Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA), has announced the shortlist for its 18th edition. This year's shortlist includes authors and institutions from 16 different countries and showcases the breadth of Arab culture around the world.

This award is one of the world's leading prizes to Arab literature and culture and has been highlighting writers, scholars, translators, cultural leaders, institutions and organisations since its inception in 2006. The SZBA also supports the publication of Arabic literature across the world with the SZBA Translation Grant. This grant sees international publishers awarded with translation funds every year.

A remarkable list of internationally published writers are features in this year's Literature shortlist with Egyptian author Reem Bassiouney making an appearance on the shortlist for the second year running.

Dr Ali bin Tamim, Secretary-General of SZBA and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said:

"We are delighted to unveil this year's shortlist, which exemplifies excellence in contemporary academic, fiction, and nonfiction literature relating to the Arab world. Throughout the rigorous submissions and evaluation process for this prestigious award, we have witnessed wide-ranging and thought-provoking subject matter, highlighting the depth, creativity, and scholarly rigour of the contemporary Arab publishing community. It is with great pride that we present this remarkable shortlist, offering a glimpse into the cultural richness and intellectual vitality of today's Arab literary landscape."

It was another record year for submission this year, with 4240 total submissions from 74 countries. The winners will each receive 750,000 UAE dirhams (£160,621 / $204,198). The winners will receive their prize at an awards ceremony taking place at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair on the 30th April.

The shortlist for the 18th edition of the SZBA are:

Literature

● Fursa L-Gharam Akheer (A Chance for One Last Love) by Hassan Dawood (Lebanon), published by Hachette Antoine/Nofal in 2022

● Al Halwani...Thulathiyat al-Fatimiyeen (Al Halwani: The Fatimid Trilogy) by Reem Bassiouney (Egypt), published by Nahdet Misr Publishing, Printing and Distribution in 2022

● Nasheej al-Duduk (The Duduk’s Whimper) by Jalal Barjas (Jordan), published by the Arab Institute for Research and Publishing in 2023

Publishing and Technology

● Internationale Jugendbibliothek (The International Youth Library), Munich, Germany

● Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spanish National Research Council), Spain

● Bayt Elhekma for Creative Industries, China

● Finjan Podcast, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Contribution to the Development of Nations

● Al-Asmaa’ al-Jughrafiya – Thakirat Ajyal (Geographical Names – Legacy of Generations) by Dr Khalifa Alromaithi (UAE), published by Austin Macauley Publishers in 2022

● Sikkat al-Tramway: Tareeq al-Hadatha Marra bi-Dimashq (Tramway Railway: The Path of Modernity Passed Through Damascus) by Sami Marwan Moubayed (Syria/UK), published by Riad El Rayyes Books in 2022

● Al-Arabiya Lughat al-Aayn: Dirasa Dalaliya Uurfaniya (The Arabic Language: A Study of Cognitive Semantics) by Dr Fatima Bakouch (Tunisia), published by Masciliana Editions in 2023

Arab Culture in Other Languages

● The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam by Frank Griffel (Germany), published in English by Oxford University Press in 2021

● On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of al-Andalus by Eric Calderwood (USA), published in English by Harvard University Press in 2023

● Warum es kein islamisches Mittelalter gab (Why There Was No Islamic Middle Ages) by Thomas Bauer (Germany), published in German by C.H. Beck Verlag in 2018

● La letteratura d’adab (The Literature of Adab) by Antonella Ghersetti (Italy), published in Italian by Istituto per l’Oriente Carlo Nallino in 2021

● Louis Massignon et la mystique musulmane: Analyse d’une contribution à l’islamologie (Louis Massignon and Islamic mysticism: An analysis of a contribution to Islamology) by Florence Ollivry (France/Canada), published in French by Brill Publishing in 2023

Translation

● Al-Aalam Iradatan wa-Tamathulan (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung – The World as Will and Representation) authored by Arthur Schopenhauer, translated from German to Arabic by Dr Said Tawfik (Egypt), published by ‏Dar Al Kitab Al Jadeed in 2023

● Limatha Naqraa’ al-Adab al-Classiki? (Perché Leggere I Classici – Why Read the Classics?) authored by Italo Calvino, translated from Italian to Arabic by Dalal Naserallah (Kuwait), published by Al Mada for Media, Culture and Arts in 2021

● Al-Ilm al-Jadeed (La Scienza Nuova – The New Science) authored by Giambattista Vico, translated from Italian to Arabic by Dr Ahmed Somai (Tunisia), published by Adab Publishing and Distribution in 2022

Young Author

● Na’eesh li-Nahki: Balaghat al-Takhyeel fi Kalila wa Dimna (Living to Narrate: The Eloquent Imagination in Kalīla wa-Dimna) by Mustapha Rajouane (Morocco), published by Kunouz Al- Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution House in 2023

● Simya’iyat al-Qira’a: Dirasa fi Shurooh Diwan al-Mutanabbi fi al-Qarn al-Sabe’ Hijri (The Semiotics of Reading: a Study of the Seventh Hijri Century Interpretation of the Al-Mutanabbi Diwan) by Dr Alawi Ahmed Al Malgami (Yemen), published by Kunouz Al-Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution House in 2023

● Al Mashhad al-Moriski: Sardiyat al-Tard fi al-Fikr al-Espani (The Morisco Landscape Narratives of Expulsion in Modern Spanish Thought) by Dr Houssem Eddine Chachia (Tunisia), published by the Centre for Research and Knowledge Intercommunication in 2023 

Editing of Arabic Manuscripts

● Sharh Diwan Thi-Al Rimma li Abi al-Hasan Ali bin Mohammed bin Ali bin Kharouf Al-Eshbili Al-Andalusi (Interpretation of the Diwan of Thi Al Rimma by Abi Al Hassan Ali bin Mohammed bin Ali bin Kharouf Al-Eshbili Al-Andalusi) by Awad bin Mohammed Salem Al Daheel Al Awlaqi (Saudi Arabia), published by Dar Al Nawader - Al Madina Al Munawwarah Literary Publishing Club in 2019

● Al-Fawa’id al-Sunniya fi al-Rihla al-Madaniya wal-Rumiya, Tathkirat al-Nahrawali (Sunni Benefits in the Madani and Roman Journey ‘Nahrawali Diary’) by Al-Mahdi Eid Al-Rawadieh (Jordan), published by The Orient-Institut Beirut in 2022

● Safinat al-Mulk wa-Nafisat al-Fulk (Shehab al-Din) al-Muwashah wa-Musiqa al-Maqam al- Natiqa bil-Arabiya bayn al-Tantheer wal-Maras (The Ship of Possession and the Precious Ship (Shehab al-Din) - Muwashah and Arabic-speaking Maqam Music between Theory and Practice) by Dr Mustafa Said (Egypt), published by ElAin Publishing in 2023

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