If you are someone who loves the by lanes of Arabian cities and its charm has always fascinated you, Barjeel Art Foundation has something interesting for them, as they launch the Mudun Short Story Prize – an international competition that pays tribute to cities around the Arab world.

The competition calls for the writers who love writing fiction and the work set in one or more Arab cities.

‘Whether your story takes place in Aleppo, Beirut, Cairo, Rabat or Sharjah, we want to experience the city as you do,’ the submission call reads, in addition, ‘By no means is this prompt a confinement to realism. Your story could spring into the realms of fantasy or even science fiction, but we would still need to see existing or past landmarks, streets or buildings of the city of your choosing.’

The contest has not been limited to just showcasing a city’s architectural and urban forms, but its social dynamic as well.

It calls for writers who can tell us about people, how they navigate spaces and occupy them and take them through their city’s traffic jams or its labyrinthine alleys and showcases its courthouse or the neighbourhood grocery store.

Entries to the contest will be open from July 1 to September 1 and can be submitted in English or Arabic languages and should not exceed 5000 words. Also, Multiple entries by a single author will not be considered.

Rules like manuscripts containing a Google Maps hyperlink of where the story takes place as a footnote to the title or if a story is set in more than one location, additional hyperlinks can be included as footnotes to transition points.

The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $350 and $250 to the runner-up. The two winning stories will be published on the website of Rusted Radishes: Beirut Literary and Art Journal. All works and supplemental materials will be considered for publication in an anthology.