Abu Dhabi, This year’s Shaikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) has received the largest number of nominations in its history. The 18th edition of the award, organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), received 4,240 nominations from 74 countries, including 19 Arab nations.
Emirates News Agency (WAM) quoted Dr. Ali bin Tamim as saying: “For nearly two decades, the Shaikh Zayed Book Award has firmly established itself as an authority in the regional and global cultural arena. The award commands tremendous respect through its continued pursuit of fulfilling the vision of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of the UAE, who always sought to strengthen the foundations of creativity and knowledge, which amplifies the work of talented individuals.
This year, the most nominations were received from Egypt, followed by Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Palestine and the UAE. Outside the Arab region, India led the list, followed by the US, UK, France, Spain and Germany. The award also saw several countries participate for the first time including Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Nepal, Mauritius, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Guinea and Djibouti.
Of the award’s 10 categories, the Young Author category received the highest number of submissions with a total of 1,078 nominations, accounting for 25 percent of the total, an increase from 954 entries in the previous edition.
The Literature category ranked second with 1,032 submissions, making up 24 percent of the nominations, which was an increase from 688 last year.
The Children’s Literature category received 437 submissions, representing 10 percent of the total. The other categories are Literary and Art Criticism, Contribution to the Development of Nations, Translation, Editing of Arabic Manuscripts, Arab Culture in Other Languages, Cultural Personality of the Year, and Publishing and Technology.
Submissions from female nominees saw a notable increase, with the award receiving 1,182 nominations, compared to 1,042 in the previous edition and 915 the year before that. The number of nominated institutions also increased significantly to 201 this year, up from 24 in the previous edition.
Source: Bahrain News Agency