Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens Submissions For Its 19th Edition Until September 2024

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA), organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), is now accepting submissions for its 19th edition until 1st September 2024. This year, the award will consider entries across ten 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, expressed pride in the award's ongoing success and its significant impact on the cultural scene over the past 18 editions. He noted that the award has highlighted numerous notable literary works and creative minds. The increasing number of submissions each year underscores its esteemed status within the literary community.

Dr. bin Tamim also emphasised the award's role in promoting writing and translation efforts and fostering cultural connections between countries. To submit an entry, nominees must adhere to specific conditions. Each nominee can submit only one work to one category and must not be nominated for any other award in the same year.

The SZBA does not accept works that have previously won a major international or Arab prize. Submitted books must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) to verify property rights. Re-submissions are allowed if they fall within a two-year timespan, with new copies required.

Authors can self-nominate, or publishing houses 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 works should be written in Arabic, except for those in the Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category, which can be in other languages. The Translation category accepts works translated into or from Arabic, while the Arab Culture in Other Languages category accepts works published in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian.

Candidates for the Cultural Personality of the Year award must be nominated by academic, research or cultural institutions, literary bodies and universities, or three prominent intellectual or cultural figures. Nominees for all other categories must personally fill out nomination forms on the SZBA website.

With inputs from WAM