Sheikh Zayed Book Award opens submissions for 19th edition

ABU DHABI / WAM

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA), organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), is welcoming submissions to its 19th edition until September 1, 2024. This year, the award is receiving submissions across 10 categories: Literature, Translation, Contribution to the Development of Nations, Arab Culture in Other Languages, Children’s Literature, Editing of Arabic Manuscripts, Literary and Art Criticism, Young Author, Cultural Personality of the Year, and Publishing and Technology.
Dr Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the ALC and Secretary-General of the SZBA, said, “We are proud of the continued success of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, as well as of the clear imprint it has left on the cultural scene throughout the past 18 editions. Since its inception, the award has shed light on a range of notable literary works, prominent authors, and creative minds, and the increasing number of submissions we receive each year further solidifies the award’s status in the literary community and among authors of various nationalities.”
He added that the award plays a pioneering role in driving forward writing and translation efforts and building cultural bridges between countries. Submitting entries to any category of the award must be done following a set of conditions. Each nominee may only submit one work to one of the award’s categories, provided the candidate has not been nominated – whether by the author himself/herself or on their behalf – for any other award during the same year. The SZBA cannot be granted to works that have been previously awarded a prominent international or Arab prize.
Submitted books must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) to verify property rights. Re-submissions are accepted if they still fall within the two-year timespan, and new copies of the work should be shared. The award receives self-nominations from authors, as well as submissions from publishing houses, which can nominate books they have published with written consent from the authors. All submitted works must have been published within the past two years and must not have won any major international prize at the time of submission. Original submitted works should be written in Arabic, except for those submitted under the Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category, which can be in other languages, as well as the Translation category (whether translated into or from Arabic) and the Arab Culture in Other Languages category, where works published in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian are accepted.
For the Cultural Personality of the Year award, candidates must be nominated by academic, research, or cultural institutions, literary bodies and universities, or three prominent intellectual and/or cultural figures. Nominees for all other categories must personally fill out the nomination forms on the SZBA website.