes in both categories, beating all the shortlisted Kenyans in the running (this seemed to settle the friendly social media fires lit by the African Cup of Nations Finals, AFCON 2023). Fatuma Salim’s poetry collection Changa La Macho and Philip Oyaro’s novel Dunia Duara emerged as the winning manuscripts. They are set to be published by Tanzanian publisher Mkuki na Nyota, the official publisher for the winners. Dr. Caroline Asiimwe, the executive secretary of the East African Kiswahili Commission headlined this year’s Kiswahili Prize, underscoring the importance of the language within the region, which recently admitted Somalia.
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