Advisory Council meeting to review judges reports for the fifth Session of the Award

It’s the final countdown for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s fifth batch of winners, according to the Award’s Advisory Committee who joined today to review judges reports and decide on the shortlist towards crowning top cultural achievements across one of the broadest cultural award in the region. Mr. Rashed Al Oraimi, the Secretary General of the Award and member of the Advisory Committee, added that this year the Sheikh Zayed Book Award may consider naming finalists prior to the announcement of winners. Each of the Award’s categories has three judges specialized in the same field. The judges independently evaluate the nominations and submit their reports against a stringent, quantifiable scoring criterion to ensure the decision is truly reflective of their independent and expert views. The assessment results are then calculated for each category and collectively evaluated by the Advisory Council of the award. Consequently, the short-listed winners will be subject to the approval of the Award’s Higher Committee, and scheduled for announcement beginning of next week. "The Award’s judging panels and Advisory Committee are impressed with the caliber of the entries in this year’s session. All entries demonstrated high levels of creativity and scholarly content, each in its own way." Al Oraimi Added. The Prestigious Award presentation ceremony will be held in the Emirates palace on March 16 . The Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s fifth session collected a major 715 nominations received from countries in the Arab World, Europe, and East Asia, across its nine categories. “Literature” topped the list with a share of 24% of total nominations received, followed by the “Young Author” Category with 22%, and the category of “Best Contribution to the Development of the Nation” coming a close third with 19%. Meanwhile, the “Children’s Literature” was fourth with 14% of total nominations, followed by “Translation” and “Fine Arts” with shares equating to 9% and 6%, respectively. The Award received varying number of nominations in the rest of its categories.