The Sheikh Zayed Book Prize announces its nineteenth edition finalists
Organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center of that emirate’s
Department of Culture and Tourism, the award acknowledges the work of
authors and institutions from 15 different countries, bearing witness to
the breadth and scope of Arab culture.
March 05, 2025
ABU DABI
The nineteenth edition, which is being held in 2025, has received more than 4,000 candidacies from 75 countries, including new countries like Albania, Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago and Mali, thus emphasizing the award’s global influence and prestige.
The award is given in ten different categories: Literature, Children’s Literature, Young Authors, Arabic Culture in Other Languages, Translation, Literary and Artistic Criticism, Publishing and Technology, Contribution to the Development of Nations, Publishing of Arabic Manuscripts and Cultural Personality of the Year.
In the 2024 edition, Casa Árabe was awarded “Cultural Personality of the Year,” because it was considered by the jury to serve as “a bridge between Arab and Spanish cultures.”
The finalists for this edition are:
Literature
● The Sphinx by Ahmed Mourad (Egypt), published by Dar El Shorouk in 2023
● Trilogy of the Travels in the City of Arcilla by Saud Alsanousi (Kuwait), published by Hachette Antoine/Nofal in 2023
● Hind, or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Huda Barakat (Lebanon/France), published by Dar Aladab in 2024
Children’s Literature
● Maymouna and Her Crazy Ideas by Shireen Sabanegh (Jordan), published by Hachette Antoine/Nofal in 2023
● The Phantom of Sabiba by Latifa Labsir (Morocco), published by Markaz Kitab in 2024
● The Digital Fox by Hegra Elsawi (Egypt), published by Dar Shan Publishing & Distribution in 2024
Arab Culture in Other Languages
● Arabic Literary Culture in Southeast Asia in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries by Andrew Peacock (United Kingdom), published by Brill in 2024
● The Rise of the Arabic Book by Beatrice Gründler (Germany), published by Harvard University Press in 2020
● Geschichte des östlichen zagal: Dialektale arabische Strophendichtung aus dem Osten History of the der arabischen Welt - von den Anfängen bis zum Ende der Mamlukenzeit (The Eastern Zajal: Arabic poetry in colloquial dialects of the Eastern Arab world: from its beginnings to the end of the Mamluk era) by Hakan Özkan (Turkey), published by Ergon Verlag in German in 2020
Translation
● Tausendundeine Nacht: Das Buch der Liebe (The Thousand and One Nights: The book of love), translated from Arabic into German by Claudia Ott (Germany), published by Verlag C.H. Beck in 2022
● Orosius by Paulus Orosius, translated from Arabic into English by Marco Di Branco (Italy), published by Pisa University Press in 2024
● Le démon de la théorie: Littérature et sens commun sThe Devil in Theory: Literature and common sense) by Antoine Compagnon, translated from French into Arabic by Hassan Outtaleb (Morocco), published by Dar Alkitab Aljadeed in 2023
Literary and Art Criticism
● Food and Language: Cultural excavations in Arab heritage by Dr. Said Laouadi (Morocco), published by Africa Orient in 2023
● Poetry and Prophecy: Abu Tayeb as poet-prophet by Dr. Rita Awad (Palestine), published by the Arab Institute for Research & Publishing in 2024
● Urban Samarra: A study on architecture and planning in an Abbasid city by Dr. Khaled Alsultany (Iraq), published by Adib Books in 2024
Contribution to the Development of Nations
● The Right to Work and Strive: Perspectives on Muslim women’s rights, by Prof. Dr. A.S. Mohammed Bechari (UAE), published by Nahdet Misr in 2024
● The Philosophy of Recognition and Identity Politics: Critique of the cultural focus of Arab-Islamic culture by Housamedden Darwish (Syria/Germany), published by Mominoun Without Borders in 2023
● Cities and Trade in Arab and Islamic Civilization by Prof. Dr. Majduddin Khemesh (Jordan), published by Dar Alsayel for Publishing & Distribution en 2024
Publishing of Arabic Manuscripts
● News of Women by Rasheed Alkhayoun (Iraq/United Kingdom), published by the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in 2024
● Interpretation of the Mu’allaqat Poems by Saleh Aljassar (Saudi Arabia), published by Alkhizana Alandalusia – Al-Khanji Library in Cairo, 2024
● Alkawakib Alsayaara fi Tartib Alziyara by Dr. Ahmed Gomaa Abdelhamid (Egypt), published by the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale in 2024
The winners of the nineteenthedition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize will be announced in March. Each of them will receive 750,000 dirhams from the United Arab Emirates (€195,053 / $204,195), whereas the winner of the award for Cultural Personality of the Year will receive 1,000,000 dirhams from the UAE (€260,071 / $272,264) at the awards ceremony to be held during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair on the upcoming date of April 28.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Prize also supports the publication of Arabic literature in translation through the Prize’s Translation Fund, which awards funding for translation to international publishers every year. Through the Translation Fund, all of the finalist titles in this year’s Literature and Children’s Literature categories will be eligible for translation funding to help provide for translation from Arabic into world languages.
From left to right: “Hind, or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World,” “The Sphinx” and “Trilogy of Travels in the City of Mud.”