Sheikh Zayed Book Award invites international submissions

As a bridge between Arab and international publishing, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award offers categories for international and Arab submissions. (Sponsored)

The winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2024 on stage in Abu Dhabi. Image: SZBA

By Hannah Johnson

SSince its launch in 2006 and the introduction of its translation fellowship in 2018, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) has had a growing influence on its winners, their publishers and the Arab publishing landscape – as well as providing international recognition for Arabic literary and academic works.

Thanks to its extensive events and outreach program, the SZBA has been able to increase submissions, award more translation grants, and expand its global network in recent years.

Announcing the opening of this year’s SZBA submission period, HE Dr Ali bin Tamim – Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and Secretary General of the SZBA – said: “The increasing number of submissions we receive each year further cements the status of the Prize in the literary community and among authors of different nationalities. The Prize plays a pioneering role in promoting writing and translation endeavours and building cultural bridges between countries.”

As SZBA increases its international visibility, it is also working to raise awareness of its categories, which accept submissions from publishers and organizations outside the Arab world.

By participating, international publishers can gain recognition for their work and benefit from SZBA’s growing international network.

SZBA categories open to international publishers

Of the ten categories of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, several are open to international publishers:

Translation: This category recognizes translations from and into Arabic, with emphasis on faithfulness to the original source, linguistic accuracy, and content integrity. This category is ideal for publishers who have translated Arabic works into other languages, or vice versa.

Arabic culture in other languages: This category recognizes works written in languages ​​other than Arabic that deal with Arab civilization and culture, including humanities, fine arts, literature, and history. Accepted languages ​​are English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, and Russian.

Publishing and technology: This category is open to publishers, distributors, research institutes and cultural institutions that promote culture through digital, visual and audio processes. It highlights innovative approaches to publishing and disseminating Arabic literature.

Editing of Arabic manuscripts: This category recognizes painstaking efforts in editing Arabic manuscripts, including the creation of specialized and general lexicons. Works in any language are accepted, provided they make a significant contribution to Arabic culture and human knowledge.

SZBA categories reserved for Arabic works

While some categories are open to international entries, some are specifically reserved for works in Arabic. These include:

Literature: Includes poems, short stories, novels, biographies, plays and other forms of literature. Winners and shortlisted titles in this category are eligible for translation grants.

Children’s literature: Covers literary, scientific and cultural books for children and young people. Winners and shortlisted titles in this category are eligible for translation grants.

Young author: The award recognizes works from the fields of science, literature, culture, fine arts and humanities by authors under the age of 40. Winners and shortlisted literary titles in this category are eligible for translation grants.

Literary and art criticism: The focus is on criticism in the fields of art, cinema, music, theater, imagery, architecture, sculpture, historical ruins, folk art, and literary and theoretical history.

Contribution to the development of nations: Consisting of books on economics, sociology, management, politics, law and theology that contribute to the progress of a nation.

Submission process and schedule

The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2024. Publishers should check the eligibility criteria for each category. To submit a book, register through the SZBA online portal and submit the required nomination forms. In addition, five printed copies of the nominated book must be sent to the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in Abu Dhabi.

Read the submission instructions and criteria here.

The schedule for the 19th edition is as follows:

• 1 May – 1 September 2024: Submissions open
• September 2024: Evaluation Phase 1 (reading groups)
• October 2024: Longlists announced
• October – December 2024: Phase 2 of the evaluation (jury panels)
• January 2025: Evaluation Phase 3 (Scientific Committee reviews the jurors’ reports)
• February 2025: Shortlists announced
• March 2025: Announcement of the winners
• April 2025: Awards ceremony

For further information on the submission process, please contact the Awards team at [email protected].

About the Sheikh Zayed Book Award

The aim of the SZBA, which is organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), is to recognize and reward significant scientific, literary and cultural achievements of Arab culture and to make these achievements known worldwide.

Named after the founding father of the United Arab Emirates – Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – this award is not only one of the most prestigious honors in the Arab literary world, but also one of the most valuable. The main prize winners receive 750,000 UAE dirhams (approximately USD 204,150), and the Cultural Personality of the Year receives 1,000,000 UAE dirhams (approximately USD 272,200).

In addition, the SZBA Translation Fellowship supports the translation, publication and distribution of Arabic books outside the Arab world.