The essence of writing

By Naguib Mahfouz

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To mark its 30th anniversary, the Egyptian Writers Union is holding a conference under the theme "Writers and the Future". The conference is starting a new tradition. It is giving a new award, the Arab Writers Award, which comes with a cash prize of $10,000, and immense moral significance.

We live in times when the stature of writers in our Arab societies has regrettably dwindled. Writers are the conscience of the nation, and we cannot hope for a better future unless we show them some appreciation.

Every award that a writer receives is a testimony not to his or her own credit, but to the worth of the society that chose to honour them. I am glad the Egyptian Writers Union is giving this award on an annual basis to the writer that it believes has offered the most contribution to our cultural life.

I hope to see the government declare an annual writer's day, just as it had declared a journalist's day, a peasant's day, and an engineer's day. Writers deserve to be celebrated, even if for one day every year.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.