Hashim Khalifa Award for Architectural Writing 

The Hashim Khalifa Award for Architectural Writing was launched in 2023 by the Modern Sudan Collective to promote critical and creative writing on architecture in Sudan. The award is granted to an author who captures through the medium of writing relationships to spaces, places, and architecture. The award aims to amplify young voices that are passionate about writing and architecture and provide them with the opportunity to share their work whilst contributing critical insights into architecture produced in Sudan. 

In its first iteration, the writing competition seeks reflections on the impact of modernity on Sudanese urban and rural spaces by examining encounters in the built environment between tradition and modernity during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the socio-political and cultural contexts in which they were produced. The past two centuries saw the visual identities of Sudanese cities and villages in a state of flux, with the social qualities of architecture changing and adapting to the lives of people according to historical currents during colonialism and post-independence. We are looking for writing that re-examines and reinterprets existing buildings, neighborhoods, and the built environment at large in Sudan and offers a new understanding of architecture in a Sudanese context. 

Writers should take the liberty to submit critical and creative writing that could be historical or fictional, narrative, humorous, and/or engaging with Sudanese folklore. The submitted piece may take any form of writing (essay, short story, poem, etc), and should tell a story in which architecture intersects with any other aspect of Sudan’s modern history (political, social, economic, technological, etc). The submitted text should be within the range of 1,500-2,000 words.

We accept submissions in Arabic or English. We also encourage writings in local Sudanese languages that are under threat such as, and not limited to, Nubian, Beja, Hausa, and Dinka. If another language is used, then translation into Arabic or English must be provided. We particularly welcome submissions from previously unpublished authors.

The award offers a prize of $500 provided to one winner, with two honorable mentions. The winning pieces will be published on the website of Modern Sudan Collective as well as other media outlets.

Jury Panel
Nadi Sa'adeh 
Leila Aboulela SSSUK
Ismail Kushkush
Rozan Ahmed
Samia Henni
George Arbid