Sheikh Zayed Book Award


The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award presented yearly to writers, intellectuals, publishers whose writings and scholarly publications contributed to Arab cultural, literary and social life. The award has been described as “the Arab World’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize”. The first award was in 2007. The total value of the prizes is making it one of the richest literary awards in the world.
The award is named in memory of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates.
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History

Beginning with 2013 awards, a new category was added called "Arabic Culture in Other Languages", "to honor best written works in Chinese, German and English languages on the subject of the Arabic civilization and culture including novels, short stories, poems, biographies, history and arts." In addition a number of other categories were merged, created or redefined.
In 2018, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award launched a translation grant, to encourage the translation of Arabic literature into other languages. The grant is open year-round to publishers and translators around the world to publish shortlisted or award-winning literary works from the Award’s Literature and Young Author prize categories.
In 2021, German philosopher Jürgen Habermas declined his Zayed Book Award, citing the UAE's political system. A media debate ensued with some German commentators arguing that he should not have renounced the award.

Award categories

the Award presents a range of annual prizes in different categories such as ‘Literature’, ‘Translation’, ‘Arabic Culture in Other Languages’, and ‘Cultural Personality of the Year’.
The "Cultural Person of the Year" is the category which honours a prominent Arab or international figure who has contributed to the advancement of Arabic culture. It bestows an award of one million Dirhams while the other categories receive around $200,000 each.
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Arts
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Best Technology in the Cultural Field
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Children's Literature
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Cultural Personality of the Year
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Development and State Building
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Literature
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Manuscript Editing
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Publishing and Distribution
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Translation
  • Sheikh Zayed Award for Young Author

Winners

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
  • Cultural Personality of the Year: Ahmed el-Tayeb
  • Arab Culture in Non-Arabic Languages: Marina Warner, Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights
  • Translation: Fathi Meskini, Being and Time
  • Literary and Art Criticism: Abdullah Ibrahim, Al Takhayol Al Tarikhi
  • Publishing and Cultural Technologies: National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, Kuwait
  • Best Contribution to the Development of the Country: Elizabeth Kassab, Contemporary Arab Thought
  • Young Author: Adil Hadjami, Falsafat Jeel Deleuze
2014
2015
2016
  • Cultural Personality of the Year: Amin Maalouf
  • Children's Literature:
  • Young Author:
  • Contribution to the Development of Nations: Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi for Al-Sarab
  • Translation: Keyan Yahya for translation of The Meaning of Meaning by Ogden and Richards
  • Literature: Ibrahim Abdelmeguid for Ma Wara’a al-Kitaba
  • Literary and Art Criticism: Said Yaktine for Al-Fikr al-Adabi al-‘Arabi
  • Arab Culture in Other Languages: Roshdi Rashed for Angles et Grandeur
  • Publishing and Technology: Dar Al-Saqi publishers of London
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025