Skopje, 20 January 2025 (MIA) — Novel of the Year contest organizers have received 43 entries published in 2024, according to a press release from the Slavko Janevski Foundation.

Submissions were open Dec. 15 through Jan. 15, 2024. Competing for the Mden 150,000 Komercijalna Banka-sponsored prize are novels of various genres, which organizers said would make selecting the best work "not at all easy."

This year's panel of five judges consists of last year's winner Lidija Dimkovska, chair; Maja Bojadzhievska; Gjoko Zdraveski; Andrej Al-Asadi; and Katerina Bogoeva. After selecting a longlist and a shortlist, they will choose the winning novel and announce the award recipient by March 15 at the latest.

The award is also supported by the Ministry of Culture. The winner will receive a statuette and a plaque as well, and they will chair next year's panel of judges.

This is the 26th time the Novel of the Year award is being given. Between 1999 and 2017, the book contest was run by Utrinski vesnik. After the newspaper’s demise, Slavko Janevski Foundation took over. mr/