The board of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in Abu Dhabi has approved the final slate of winners of the 17th edition of the program. Image: Zayed Book Award
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
See also:
Sheikh Zayed Shortlists: Literature, Young Author, Criticism
Sheikh Zayed Shortlists: Translation, Publishing and Technology, and Arab Culture
Winners To Be Announced in April
As we await the final shortlist news from the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, the program has told us today (March 23) that the board of trustees in Abu Dhabi has approved the final slate of winners for this, the 17th edition of what is easily one of the richest book and publishing awards programs in the world.
In terms of submissions, the 17th edition of the Zayed Award has been a record breaker.
The program receive more entries across all nine categories than in any year since its launch, with a total 3,151 applications submitted from 60 countries, including 22 Arab nations and 38 other countries around the world.
The Zayed award, you’ll recall, is organized and administered by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center under the direction of Dr. Ali Bin Tamim. The program carries a purse of 750,000 United Arab Emirates dirhams (US$204,209) in each of its eight book categories and is worth a total of 7 million dirhams (US$1.9 million), which includes a special Cultural Personality of the Year Category.
The approval of the list of winners was made at the annual meeting of the board, which is led by Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
Attending were:
- Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, cultural adviser to president of the United Arab Emirates
- Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi’s department of culture and tourism
- Saood Al Hosani, undersecretary with Abu Dhabi’s department of culture and tourism
- Dr. Ali bin Tamim, secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center
- Abdulla Majed Al Ali, director-general of the National Archives
The meeting was also attended by Abdulrahman Mohamed Alnaqbi who directs the literature award department at the Arabic Language Center.
Bin Tamim presented an overview of the submissions received for the current edition of the award, reviewed the processes followed by the jurying panels, and presented the recommended list of winners put forward by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award scientific committee. The board endorsed the list, and the winners will be formally announced next month.
The board is the body responsible for setting the general policies and organizational structure of the award and for any decisions concerning its categories and/or winners. It oversees all the award’s activities and devises policies that help achieve its objectives.
Winners of the 17th Sheikh Zayed Book Award will be honored in a ceremony at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre as part of the 32nd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which will take place May 22 to 28.
The recipient of the Zayed program’s ninth category, the Cultural Personality of the Year accolade, will once more be presented with a gold medal and a certificate of merit, as well as that prize of 1 million UAE dirhams. In addition to her or his cash award, each of the other winners also receives a gold medal and certificate of merit.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is here, more on the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center is here, more on Arabic literature is here, and more on translation is here. More from us on publishing and book awards in the international industry is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the world media partner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.