Haas Mroue Annual Creative Writing Workshop and Competition Results
The Haas Mroue Creative Writing Workshop is scheduled in the Spring semester each year in memory of Haas (nee Hassib) Mroue—writer, traveler, friend, a man of the word and of the world—who died suddenly in 2007 at the age of 41. It brings together individuals from the community to work on such features as short story writing and poetry writing. It is funded by Mrs. Najwa Mounla, Haas Mroue’s mother, and is offered by the Department of English.
This year, the workshop was linked to the creative writing competition offered by the department, so its participants comprised of students currently enrolled at LAU.
The first session in the morning focused on writing fiction and was led by Ms. Joumana Haddad, who teaches creative writing at LAU and is a columnist and the cultural editor at an-Nahar newspaper. The afternoon session focused on non-fiction writing and was led by Ms. Mishka Moujabbar Marouni, of the President’s office at IC and a published writer who leads writing workshops. Both presenters engaged the students in a number of writing activities and gave them positive, supportive feedback on their work.
Ms. Samira Shami, who has been organizing this annual workshop, acquainted the participants with Haas Moue, his work, his untimely death, and Mrs. Mounla’s annual support. She also distributed Haas Mroue’s poetry book, Beirut Seizures, along with the booklet of the 2014 creative writing competition entries.
Ms. Paula Habre, Director of the Writing Center, and Ms. Hala Daouk, tutor at the center, were also present to encourage participants to consult the Writing Center for editing help with their entries before submission. Mr. Shadi Shidrawi also attended as he’s both a member of the jury and a great asset in organizing the workshop.
For further info on this workshop and the creative writing competition at LAU, please email samira.shami@lau.edu.lb.
Update to original story:
In the short story category, the first prize went to Mohamad AlKotob, the second to Maya Mansour, and the third to Zeena Amkieh. In the essay category, there was one winner, and the first prize went to Sarah Alice El-Eid.
A reception was held on Monday, May 4, 2015 to honor the winners. Dr. Samer Habre from the School of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Office gave the winners their prizes and certificates.
The English Department would like to thank Mrs. Najwa Mounla, Haas Mroue’s mother, for the family’s generous contribution to fund both the workshop and the competition reception this year, including the IPads and IPod distributed as prizes. It would also like to acknowledge the effort s of Ms. Lana Abou Teen, of the Development Office, in helping to secure funds for the event.