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Prince Mohammed bin Salman Prize for Saudi-Chinese Cultural Cooperation Opens Nominations for Inaugural Edition

Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Aqili, the award's secretary-general, has invited academic and cultural institutions in both countries to participate actively in the nominations
Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Aqili, the award's secretary-general, has invited academic and cultural institutions in both countries to participate actively in the nominations
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Prince Mohammed bin Salman Prize for Saudi-Chinese Cultural Cooperation Opens Nominations for Inaugural Edition

Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Aqili, the award's secretary-general, has invited academic and cultural institutions in both countries to participate actively in the nominations
Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Aqili, the award's secretary-general, has invited academic and cultural institutions in both countries to participate actively in the nominations

The General Secretariat of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Prize for Cultural Cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China has announced the opening nominations for its first edition.
The nominations are open until the end of February 2025 through the award's official website at (www.pmsa.org.sa).
Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Aqili, the award's secretary-general, has invited academic and cultural institutions in both countries to participate actively in the nominations.
Al-Aqili noted that the award accepts nominations in four categories: research and studies in cultural areas, artistic and creative works, translation between Arabic and Chinese, and cultural personality from both countries. Nominations are welcomed from academic and cultural institutions as well as individuals, with the exception of the cultural personalities category.
Applicants are required to adhere to specific criteria, including holding Saudi or Chinese nationality and ensuring that the nominated work is in either Arabic or Chinese. Furthermore, candidates must align with the award's core aim of fostering cultural communication, particularly between Arab and Chinese cultures.
Detailed scientific and technical conditions tailored for each category are available on the award's official website.
"The award champions values of cultural openness and communication among populations, governed by objectivity, integrity, transparency, and intellectual property rights,” Al-Aqili said.
In addition to recognizing outstanding works annually, the award is committed to creating opportunities and initiatives that support its objectives. Particular emphasis is placed on engaging youth in Saudi Arabia and China, harnessing their technical and artistic potential to strengthen cultural ties between the two nations.
The incentive award has been established to empower young talent across three categories: young researcher, young creator, and young translator. The award adheres to the general award guidelines, including a maximum age limit of 35 years for candidates in these categories.
Nominations for the incentive award in these branches are now available through the official website for this edition.

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South Korea’s Han Sells One Million Books after Nobel Win

A visitor takes a commemorative photo after buying books by South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang near a special section for her at a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The letters read "Congratulations on Han Kang's the Nobel Prize award." and "Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature." (AP)
A visitor takes a commemorative photo after buying books by South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang near a special section for her at a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The letters read "Congratulations on Han Kang's the Nobel Prize award." and "Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature." (AP)
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South Korea’s Han Sells One Million Books after Nobel Win

A visitor takes a commemorative photo after buying books by South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang near a special section for her at a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The letters read "Congratulations on Han Kang's the Nobel Prize award." and "Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature." (AP)
A visitor takes a commemorative photo after buying books by South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang near a special section for her at a bookstore in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The letters read "Congratulations on Han Kang's the Nobel Prize award." and "Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature." (AP)

More than a million copies of books by Han Kang, the first South Korean to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, have sold locally since the honor was announced, bookstores said Wednesday.

The short story writer and novelist is best known overseas for her Man Booker Prize-winning "The Vegetarian", her first novel translated into English.

The 53-year-old, who also became the first Asian woman author to win the Nobel, was chosen "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life", the Swedish Academy said last week.

Han's win has created a sensation in South Korea, with the websites of major bookstores and publishing houses crashing after it was announced, as tens of thousands rushed to order her books.

As of Wednesday morning, at least 1.06 million copies, including e-books, had been sold since last Thursday's Nobel announcement, three major bookstores and online retailers -- Kyobo, Aladin and YES24 -- told AFP.

"Han Kang's books are experiencing unprecedented sales. This is a situation we have never seen before," Kyobo spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung told AFP.

Online bookstore Aladin said Han's victory had not only led to a staggering 1,200-fold increase in the sales of her books compared with the same period last year, but dramatically boosted the sales of South Korean literature as a whole.

Since her win, "the overall sales of Korean literature increased by more than 12 times compared to the previous year", it said in a statement.

Sales of two books Han recently mentioned she was reading -- "Inventory of Losses" by Judith Schalansky and "Atlas de botanique élémentaire" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau -- had also surged, Aladin said.

Kyobo Book Center said while it does not have exact figures, Han's books had seen dramatically higher sales compared with other Nobel prize winners.

"We have been in the publishing industry for a while, but this whole situation feels very surreal even to some of us," a Kyobo employee told AFP.

South Koreans have been overjoyed by the news, with Han's alma mater, Seoul's Yonsei University, displaying banners that read: "Congratulations to the proud Yonsei alumnus, Han Kang, on winning the Nobel Prize in Literature."

In her hometown of Gwangju -- where a massacre occurred in 1980 that later inspired Han's acclaimed novel "Human Acts" -- a congratulatory banner was hung on a building fired on by a military helicopter at the time.

Local reports said some printing houses had been operating at full capacity on the weekend to meet the demand for Han's books.

"I've never been this busy since I joined the company in 2006," an Aladin employee told AFP.

"But it's all been very happy."