Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre under the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, announced the winners of its 20th edition. This edition, dedicated to the year 2025-2026, is part of a cultural journey that has been ongoing since its inception in 2006, highlighting the award’s efforts to enhance the Arab and international cultural landscape.
Meeting Details and Number of Winners
The winners were selected during an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Trustees, where the final results were assessed by the members, chaired by Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan. The meeting was attended by several prominent figures, including Dr. Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, the cultural advisor to the President, as well as Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Secretary-General of the award. The reasons for each nominee’s victory were carefully reviewed, reflecting a high level of transparency and professionalism in the selection process.
Notable Winners
The Egyptian artist Najat Al Saghira was awarded the Cultural Personality of the Year Award, recognized as one of the leading figures in Arab music. Additionally, Egyptian author Ashraf Al-Ashmawi won in the Literature category for his novel “The Zoo Births.” In the Young Author category, researcher Mustafa Rajwan from Morocco took the lead with his work “Plots and Characters: The Rhetorical-Hermeneutical Approach to Arabic Novels.”
Translation and Creativity Awards
Researcher Nawal Nasrallah from Iraq/United States won in the Translation category for her English translation of the book “Types of Pharmacy in Food Colors,” a literary text from the medieval period. Writer Zuhair Tawfiq from Jordan won the Arts and Critical Studies Award for his book “Perceiving the World: Mutual Stereotypes between the Self and the Other.” Additionally, writer and translator Stefan Weidner from Germany received the Arabic Culture in Other Languages Award for his book “The Arab Diwan: The Most Beautiful Poems from the Pre-Islamic Era and Beyond.”
Rewards and Financial Prizes
The winner of the “Cultural Personality of the Year” award receives a gold medal, a certificate of appreciation, and a financial prize of one million dirhams, while winners in other categories receive gold medals, certificates of appreciation, and financial prizes worth 750,000 dirhams. With over 4,000 nominations from 74 countries, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is indeed a global event that reflects its status in the international cultural arena.