Sheikh Zayed Book Award receives 715 nominations in its fifth session

The Secretary General of The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Rashed Al Oraimi, announced the closure of the nominations phase for its fifth session of 2010/2011, collecting a total of 715 nominations received 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, to be 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. The nominations flooded from 28 countries with impressive variety, including the Arab World, Europe, and East Asia. “We received nominations from more than 700 Arab Nationals, representing 19 Arab countries, in addition to nominations from nationals from UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Pakistan, India and New Zealand.” Mr. Rashed Al Oraimi, the Award’s Secretary General, elaborated. “Notably as last year, Egypt recorded highest sum of nominations with 35% of total, followed by KSA as a distant second with 10%, in addition to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon with shares of 8%, 7% and 6% of total respectively” he added. The rest of the Arab Countries included UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq, Palestine, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Oman, Mauritania and Qatar. With the conclusion of the call for nominations phase, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s judging panel commenced its work across all categories. Each category 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 for the award. Consequently, the short-listed winners will be subject to the approval of the Award’s Higher Committee, scheduled for announcement in February 2011. The Award Presentation Ceremony, celebrating the winning achievements, will be held parallel to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair next year. The award’s fourth session introduced top-notch winners across its various categories, including: • HH Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the UAE and Ruler of Sharjah, UAE, named Cultural Personality of the year; • Ammar Ali Hasan from Egypt, winner of “Best Contribution to the Development of the Nation” Award; • Dr. Mohammad Al Mallakh from Morocco, winner of young Author Award; • Dr. Albert Habib Mutlaq from Lebanon winner of the Translation Categroy Award; • Dr. Iyad Al Husseini from Iraq, winner of the Arts Category Award; • Hafnaoui Baali from Algeria, winner of Literature Award; • Qais Sedki from UAE winner of Children’s literature Award; • Nahdet Misr Publishing House, winner of the Award of Publishing