Sheikh Zayed Book Award Honors Winners of Its 20th Edition
Sheikh Dhiaa bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Diwan for Development Affairs and Families of the Martyrs in the UAE, honored the winners of the 20th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award at a ceremony held at the ADNEC Abu Dhabi, organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
In its 20th edition, the award celebrated a journey that began in 2006 and attracted more than 33,000 entries from approximately 80 countries, while the current edition received over 4,000 nominations from 74 countries.
Najat Al-Saghira’s voice became associated with notable works, including “Eyes of the Heart,” “I Love the Sea,” and “The One Close to You Is Far Away.” She collaborated with an elite group of leading poets and composers, including Nizar Qabbani, Mamoun El-Shennawy, Kamel El-Shennawy, Abdulrahman Al-Abnoudi, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Riyadh Al-Sanbaty, Kamal Al-Tawil, Baligh Hamdi, Sayed Mكاوي, and Mohamed El-Mogay.
She also starred in 13 films over three decades, and her songs have maintained their presence across successive generations, making her career a prominent landmark in the history of Arab art.
In the “Literature” category, Egyptian writer Ashraf Al-Ashmawy won for his novel “Zoo Babies,” while Moroccan researcher Mustafa Rajwan won the “Young Author” category for his book “Lamentations and Characters: The Rhetorical and Argumentative Approach to the Arabic Novel.”
Dr. Mohamed El-Khashat won the “Manuscripts, Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries” category for his encyclopedia “World Religions,” and Jordanian writer Zuhair Tawfiq won the “Arts and Critical Studies” category for his book “Perceiving the World: Mutual Stereotypes Between Self and Other.”
Iraqi-American researcher Nawal Nasrallah won the “Translation” category for her English translation of “Types of Pharmacy in Food Colors,” while German writer and translator Stefan Weidner won the “Arab Culture in Other Languages” category for his book “The Arabic Diwan: The Most Beautiful Poems from the Pre-Islamic Era and Beyond.”
The Emirates Literature Foundation also won the “Publishing and Cultural Techniques” category in recognition of its role in developing the literary industry and promoting reading and writing culture.
