11th Etisalat Award For Arabic Children’s Literature Receives 175 Entries

The 11th edition of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) and sponsored by the Etisalat Group, has received 175 entries from around the world.

98 entries were received in the ‘Children’s Book of the Year’ category, 68 in the ‘Young Adult Book of the Year’ category, and nine in the ‘Silent Book’ category which was introduced this year, with submissions coming from several countries including USA, Canada, France and Solomon Islands. From the Arab region, entries were received from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, among others.

There were 41 entries from Egypt, which was the highest from a country, followed by the UAE with 35 entries and Lebanon with 32 entries.

Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY, said: “The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is focused on quality rather than quantity. It has been our mission and a priority since the launch of the Award to nurture and advance the quality of children’s literature, the success of which is evident in this year’s entries.”

Al Aqroubi said that entries received for this year’s edition uniformly featured meaningful content, provoked the imagination, and sought to instill good and authentic values in children. She noted that the addition of the ‘Silent Books’ category had encouraged authors, illustrators and publishers to invest in this form of literature and this had increased the availability of such books substantially.

The names of books shortlisted for the11th edition of the award will be announced at the Frankfurt International Book Fair to be held between October 16-20. The winners will be announced at the 38th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair, which will run from October 30 to November 9.

The AED 1.2 million Etisalat Award is divided into six categories: ‘Children’s Book of the Year’ valued at AED 300,000, distributed equally between the author, illustrator and publisher; ‘Young Adult Book of the Year’ worth AED 200,000 distributed equally between the author and publisher; three awards of AED 100,000 each for ‘Best Text’, ‘Best Illustration’ and ‘Best Production’; and AED 300,000 for the ‘Silent Book’ category.

Additionally, as part of the ‘Warsha’ programme, which supports and inspires a new generation of writers, illustrators, and publishers, AED 300,000 will be dedicated to workshops for harnessing people’s ability to write and illustrate children’s books.

Since its inception in 2009, the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature has been able to bring about a paradigm shift in the lives of authors, illustrators, developers and publishers of Arabic children’s and young adults’ literature. The Award has contributed to grooming a host of publishing experts who have become agents of positive change on the cultural and literary landscape.

The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature was launched in 2009 as an initiative by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and Patron of the UAEBBY. Sponsored by the Etisalat Group and organised by UAEBBY, it aims to raise the overall quality of Arabic literature by introducing a high value award recognising outstanding contributions in the field.