Sheikh Zayed Book Award announces winners

ABU DHABI: The winners of the seventh session of the Arab world’s most sought-after prize, Sheikh Zayed Book Award, were announced on Tuesday.

The winners are: Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Mohammad Al Tayeb, Cultural Personality of the Year, Elizabeth Kassab from Lebanon for Contribution to the Development of Nations’ Award; Adil Hadjami from Morocco Young Author Award, Tunisian Fat’hi Meskini, Translation Award, Abdullah Ebrahim from Iraq, for his work in the Literary and Art Criticism category and the British author Marina Warner for her work on Arab culture in a non-Arabic language. 

Additionally, the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature in Kuwait received the award for publishing and technology.

The awards for “Literature” and “Children’s Literature” were withheld for the seventh session as this year’s nominations in these categories did not meet the Award’s standards and criteria for winning. 

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, started in 2007, is intended to promote education and creativity in the Arab world. 

The Award carries cash prizes totalling Dhs7 million, with each winner getting Dhs750,000 (equivalent to $204,217.50) in all eight categories, including the Arab Culture in non-Arabic languages category, in addition to Dh1 million for the Cultural Personality of the Year.