Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, chaired at his office here Thursday a meeting of the main committee for Souk Okaz. During the meeting a number of important decisions were taken, foremost of which is the launching of a book fair for the first time at this year's Souk Okaz. Booths will be set up at the festival so that writers can display their literary works and be on hand to talk to visitors about their books. The committee also approved the formation of juries for a number of Okaz prizes in different literary fields, including a prize of SR300,000 to be awarded to the Poet of Okaz. Judges will be selected from among well-known intellectuals in the Kingdom who are specialists in the area for which the prize will be awarded. The Souk Okaz committee also approved the cultural activities which will take place during this year's festival. Symposiums will be held on a number of topics, including poetry, the Orientalists, and Okaz economics and history. There will also be a symposium on the Saudi theater and a number of poetry evenings with prominent Arab poets taking part by reading from their work.
