Deadline: 1 September 2011
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, Juma'a Al Qubaisi, Deputy Director General of ADACH for the 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 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 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.
Award Categories
Award Value:
The value of the award amounts to AED seven (7) million. Every winner is granted:
- a financial amount of AED 750,000
- a golden medal bearing the logo of the award
- an appreciation certificate for the winning work
Sheikh Zayed Award for the Cultural Personality of the Year receives 1 million dirhams.
Nomination
Step 1: Applicants are requested to read and abide by the general terms of the award nomination.
Step 2: If applicable, choose which category they want to apply to, and then fill in the application form found under that same award category “Award Categories” tab. However, the “Cultural personality of the year” Category nominations should be filled out and sent by one of the following groups:
• Three prominent figures in the cultural world
• Academic institutions
• Literary or research entities
Step 3: 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.
• Five copies of the nominated work.
Note: Application forms can be downloaded or collected from the Administrative Offices of the Award
General Terms
1. The nominated work should have contributed to the development of Arabic culture.
2. The nominated work shouldn’t be previously awarded by an international/ prominent Prize.
3. The work must be published in a book format. Works, nominated for the Award of the Best Technology in Culture, can be in digital format.
4. The work should have been published for no more than two years.
5. The work must be written in Arabic, except for works nominated for the Translation Award. They could be translated either from or to Arabic.
6. The work should maintain high standards of authenticity and creativity
7. Nomination is not accepted for more than one work.
8. Re-nomination for the same work is accepted if time condition is still valid. However, a new application form should be filled out and new copies of the work submitted.
9. The work must abide by the terms listed in the application form.
* The award of any category may be detained or withdrawn at the discretion of the Advisory committee and the committee is allowed to take any decision it sees fit .
*Nominees are not entitled to object to the decisions of the Advisory Committee of the award.
FAQs
What is the Sheikh Zayed Book Award?
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is an independent cultural award. It is presented every year to outstanding Arab writers, intellectuals, publishers as well as young talent whose writings and translations of humanities have enriched Arab cultural, literary and social life.
Who was Sheikh Zayed?
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the principal architect of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE for over 30 years.
What has the award done to expand its international profile over the past two years and how will this impact nominations for session three?
In 2008, the Award Committee evaluated a total of 512 works from more than 1,200 nominated across the nine award categories and which represent submissions from more than 30 countries. Needless to say we’ve achieved a great deal over the past two years to increase our visibility overseas. In 2008, we exhibited at both the London Book Fair and Book Expo America in Los Angeles and held high profile speaking engagements at both of these events. We saw these milestones as real opportunities to talk internationally about the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and its missions. We very much hope that this heightened international presence will translate into an increased number of nominations for 2009 from a broader pool of talented and creative individuals.
Do you have plans to host or attend any other events in the near future?
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award hosted its very first regional event in Paris at the Arab World Institute in July 2008. This event is themed around ‘recognising creativity’ and addressed how translation can help to build bridges between the French and Arab cultures. The future plans of sheikh zayed book award is to host 6 international events around the world.
Approximately how many people were nominated across the nine book award categories?
If we take 2008 figures as a guideline, the Award Committee evaluated a total of 512 works from more than 750 nominated across the nine award categories and which represent submissions from more than 20 countries.
Who manages and oversees the entire selection process?
The award is supervised by a Higher Committee and an Advisory Council that manage a rigorous award selection process
Who selects the members of the selection committee?
Every year, the Advisory Council appoints a group of distinguished regional and international cultural figures who serve on nine separate selection committees, one for each award category
Why do judges remain anonymous?
The selection committee members remain anonymous to maintain the independence and integrity of the selection process.
Do the judges meet?
The category judges independently evaluate the nominations and submit their evaluations 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 evaluated by the Supreme Advisory Committee for the award.
Doesn’t this approach inhibit discussion and full vetting of the nominees?
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award judging procedure maximizes independence and consistency throughout the evaluation process. The two-stage structure is designed to ensure that the independent views of the expert judging panel are fully captured in a quantifiable and qualifiable manner while also allowing for collective evaluation by the Supreme Advisory Committee.
Why was the prize for Best Technology in the Field of Culture Award not awarded for two consecutive years?
The Best Technology in the Field of Culture Award was withheld for the second consecutive year because the judging panel felt that none of the entries lived up to the high standards that have been set for this category for driving innovation in digital publishing throughout the Arab World. Some awards have been witheld last year as the works did not meet the high standards of the award.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: info@zayedaward.com
Website: http://www.zayedaward.com/