Special Features
Fourth edition of the Dhs1m Etisalat Literature Award launched
The UAE Board on Books for Young People launched the 4th edition of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature during the opening of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival. The call for entries is also now open for submissions from Arab or international publishing houses that publish Arabic language books for children aged 0-14.The award, sponsored by the Etisalat Telecom Company, is worth Dhs1m, making it one of the most important and the richest award for children’s literature in the Arab world. The award is given annually to the best Arabic children’s book.
The 2012 edition of the Award was launched at the UAEBBY stand in the Sharjah Children’s Reading festival in the presence of Sheikh Essam bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Office of HH the Ruler of Sharjah and Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of UAEBBY, Abdul Aziz Taryam, Etisalat General Manager (Northern Region), various representatives of publishing houses, authors and illustrators in addition to a number of people interested in the field of children’s literature.
Sheikh Essam bin Saqr Al Qasimi and Abdul Aziz Taryam officially launched the fourth edition of the Etisalat Award by opening the call for entries.
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, UAEBBY President, commented on the launch of the saying, "In its first three years, the award has gone from strength to strength in terms of the quality of the books submitted and the increasing number of entries. It has also gone some way towards achieving its objective of acting as a stimulant for the children’s book industry in the Arab world through providing an incentive for children’s book publishers, authors, and illustrators for greater innovation, recognizing children’s books that are creative and that break new ground, and rewarding all the parties involved whether they be writers, illustrators or publishing houses as they all contribute towards the production of a good book." She added that the UAE Board on Books for Young people is exceedingly proud of the success and the growth of the award in its first three years.
Sheikha Bodour praised Etisalat’s commitment to supporting children’s books through its sponsorship of this award, an action that is in line with Etisalat’s leading role in community development in the UAE and the priority it places on humanitarian and cultural project. It reflects the company’s high level of community awareness and social responsibility.
Abdul Aziz Taryam, General Manager of Etisalat, Northern Region, went on to reaffirm Etisalat’s commitment to social and cultural issues saying that Etisalat’s sponsorship of the award is a translation of its vision into action as the award serves to promote Arabic children’s literature and encourage reading among children and young people.
In order to qualify for entry, books must comply with the eligibility criteria of the award. More specifically, the books submitted must be written in the Arabic language, must be original works (not translated or reproduced) and must have been published no earlier than three years prior to the year in which the call for entries is being launched. In addition, entries should not be recipients of any previous local, regional or international award. Each publishing house is entitled to enter a maximum of three titles.
The 1 million dirham award is given each year to the best Arabic children’s book as chosen by the judging panel which is composed of experts in the field of children’s literature and publishing. Half of the award money goes to the publisher of the winning book, and the remaining 50% is divided between the author and illustrator.
Last year, the award was given to the Egyptian publishing house, Nahdet Misr for the book Teeri Ya Tayara (Fly Away Kite), written by Amani Al Ashmawi and illustrated by Hanadi Sileet. In 2010, the winning book was also an Egyptian book: Al-Nokta Soda (The Black Dot) written and illustrated by Walid Taher and published by Dar Shorouk while the winner of the first edition of the Award in 2009 was Ana Oheb written by Nabiha Mheidli, illustrated by Nadine Sidani and published by the Lebanon-based Dar Al-Hadaek.
