To celebrate the World Storytelling Day, the Arabic Story Network organized its first virtual evening, gathering a group of Arab and Saudi storytellers who showcased some modern writings that reflect the progress of modern story, and its interaction with contemporary trends.
The event shed lights on the experience of the Arabic Story Network, which houses over 20,000 stories written by hundreds of Arab authors and provides a free literary space in which meet various narrative experiences.
The network’s website, which includes over 2,000 narrators and storytellers from 21 Arabic countries, publishes texts written by over 4,000 storywriters from both genders, features a library containing over 20,000 texts, and lures over 20,000 subscribers.
This website has become a platform where creators in the field of storytelling publish their stories, receive critical readings, and exchange expertise and discussions with other Arab writers. The nonprofit website has also brought together a whole generation of young creators who gained fame and won awards for their writings.
Led by storyteller Zakaria al-Abbad, the evening saw the participation of Akil al-Fahidi, Ghania al-Shabibi, Mohammed al-Dandan, and Tahira Al Saif. It also saw the discussion of a paper by critic Abdul Jalil al-Hafez.
The evening was opened with a keynote by storyteller and novelist Jubair al-Mulaihan, founder of the Arabic Story Network, in which he noted that the platform witnessed several developments since its establishment in 1998, including the launch of the Interactive Arabic Story Forum in 2004, and the Literary and Cultural Newspaper of Arabic Story in 2008. The network’s goal was to publish 5,000 texts, but the number has surpassed 20,000 today, including five published books written by the network’s writers.
“A lot is still coming in the non-profit Arabic Story Network which offers a rich experience of narrative communication among Arabic storytellers,” said al-Mulaihan.
