Sheikh Zayed Book Award Longlist Announced

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced today, December 13th, its longlist of book titles for two of its categories; “Children’s Literature” and “Young Author”. Eight books have been long-listed under each of the two categories, selected from 134 and 55 nominations respectively. This marks the first time the annual award publishes the names of the selected candidates now in contention for its sixth session 2011/2012 winner title. The Award foundation explained that it opted to adopt the longlist system to give an opportunity for those nominated to showcase their creativity and gain exposure and recognition for their efforts. The books in the "children's literature" [including adolescents books] longlist range from stories of courage, tales of true champions celebrating diversity to inspiring themes about kindness, love and acceptance of the other. Writers come from Ten Arab countries, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Tunisia, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE. The longlist of “Children’s Literature” category includes: Book title Author Country Publisher The Bee and the Bird (Short poems) Salim AbdulQader Syria Sana The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air Abdo Wazen Lebanon Arab Scientific Publishers A Kind Word Nadia Salim Al Kalbani UAE 4D Vision Hamda and Faseekra (the story of Cinderella of the Gulf) Kulthum Al Ghanim Qatar Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing Rouad is Reborn Jumana Haddad Lebanon Arab Scientific Publishers I Like Fruits Nabiha Mheidli Lebanon Dar al Hada'ek Hanji Banji Ahmad Suleiman Egypt Al-Dar al-Masriah al-Lubnaniah Da'wa al-Haywan dhid al Insan Ind Malik al-Jan (Animals' Case Against Humans) *Huda al-Shawwa Qaddoumi Kuwait Dar al-Saqi *Huda al Shawwa Qaddoumi is the 2008 Winner of Sheikh Zayed Book Award for her book Rihlat al-tuyur ila jabal Qaf . The longlist of “Young Author” [Authors below 40 years of age] category includes: Book title Author Country Publisher The Door closes with Boredom (short stories) Basima Al Inizee Kuwait Dar al-Farabi- Dar al- Farasha Arabs and the future of China (a study) Samer Ahmad Jordan Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum Foundation The Immigration (short stories) Ahmad Hamdan Egypt Al-Dar al-Masriah al-Lubnaniah Tears of the Cactus (short stories) Maleeka Al Shaj’i Morocco Editions La Croisee des Chemins Ladies of the Moon (Novel) Jokha Al Harthi Oman Dar al-Adab Cryptography in Ancient Egypt (a study) Nagwa Metwally Egypt Alexandria Library The Day the butterflies let me down (Novel) Ziad Mahaftha Jordan Dar al-Farabi Al Fakka in Islam (a study) Layla Al Obaidali Tunisia Dar al-Saqi The Sheikh Zayed Book Award received a total of 560 nominations across its nine categories, of which “Young Author” contributed 25%, while “Children’s Literature” was less fortunate with 10%. The Award’s judging panels work is in progress to evaluate the long listed books . The assessment results are then collectively evaluated by the Scientific Committee of the Award to produce a short list which will again be evaluated to choose the winner of each category. The winners are scheduled for announcement in February 2012, and the Award’s Presentation Ceremony, celebrating the winning achievements, will be held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions on 29th March next year. The award comprises of Nine categories where the total monetary prize stands at seven million UAE dirhams. Each prize consists of a gold medal bearing the SZBA logo, a certificate of merit and 750,000.00 Dirhams. The Cultural Personality of the Year winner receives a prize of one million dirhams. The Sheikh Zayed Bok Award witnessed major changes in its organizational structure, the most recent being the appointment of a new Scientific Committee headed by Dr. Ali Bin Tamim of UAE, who also took over as the acting Secretary General of the Award. In addition to Dr. Bin Tamim, the new Scientific Committee includes renowned figures in Culture, literature and Academia, including Dr. Ali Rashed Al Noaimi from UAE; Dr. Saeed Tawfiq from Egypt; Mr. Juergen Boos from Germany; Dr. Khalil al Sheikh from Jordan; Dr. Masoud Dhaher from Lebanon; Dr. Kadhim Jihad from Iraq; Dr. Mohammad Banees from Morocco; and Dr. Siham Al Foraih from Kuwait.