The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, has announced the winners of its 18th awards program across seven categories, including a newly launched category for Editing of Arabic Manuscripts. The award received a record-breaking 4,240 submissions from 74 countries, with winners hailing from the UAE, Tunisia, Germany, Egypt, and China.
The winners will be celebrated at the official Award Ceremony on April 30th during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, each receiving prize money of 750,000 UAE dirhams ($204,198), with the Cultural Personality of the Year receiving one million UAE dirhams ($272,264).
The winning entries cover a wide range of genres, with a notable focus on the rich history of the Arab World. The Literature prize was awarded to Egyptian author Reem Bassiouney for her historical novel Al Halwani: The Fatimid Trilogy, while the Arab Culture in Other Languages category went to German scholar Frank Griffel for his book The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam.
Tunisian Italianist Dr Ahmed Somai won the Translation category for his Arabic translation of Giambattista Vico's The New Science, and Egyptian musician and musicologist Dr. Mustafa Said received the inaugural Editing of Arabic Manuscripts award for his study of the medieval treatise Safinat AlMulk waNafisat AlFulk.
The Young Author category was awarded to Tunisian academic Dr. Houssem Eddine Chachia for his work on the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain, while the Development of Nations category went to Emirati Dr. Khalifa Alromaithi for his study of historical place names in the Emirates. Bayt Elhekma for Creative Industries China won the Publishing & Technology category for work in building cultural bridges between China and the Arab world.
"These authors have significantly contributed to enriching Arab cultural, literary, and social landscapes through their remarkable works," Ali bin Tamim, secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said in a statement. "The global reach of this year's winners exemplifies the profound influence of Arabic literature on the world stage and reinforces the Sheikh Zayed Book Award's position at its centre, as a source of both recognition and ongoing support."
