‘Saba’ 2018: Georgian Literature on European Platform
The ‘Saba’ Awards will this year be held in Germany at the Frankfurt International Book Fair which features Georgia as Guest Country of Honor. TBC Bank this week launched the annual literary competition ‘Saba,’ and authors and publishers are welcome to submit their books.
Throughout the year, in different cities of Germany, hundreds of events are planned to promote Georgian literature and culture. The main part of the program on October 9-14, at the International Book Fair, will see numerous literary and cultural events dedicated to Georgia, among the biggest and most outstanding of which will be the ‘Saba’ award ceremony, which will take place in Kaisersaal in the historic Frankfurt City Hall.
“This year is an important novelty, since in 2018 Georgia is being presented on the world's largest literary platform,” said Maia Dzirkvelishvili, Organizer of the Saba Awards. “‘Saba,’ as part of the ongoing Georgian literary process, is involved in the submission of Georgian literature in Germany. We now have eight months of jury work ahead, after which the winning books and authors will be revealed.”
It is an important event for Georgian literature, as the main purpose of the event is to attract the attention of European publishing houses to Georgian works. European visitors will have the chance to find out about 40-50 winning works.
At the ceremony, along with Georgian authors and publishers, honored foreign guests –famous writers, foreign publishers, German officials, and international media representatives will be presented. And the Georgians back home in Georgia will be able to watch the award ceremony live on screen.
The best authors and books of 2017 will be revealed in Frankfurt. To register for the competition, contestants must fill in an online application on the website saba.com.ge. Applications will continue until February 20, after which the ‘Saba’ jury will begin reviewing books and to evaluate last year's literary harvest.
In connection with the transfer of the awards ceremony to Frankfurt, ‘Saba’ has made small changes to the competition conditions this year. Awards will be given for: Best Novel, Best Prose Collection, Best Poetry Collection, Best Essay & Documentary Prose, Best Literary Debut, Best Georgian Translation, Best Foreign Language Translation of Georgian Work, Best Foreign Language Criticism of Georgian Literature, Best Foreign Language Publishing of Georgian Literature, and a prize will also be awarded for Contribution to Georgian-German Literary Relations.
Annual Literary Competition ‘Saba’ was founded in 2003 by TBC Bank. The ‘Saba’ contest will be held for the 16th time this year.