Arabic Booker winner Abdo Khal was honored Tuesday by the Jeddah Literary Club for his prize-winning novel “Spewing Sparks”. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja. Khal said that he will soon complete his latest novel, “Al-Hendawiya”, which he has been working on for the last three years. His other works include “Cities Eating the Grass”, “Days Don't Hide Anyone” and “The Mud”. Khal has lived in Jeddah's Al-Hendawiya District. He said that he is now bearing the fruits of everything he has ever written before. “It's a weird feeling to find yourself suddenly the center of the media's attention,” he said, referring to the moment he was announced the winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, also known as the Arabic Booker. The minister was full of praise for Khal's work.”My brother Abdo thank you. We congratulate ourselves for having you,” the minister said to Khal. He said Khal's win was a victory for the Saudi novel and literature in the Kingdom. In Saudi literary history, “Spewing Sparks” will always be remembered as a novel that created a clear “dividing line” between what came before it and what came afterwards, said Khoja.
