Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces Shortlist for Eighth Session

As part of its yearly practice, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced its shortlisted candidates in seven of its categories counting “Contribution to the Development of Nations”, “Literary and Art Criticism”,“Young Author”, “Translation”, “Children’s Literature”, “Literature” and “Arabic Culture in Other Languages”. The announcement follows the conclusion of the Scientific Committee meeting held in Abu Dhabi from the 11th to 15th of March to assess reports submitted by the judges’ panel per category and the evaluation of nominated works. “We appraised works across all categories against stringent, quantifiable scoring criteria to arrive at 3 to 4 eligible contenders per category in light of a rigorous review of the judges’ panel reports”, Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s Secretary General, explained. Titles under “Contribution to the Development of Nations” award categoryincluded: ‘Al Thiqqaf fil azminah Al ‘Ojaf: Falsafat Al Thaqafa fil Gharb wa‘ind Al Arab’(The Intellect in the Age of Scarcity: The Philosophy of Culture in the West and the Arab World) by Dr. Mohammad Shawqi Zain from Algeria (published by Dar Al Ikhtilaf, 2013) ‘Malhamt Al Tatawwor Al Bashari’(The Epic of Human Evolution)by Dr. Sa’ad Al Abdullah Al Suwayyan from Saudi Arabia (Published by Dar Madarek 2013) ‘E’aadat Intaj Al Turath Al Sha’abi’(Reproducing the Folkloric Heritage) by Dr. Sa’eed Al Masri from Egypt (published by the Higher Council for Culture 2012) Three books were named under “Children’s Literature” including: Mu’jizaton fil Sahra’a(A Miracle in the Desert) by Egyptian writer Yacoub Al Sharooni (published by Dar Nahdet Misr 2013) ‘Qubba’it Raghda’(Raghda’s Hat) by Jordanian Novelist Taghreed Al Najjar (published by Al Salwa Publications 2012) ‘Thalathoun Qaseedah Lil Atfal’(Thirty Poems for Children) by Jawdat Fakhr Al Din from Lebanon (published by Dar Al Hada’eq 2013) In “Young Author” category, the following titles were short-listed: ‘Al Ma’rifah wal Irtiaab: Al Musa’ala Al Irtiyabyya li Qimat Al Ma’rifah ‘ind Nietzsche wa Imtidadatha fil Fikr Al Falsafi Al Mu’aser’(Knowledge and Skepticism – Skeptical Accountability of the Knowledge Value according to Nietzsche and its Extensions in Contemporary Philosophical Thought) by Dr. Abdul Razzaq Bil’aqrouz from Algeria (published by Muntada Al Ma’aref) ‘Al Khitab Al Ishtibaahi fil Turath Al Lisani Al Arabi’(The Apprehensive Discourse in the Arab Lingual Heritage) by Al Basheer Al Tihali from Morocco (published by Dar Al Kitab Al Jadeed 2013) ‘Al Rasees Wal Mukhatala – Khitab Ma b’d Al Coloniyalyya fil Naqd Al Arabi Al Mu’aser: Al Nathariyya wal Tatbee’( The Sagacious and the Artifice – Post-colonial Discourse in Arab Contemporary Critique: Theory and Practice) by Rami Abu Shehab from Jordan (published by The Arab Institute for Research and Publishing 2013. Three books were named under “Translation”, as follows: “Asian Philosophies”(by John M. Koller 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.) translated from English by Naseer Fleih from Iraq (published by the Arab Organization for Translation 2013) “Housing the Stranger in the Mediterranean and the Middle Ages”(by Olivia Remie Constable, Cambridge University Press, 2003) translated from Englsih by Mohammad Al Mansouri from Tunisia (published by Dar Al Madar Al Islami 2013) “?sthetik: Einleitung”(by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. 1842) or “Lessons in Aesthetics” translated from German by Dr. Naji Al Awlani from Lebanon (published by Dar Al Jamal 2014) Titles under “Literature”included: ‘Ghareeb Al Nahr’(The Stranger of the River) -by Jamal Naji from Jordan (published by Al Dar Al Arabiyyah Lil Oloum 2012) ‘Farashat li Ibtisamat Buddha’(Butterflies for Buddha’s Smile) by Lebanese Poet Shawqi Bazi’ (published by Dar Al Adab 2013) Poetry Collection ‘Diwan Al Said Al Bahri’(Marine Fishing) by Tunisian Poet Munsef Al Wahaybi (published by Dar Afaq 2013) ‘Ba’d Al Qahwa’(After Coffee) by Abdul Rashid Mahmoudi from Egypt (published by Al Dar Al Arabiyya Library 2013) Finally, Titles in “Arabic Culture in Other Languages” included: “Poetics of Love in the Arabic Novel: Nation-State, Modernity and Tradition”by Wenchin Ouyang in Studies in Modern Arabic Literature, Edinburgh University Press 2013 “Immaginare Babele”by Mario Liverani – Editori Laterza 2013, Roma-Bari. “The Power of Oratory in the Medieval Muslim World”by Linda G. Jones -- Cambridge University Press, 2012 “Enlightenment Orientalism: Resisting the Rise of the Novel”by Srinivas Aravamudan-- University of Chicago Press, 2012 The Sheikh Zayed Book Award nominations phase for the eighth session went on from May until mid-October 2013, ending in a ground breaking record of nominations amounting to more than 1385 across the Award’s nine categories – that is a growth rate of 12% over last session’s record. The nominations were earlier filtered down to 75 long-listed titles announced through last month. The full list of winners is scheduled for announcement in a press conference in April, to be followed by Award’s Grand Ceremony, celebrating the winning achievements on 4th of May, coinciding with Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.