A discussion with laureates of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award program during the 2021 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Image: ADIBF
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Tamim: ‘Enhancing the Presence of the Arabic Language’
A follow-up today (June 23) to our coverage of the physically rendered Abu Dhabi International Book Fair: The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre has announced a new partnership with the Netherlands’ Brill Publishing.
Under the agreement with the center, which is based at the emirate’s department of culture and tourism, Brill will publish an Arabic journal titled Al Markaz: The Journal of Arab Studies. The journal will be the first to be fully published in Arabic by Brill, a 338-year-old house, and one of the most prestigious in Europe working with Arabic language, literature, and culture, with a focus on various historical and critical issues as well as Arabic book reviews.
It’s expected that the journal will focus on topics covering the Arabic language, literature and culture from the pre-Islamic period to the present day, and include critical reviews of books and events concerning Arab studies. Insights offered to the journal’s readership are to include classical Arabic language, spoken dialects, written and oral Arabic heritage, poetry and prose, and intermediate and comparative studies.
There will be two editions of the journal, with the first scheduled for publication in January 2022, followed by the second in June 2022. The agreement stipulates the publishing of the content both in print and digital formats.
Dr. Ali Bin Tamim
Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, chairman of the Arabic Language Centre and secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, says “Brill is one of the established European publishing institutions, with a long history of publishing academic journals, and we’re delighted to be collaborating with this prestigious institution.
“We’re looking forward to working with them as we focus on Arab literature and culture covering more than 14 centuries.
“This initiative will contribute to the efforts of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and to achieving our goals of enhancing the presence of the Arabic language in various fields.”
Mouza Al Shamsi
And Mouza Al Shamsi, acting executive director of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and director of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, says, “The publication of the Journal of Arab Studies is the result of our collaboration with Brill, which has become an inspirational partner in our programmes.
“We hope to hold more important initiatives with major institutions in the near future that serve the vision, mission and objectives of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre.”
More on the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is here, including interviews, perspective pieces, and news from the show’s events. For your free copy of our specially produced 2021 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair Show Magazine, click here. There’s a video look at what’s in this 30-page magazine embedded below.
More on the United Arab Emirates’ market is here. More from us on book fairs and trade shows is here. More on translation is here, and more on Arabic in the publishing world is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the media partner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and the International Publishers Association. Our extended coverage of ADIBF 2021 is supported by the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is here.