Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces Longlists For Literature And Young Author Categories In 2025-2026 Edition

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has unveiled the longlists for its 20th edition (2025-2026). Categories include Literature, Young Author, Children’s Literature, and Editing of Arabic Manuscripts. These selections are now under review by judging panels. The award received over 4,000 entries from 74 countries, with Chile, Iceland, and Luxembourg participating for the first time.

This year’s submissions came from 21 Arab nations and 53 other countries. The results underscore the award's growing international recognition. Notably, there was a twelve percent increase in women’s participation. Additionally, entries from cultural and research institutions rose by eighty percent. Submissions from non-Arab countries also saw a sixteen percent increase.

The Literature category attracted the most entries, followed by Young Author and Children’s Literature. Other categories include Literary and Art Criticism, Contribution to the Development of Nations, Translation, Arab Culture in Other Languages, Editing of Arabic Manuscripts, Publishing and Technology, and Cultural Personality of the Year.

The longlist for the Literature category includes 11 titles from eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Notable works are "The Tear of Granada," "Nightly Archery," "Births in the Zoo," and "A Swiss Summer." Meanwhile, eight titles were selected for Young Author from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan. These works span critical studies to poetry.

In Children’s Literature, nine titles were chosen from Egypt, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iraq, the UAE and Tunisia. Entries include "Dark Web," "Lulwa’s Summer," "A Tiny Problem," and "Suns of My Country." The Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category features eight titles from Syria, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Tunisia. This includes classical texts like "Kitāb al-Fawz" and scholarly studies such as "Martyrium Arethae Arabice."

Award's Legacy

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is an independent annual accolade celebrating excellence in literature and humanities. It supports translation efforts while fostering intercultural dialogue. Established in 2006 to honour Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's legacy—the UAE's Founding Father—the award is organised by ALC with backing from Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism.

Further longlists for remaining categories will be announced soon. The total prize pool for this prestigious award amounts to AED7.75 million.

With inputs from WAM