The dates of the Third Central Asian Book Forum Open Central Asia Book Forum and Literature Festival (OCABF-2014), the literary competition, and the video film competition have been announced.
From November 14 to 17, the British Publishing House Hertfordshire Press, with the support of the National State Book Chamber of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Association of Publishers and Book Distributors of Kazakhstan, will hold the third Central Asian Book Forum (OCABF-2014). This year, the organizers plan to hold a four-day celebration in Kazakhstan, with events taking place in both Almaty and Astana. The main focus of the event will be the development of literature in the Central Asian region.
The goal of the forum is to draw attention from readers and specialists to the past and present achievements of Central Asian writers, as well as to introduce writers to representatives of publishing houses, their readers, libraries, educational institutions, and the media.
The total prize fund for the OCABF-2014 competitions is $17,000, which will go towards publishing the winner's book in London, followed by a presentation at the London Book Fair in 2016. Additionally, three cash prizes have been established:
the Nemat Kelimbetov Prize of $10,000 for winning the first competition for video and experimental cinema Open Central Asia;
the Marziya Zakiryanova Prize of $5,000 for the best female work in any category of both competitions;
the Nur Muhammad Karakhan Prize of $3,000 for the best work on Uyghur themes in any category of both competitions;
Last year's winner, Abdulla Isa from Azerbaijan, received the opportunity to publish his work "Man of the Mountain," which will be released this year and continue the successful tradition of publishing books by winners of the OCABF literary competitions. Recall that the winner of the First OCABF competition in 2012 was Galina Dolgaya from Uzbekistan, whose book "Gods of the Middle World" was published in London in 2013.
The First Central Asian Literary Competition OCABF took place on November 24-25, 2012, in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), gathering 1,300 guests and becoming the first such event after the declaration of independence of the Republic. The festival was opened by the former president of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbayeva, and received high praise from specialists and the public.
Last year's festival took place from November 5 to 9 in London and Cambridge, providing the English audience with a more complete understanding of the works of authors from Central Asia.
Both events were marked by the presence of stars of world literature, such as Janusz Leon Wisniewski from Poland, Hamid Ismailov from the UK, Elchin Safarli from Azerbaijan, and others.
The editor-in-chief of the magazine Open Central Asia, Nick Rovan, commented on the upcoming event: "It is amazing that the festival has successfully taken place for the third year and has the opportunity to return and be held in Central Asia. Kazakhstan will provide a magnificent reception for the Festival, as we have seen in many previous international events held in this country. The number and quality of contestants, publishers, and authors planning to attend the event make it a great opportunity for everyone to discover both classic and contemporary literary works from Central Asia, and I look forward to success this year as well."
Simultaneously with the literary festival and competition, the first competition for video and experimental cinema Open Central Asia will take place, featuring films created based on works already published by Hertfordshire Press or that participated in OCABF 2012 and 2013, or are participating in OCABF 2014.
The aim of the video and experimental cinema competition is to further promote literature from the Central Asian region or about it through modern visual arts, as well as to stimulate collaboration between writers and directors in the region.
OCABF-2014 Competition
Application submission is open!
The Open Central Asian Book Forum and Literature Festival 2014 is once again holding a competition among writers in three categories: literary work, literary translation, and illustration for a literary work, as well as among directors who have created a film based on a literary work.
Authors, translators, illustrators, and directors from Central Asia and around the world are invited to participate in the competition with a total prize fund of $35,000.
Application Submission Conditions:
Literary Work
One work is accepted for the competition from each applicant, previously unpublished in English. Works are accepted in Russian, English, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen, and Azerbaijani languages. Preference will be given to works in English. Competition works can be in the literary genres of poetry, short story, novel, or essay on any topic.
The completed form must be sent to: [email protected] with the category title in the Subject line. The form should be attached with a synopsis of the work (up to 1500 words), the full text of the work, and a high-quality photograph of the author (at least 1 MB). The photograph should feature only the author.
The deadline for application submission is September 15, 2014.
If the application submission conditions are met, the work will appear on the official competition website for readers to vote on. However, reader voting is not decisive in selecting finalists.
Literary Translation
One work is accepted for the competition from each applicant, previously unpublished in English.
In this category, a translation of an excerpt from one of the books published by Hertfordshire Press or a translation of an excerpt from the work of one of the participants in previous OCABF competitions and translations of excerpts from works submitted for this year's competition can be submitted. A list of works from previous years and links to them can be found on the official competition website and Facebook page.
The completed form must be sent to: [email protected] with the category title in the Subject line.
The form should be attached with a file of the original text or an internet link to the original, the full text of the translation (at least 1000 words), and a high-quality photograph of the translator (at least 1 MB). The photograph should feature only the translator.
The deadline for application submission is September 15, 2014.
If the application submission conditions are met, the work will appear on the official competition website for readers to vote on. However, reader voting is not decisive in selecting finalists.
Illustration
One work is accepted for the competition from each applicant.
In this category, an illustration for one of the books published by Hertfordshire Press or an illustration for one of the works of participants in previous OCABF competitions, as well as those submitted for this year's competition, can be submitted. A list of works from previous years and links to them can be found on the official competition website and Facebook page.
The completed form must be sent to: [email protected] with the category title in the Subject line.
The form should be attached with a synopsis of the work for which the illustration is made, indicating the author and year of participation in the competition (up to 1500 words), and a high-quality photograph of the author (at least 1 MB). The photograph should feature only the author.
The deadline for application submission is September 15, 2014.
If the application submission conditions are met, the work will appear on the official competition website for readers to vote on. However, reader voting is not decisive in selecting finalists.
Video Film
One work is accepted for the competition from each applicant, based on a literary work in one of three categories:
1) Works published by Hertfordshire Press.
2) Works that participated in the OCABF 2012 and 2013 competitions.
3) Works submitted for participation in OCABF 2014.
Works are accepted in any genre: video art, feature, documentary, and experimental film in Russian, English, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen, and Azerbaijani languages. If the film contains speech in English, subtitles in Russian are required; if in any of the aforementioned languages, subtitles in English are required. The length of the video must be no more than 40 minutes and no less than 5.
The completed form must be sent to: [email protected] with the category title in the Subject line.
The form should include a working link to the video hosted online (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), or attach a medium (CD or memory card) with a compressed copy in .avi or .mp4 format, and a high-quality photograph of the director (at least 1 MB). The photograph should feature only the director.
The deadline for application submission is September 15, 2014.
If the application submission conditions are met, the link to the video will appear on the official competition website for readers to vote on. However, reader voting is not decisive in selecting finalists.
All selected works will be shown during the festival. The organizers reserve the right to ask the director to provide a higher quality copy for screening.
Selection of Finalists and Winner
Based on online voting by readers on the official competition website and the decision of a committee consisting of the competition organizers and recognized experts in the fields of publishing, literature, and cinema, nine finalists will be selected for the literary competition and ten videos for screening at the Festival. They will present their works to the audience as part of the Festival events alongside authors whose works have already been published. All finalists will receive certificates of participation in the Festival.
The awards ceremony for the winners in each of the four categories will take place during the Festival. Participants who take third place in each of the three categories will receive a Third Degree Laureate certificate; participants who take second place in each of the three categories will receive a Second Degree Laureate certificate, as well as the opportunity to publish their works electronically.
The winner will receive a First Degree Laureate certificate and the opportunity to publish their work, as well as conduct its presentation in the UK with the support of Hertfordshire Press.
We wish all participants good luck!
Contact us:
Vitalia Agapova
Suite 125, 43 Bedford Street
Covent Garden London WC2E 9HA United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 777 0552500
Email: [email protected]