This major cultural event has become a bridge of communication between Moroccan writers and their Anglo-Saxon counterparts, thus fostering dialogue between Arabic and international literature and contributing to enriching the literary cultural scene, noted Mr. Adnan in an interview with MAP, on the occasion of the 2nd edition of the Marrakech English Book Festival, scheduled from January 17 to 19.
Yassine Adnan, a renowned poet and novelist, also emphasized that this festival aims to achieve interaction between writers and intellectuals from different continents by encouraging cultural exchanges, strengthening mutual understanding between different cultures through English literature, and allowing writers from different countries to interact with local and international audiences.
"By hosting authors writing in English from different continents, the festival also contributes to the international influence of Morocco in general and the city of Marrakech in particular," he added, indicating that the event will honor Moroccan writers of the diaspora this year.
In this context, Yassine Adnan highlighted that the Festival Association has entered into a partnership with the Council of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad (CCME), with the aim of encouraging Moroccan writers of the diaspora to meet their counterparts from their country of origin, with the prospect that such meetings will lead to the conclusion of partnerships between the two parties and also encourage publishing houses in Morocco to publish books in English, or even translated books.
He noted, in this regard, that the festival will highlight the challenges facing the distribution of books written in English in Morocco, whether published locally or imported, particularly in light of the emergence of Moroccan authors expressing themselves in English and encountering difficulties in publishing their works.
Regarding the new programming of the 2nd edition of the festival, Mr. Adnan noted that the organizers have decided to dedicate a large part of the activities to showcasing Moroccan poetry written in English, as well as exhibiting foreign books dealing with the civilization of Morocco in general, and the thousand-year history of Marrakech in particular, in addition to organizing conferences, book signings, creative workshops, and activities for children, which will take place mainly at the Dar El Bacha Museum and other venues associated with the festival.
In this framework, Yassine Adnan announced that this edition will be marked by the presentation of a new national book prize, namely "the Costa Goldex Prize" for Moroccan works in the English language, which will be awarded this year to the writer Oum Hani Alaoui for her novel "The House on Butterfly Street".
He noted that festival visitors will have the opportunity to discover recent literary works written in English, whether novels or non-fiction books, which will strengthen interest in English literature among the Moroccan and international public, through the organization of workshops and educational debates aimed at addressing various literary subjects, including writing, publishing, and the challenges of literature in the contemporary world.
He concluded that the Marrakech English Book Festival accompanies the profound societal changes in its openness to the English language, which has become strongly present alongside Arabic, Amazigh, and French, within the country's linguistic mosaic.
