Sheikh Zayed Book Award announces its shortlists for the twentieth session
ABU DHABI, 18th February, 2020 (WAM) – The Sheikh Zayed Book Award at the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language announced today the shortlists nominated for its twentieth session 2025-2026, which included the branches of literature, young author, translation, arts and critical studies, Arabic culture in other languages, the branch of manuscripts, encyclopedias and dictionaries, and publishing and cultural technologies. The lists included distinguished works that reflect the diversity of creative and research experiences from various parts of the world.
The Scientific Board approved the short lists for the award after careful reviews of the reports of the specialized arbitration committees, during a series of meetings chaired by His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, President of the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language, Secretary-General of the Award, in the presence of members of the Authority; His Excellency Saeed Hamdan Al-Taniji, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, Jürgen Boz from Germany, Dr. Nadia Al-Sheikh from Lebanon, Mustafa Al-Sulaiman from Jordan, Dr. Khaled Al-Masry from Jordan/United States of America, Dr. Reem Bassiouni from Egypt, Dr. Munira Al-Ghadeer from Saudi Arabia, and the Turkish translator and academic Dr. Muhammad Haqqi Sotshin, where the lists were approved in accordance with the approved scientific standards, and within the framework of the institutional path followed by the award, in a way that enhances its position. As one of the most prominent global cultural platforms concerned with honoring knowledge and creative production, and consolidating the values of cultural dialogue and cognitive openness.
The shortlist for the “Literature” branch included three works; They are “Births in the Zoo” by Ashraf El-Ashmawy from Egypt, published by the Egyptian Lebanese Publishing House in 2024, “Furor” by Nizar Abdel Sattar from Iraq, published by Hachette Antoine-Nofal in 2024, and “The Secret of Saffron” by Badriya Al-Bishr from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, published by Dar Al-Shorouk in 2025.
The short list for the “Young Author” section included “Plots and Characters: The Argumentative Rhetorical Approach to the Arabic Novel” by Mustafa Rajwan from Morocco, published by Dar Kunooz Al-Ma’rifa for Publishing and Distribution in 2025, and “Al-Nadim: A Book in the Books” by Omar Zakaria, from Jordan, published by Al-Harf Publications in 2024, in addition to “My Butterfly That Never Dies” by Alaa Al-Qatrawi from Palestine, published by the Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing. Year 2025.
In the “Translation” section, the shortlist included four works that reflected the richness of cultural interaction between Arabic and other languages: “Improvement of the Ugly and Ugly of the Beautiful” by Abu Mansour Al-Tha’alabi, translated from Arabic to English by Geert Jan van Gelder from the Netherlands, and published by Brill Publishing House in 2024, and “The Compilation of Pilgrimages: The New Rhetoric” by Chaim Perelman and Lucy Olbricht Titka, translated from French to Arabic by Dr. Muhammad Al-Wali from Morocco, It was published by the United New Book House in 2023, and “Types of Pharmacy in Food Colors” was translated from Arabic to English by Nawal Nasrallah from Iraq – the United States of America, and was published by Brill Publishing House in 2025, in addition to “The Expulsions from His Poetry” by Al-Hassan bin Hani Abu Nawas, translated from Arabic to English by James E. Montgomery from the United Kingdom, and published by the Arab Library/New York University Press in 2024.
The short list for the “Arts and Critical Studies” branch included three works; They are “Constituents of Arabic Linguistic Theory” by Ramzi Mounir Baalbaki from Lebanon, published by the American University of Beirut Press in 2025, and “Perceiving the World: Mutual Stereotypes between the Self and the Other” by Zuhair Tawfiq from Jordan, published by Al-Aan Publishers and Distributors in 2025, and “News and Eyes: Towards a New Conception of the Study of Perspective and Point of View in the Arts of Storytelling” by Dr. Ahmed Al-Qasimi from Tunisia, issued by Al-Atrash Book Publishing Complex. Specialized and distributed in 2024.
The shortlist for the “Arab Culture in Other Languages” section also included four works: “The Genesis of Arab Poetry: From Regional Identities to Islamic Normativity” by Nathaniel Miller from the United States of America, published in English by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2024, “The Arabic Diwan: The Most Beautiful Poems from the Pre-Islamic Era” by Stefan Weidner from Germany, published in German by D’Andre Bibliotek in 2024, and “The Arab Concept.” For Chivalry – Towards an Ethic of Perfection in Classical Arab Culture” by Salah Nattij from France, published in French by Brill Publishing House in 2025, in addition to “Take, Add, Mix and Write: Arabic Works on Preparing Inks” by Sara Fani from Italy, published in Italian by Bibliographica Publishing House in 2023.
As for the short list for the “Manuscripts, Encyclopedias and Dictionaries” branch, it included specialized scientific works and an encyclopedia, namely “Al-Mu’nis fi Akhbar Afriqiya and Tunisia” edited by Dr. Ahmed Al-Bahi from Tunisia, issued by Sahnoun Publishing and Distribution House in 2025, and “The Encyclopedia of World Religions” in six volumes, by Dr. Muhammad Al-Khasht from Egypt, published by Mohammed bin Zayed University for the Humanities in 2025, and “The Martyrdom of Arethas.” In Arabic,” edited by Paolo La Spezza from Italy, published by Harasovitz Publishing House in 2021, in addition to “The Diwan of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi and His News,” edited by Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Hamad al-Batshan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, issued by the King Salman International Academy for the Arabic Language in 2023.
The shortlist for the “Publishing and Cultural Technologies” branch included the Emirates Literature Foundation from the UAE, “Read to Me” audiobooks from the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Dar Al Adab from Lebanon.
In the twentieth session, it was decided to block the branches of “Children’s and Youth Literature” and “Development and State Building,” while the award received more than four thousand entries from 74 countries, distributed among 21 Arab countries and 53 foreign countries.
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