Doha: The Katara Cultural Village Foundation has announced a record 2,610 entries for the 12th edition of its Katara Prize for Arabic Novel, marking the highest number of submissions since the prize was launched in 2014. According to Qatar News Agency, this year's participation surpasses the previous record of 2,021 entries in 2021. Of the total submissions, 1,488 were unpublished novels, 578 were published works from 2025, 303 entries were unpublished children's novels, 107 were unpublished studies on novels, 11 were published Qatari novels, and 123 were unpublished historical novels. Egypt and Sudan led the submissions with 963 entries, followed by the Levant and Iraq with 719, the Maghreb with 666, and Gulf countries with 245 entries. Non-Arab countries contributed 17 submissions to the competition. Katara Director-General Dr. Khalid Al Sulaiti stated that the increase in participation reflects the growing reputation of the prize as it enters its second decade. The award spans six categories and include s translations of winning novels into English and French, which has helped it gain recognition both regionally and internationally. The prize pool totals $375,000, with top awards of $30,000 per winner across categories including published and unpublished novels, historical novels, children's novels, Qatari novels, and studies on novel criticism.