Call for Nominations for Sheikh Zayed International Book Award 2012

The Sheikh Zayed International Book Award one of the most prestigious and well-funded prizes has announced the opening of nominations for its sixth session of 2011/2012. The deadline for nominations is  September 1st, 2011. Commenting on the rollout of the Award’s sixth session, Mr. Jumaa Al Qubeisi, Deputy Director of Abu Dhabi National Library, Member of the Award’s Higher Council, said: “The significant successes which the Award generated since its inception six years back, give us confidence today to rollout our latest session with an aspiration to reach the international market. It’s our sixth year now and we are still speeding forward with the same passion and commitment to the core objectives inspired by his Highness, Late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. ” Accordingly, the Award now welcomes nominations from Authors, translators and publishing houses in any of the Award’s nine categories; Best Contribution to the Development of Nations, Children’s Literature, Young Author, Translation, Literature, Fine Arts, Best Technology in the Field of Culture, Best Publishing House, and Cultural Personality of the Year. For cultural personality of the year award, applicants should be nominated by academic, research or cultural institutions. For the other eight categories, applicants are requested to fill in the Nomination Form in person. Applicants must fill the application form either online www.zayedaward.ae or by downloading the form. Once completed and signed, the application forms should be submitted to the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Offices along with the Candidate's Resume, Passport copy, Personal photo, and Five copies of the nominated book - works nominated for the Award of the Best Technology in Culture, can be in digital format. All nominated works must have been published in the last two years. The work must be written in Arabic, except for the Translation Award. Over the past six years the Award has recognized the creative literary and cultural achievements of more than 34 individuals and entities, including HH Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi; Novelist Wacini Laredj; Prof. Pedro Martinez Montavez; Novelist Ibrahim al-Kouni; Orientalist Xhong Jikun and many more. In its last session, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award received a record total of 715 nominations, flooding from 28 countries with impressive variety, including the Arab World, Europe, and East Asia. The award comprises a total monetary prize value of seven million UAE dirhams. Each prize consists of a gold medal bearing the SZBA logo, a certificate of merit. The Cultural Personality of the Year winner receives a prize of one million dirhams, while the winners of the other categories receive 750,000 dirhams