17th SZBA announces shortlists

Abu Dhabi, The Gulf Observer: The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), has announced the shortlists for the Translation, Arab Culture in Other Languages, and Publishing & Technology categories for its 17th edition.

The Arab Culture in Other Languages shortlist comprises five submissions, while the Translation category consists of three nominated works and the Publishing & Technology category features three publishing houses.

The five entries in English, French and Spanish on the shortlist for the Arab Culture in Other Languages category are: “The Rise of the Arabic Book” by German author Beatrice Gruendler, published in English by Harvard University Press in 2020; “The Arabic Freud: Psychoanalysis and Islam in Modern Egypt” by Egyptian author Omnia El Shakry, published in English by Princeton University Press in 2017; “De l’autre côté des croisades: L’Islam entre croisés et Mongols” by French author Gabriel Martinez Gros, published in French by Passés Composés in 2021; “L’invention du cadi. La justice des musulmans, des juifs et des chrétiens aux premiers siècles de l’islam” by French historian Mathieu Tillier, published in French by Editions de la Sorbonne in 2017; and “Los moriscos antiguos murcianos: Expulsión, vuelta y permanencia (1609-1634)” by Spanish author José Pascual Martínez, issued in Spanish by Publicacions de la Universitat de Valencia in 2022.

Selected from of a longlist of 11 entries, the shortlisted works for the Translation category are: Abdelaziz Chebil’s (Tunisia), translation from French to Arabic of “Sarraq al-Kalimat: Bahth fi al-Intihal wa-Eilm at-Tahleel al-Nafsani wal-Fikr (Voleurs De Mots: Essai Sur Le Plagiat, La Psychanalyse et La Pensée)” by Michel Schneider, published by Dar Zayneb Publishing in 2022; Dr. Lhoussine Banouhachim’s (Morocco), translation from French to Arabic of “Al-Imbratoriya al-Khatabiya: Sinaat al-Khutaba wal-Hajaj (L’Empire Rhétorique: Rhétorique et Argumentation)” by Chaim Perelman, published by Dar Alkitab Aljadeed in 2022; and Chokri Al Saadi’s (Tunisia), translation from English to Arabic of “Al-Ibara wa-al-Mi’na: Dirasat fi Nathariyat al-A’amal al-Lughawiya (Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts)” by John R. Searle, published by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs – Tunisian Institute for Translation in 2021.

In the Publishing & Technology category, three publishing houses made it onto the shortlist: Sindbad Publishing from France, ElAin Publishing from Egypt, and The Institute of Arabic Manuscripts from Egypt.

This year’s edition of the Award saw the Arab Culture in Other Languages category receive 186 nominations, the Translation category receive 230 nominations, and the Publishing & Technology category receive 53 nominations.