The International Prize for Arab Children’s Literature achieves a qualitative shift in books for children and young people
Sharjah, 7 May / WAM / The International Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, which is organized by the UAE Board on Books for Young People and launched its eighteenth session at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2026, stands out as one of the most important cultural initiatives that has redrawn the features of the children’s book industry in the region.
Since its launch in 2009, the award has not been just an annual celebration of distinguished works, but rather an integrated project aimed at raising quality standards, empowering creators, and building a more professional and sustainable publishing environment.
Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAE Council on Books for Young People, pointed to the qualitative transformations that the award has brought about over the course of 17 years and the vision from which it emerged and how it has developed to take on an international dimension that reflects a growing confidence in Arab children’s literature and its ability to compete globally. It also addresses the future of the relationship between paper and digital books, and the impact of the award in building a more aware and intelligent reading generation.
Al-Aqroubi said that over the past years, the award has transformed from an ambitious initiative into a standard reference in the Arab children’s book industry, and its primary goal was to improve the quality of texts, drawings, and artistic direction, and to fill a clear gap in the Arab library dedicated to children. Today, the award has become an annual station that publishers, authors, and illustrators await and plan their publications according to its standards, and its presence is no longer only local, but has an Arab and international extension, especially after changing its identity to the “International Award for Arab Children’s Literature,” in a transformation that reflects the maturity of the experience. The Council’s confidence in the impact achieved.
She explained that when the award was established, the Arab publishing market lacked distinctive children’s books, whether in terms of texts and ideas or in terms of drawings and production. Therefore, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority, took the initiative to launch the award to fill the void experienced by the Arab Children’s Library and to provide strong foundations for the establishment of an Arab publishing industry specialized in producing children’s and young people’s books that would be able to attract the new generation to reading, based on Her Highness’s belief that investing in children’s culture is an investment in the future of society.
She added that over the past years, the award has contributed to providing the Arab children’s library with high-quality books in form and content, and many of the books that won the award or were shortlisted succeeded in attracting the interest of international publishing houses to be translated into several languages, which contributed to achieving Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s vision for the award to become a real development tool for the Arab children’s book industry, enhancing professionalism, establishing a culture of quality, and becoming a role model for awards specialized in children’s literature.
She pointed out that the international expansion of the award was a natural extension of this vision, as its goal was not only to honor the best Arabs, but to enable them to reach the world. Therefore, the identity developed and accompanying training programs were launched, such as “Warsha” to support young talents and qualify them according to international standards. There was also greater interest in the international promotion of winning works and opening channels of communication with exhibitions and publishers outside the Arab world, based on our belief that Arab children’s books are able to compete globally.
She pointed out that changing the name of the award to the “International Award for Arab Children’s Literature” is an announcement of a new stage of institutional development, as the previous name was associated with the establishment and launch stage, while the new name reflects the maturity of the experience and the broadening of its horizons, as we wanted to confirm that the award is available to any Arabic book intended for children and young people published in any country around the world.
She noted that the new identity carries a message of confidence in the Arab publishing industry, enhances the award’s presence in international forums, reflects an ambition for the future, and opens the door to broader partnerships with international cultural institutions.
She said: We welcome the participation of authors, illustrators and publishers from various countries of the world to submit their works before the deadline set for August 31, 2026, while adhering to a set of basic criteria for accepting entries, including that the works must be original and written in the Arabic language, published in paper within the past five years, and must not have received other awards, with full commitment to intellectual property and publishing rights, and that the nominated works must not fall within the category of educational, school or scientific books, as well as electronic or audio series and publications.
She pointed out that the award has created a state of professional mobility within the children’s book publishing sector. Participation is no longer formal, but has become an integrated preparation process that begins with selecting the idea, passing through specialized editing, and reaching high-quality artistic direction. Publishing houses have come to realize that competition requires a real investment in time, resources, and expertise. The division of the award equally between the author, illustrator, and publisher has strengthened the concept of creative partnership. The book is no longer attributed to just one name, but is viewed as the product of an integrated team, a shift that has contributed to raising the quality of the Arab children’s book industry.
Al-Aqroubi stressed that the award is viewed as part of an integrated system and not a separate initiative. While the award honors the best publications, initiatives such as the “Read, Dream, Create” campaign, which was launched in 2013, work to achieve greater rapprochement between children and books, and to promote and enhance the importance of reading among children and adolescents. It focuses on the books that won the award and those that were shortlisted through workshops held in schools and public libraries, which contributes to supporting the abilities of children and adolescents to read, write, innovate, and create, and at the same time. It’s time to celebrate the best books that deserve the award.
She pointed out that in 2020, the “Book Club” initiative was launched, which gives young readers the opportunity to read and explore new books and discuss them with authors, which motivates them to read and develop their skills in the art of writing to transform their ideas into well-written stories and publications.
She stressed that the paper book still maintains its educational and aesthetic value, especially in the early stages of life, as the experience of turning pages and sensory interaction with the book has an important psychological and cognitive impact, but this does not mean that we ignore digital books, but rather we follow the developments of digital and interactive publishing with interest and seek to benefit from them to encourage reading, which is what prompted us in recent years to include the digital book in the changing category of the award.
Al-Aqroubi expressed the award’s aspiration in the next phase to enhance the award’s international presence in a broader and more influential way so that it becomes the first internationally approved reference for children’s and young people’s books published in the Arabic language and that the award-winning books that are shortlisted are approved among the preferred reading lists in all libraries around the world, in addition to increasing opportunities for translation and selling rights so that the Arabic children’s book becomes present in international libraries in different languages.
The award categories include five main categories: “Early Childhood” for books aimed at children from birth to five years, “Picture Book” for children aged 5 to 9 years, “Book with Chapters” for the age group from 9 to 12 years, “Young Adult Book” for those between the ages of 13 and 18 years, in addition to “Non-Fiction Books”, which is a changing category that is approved every two years and is designated for the age group up to 18 years.
The jury committees for the International Award for Arab Children’s Literature rely on a precise system of standards that balance literary value, artistic quality, and educational impact.
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