Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces Longlists for 20th Edition Across Key Literary Categories
Abu Dhabi, The Gulf Observer: The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA), administered by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), has announced the longlisted works for three major categories — Translation, Contribution to the Development of Nations, and Literary and Art Criticism — as part of its 20th edition for the year 2025–2026. The announcement comes as judging committees begin evaluating all longlisted submissions.
The 20th edition witnessed over 4,000 submissions from 74 countries, including 21 Arab nations and 53 countries from around the world, reaffirming the award’s growing global presence.
According to the ALC, the Literature category received the highest number of submissions, followed by Young Author and Children’s Literature. Other categories with notable participation include Literary and Art Criticism, Contribution to the Development of Nations, Translation, Arab Culture in Other Languages, Editing of Arabic Manuscripts, Publishing and Technology, and Cultural Personality of the Year.
The Translation category’s longlist comprises nine titles translated to and from Arabic across four major languages: English, Italian, Spanish, and French. The translators represent eight countries — the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Syria.
For the Contribution to the Development of Nations category, six titles were longlisted from Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, and Egypt. These works explore contemporary themes linked to development, state-building, and intellectual progress.
In the Literary and Art Criticism category, 10 titles from eight countries — the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan — made the longlist. The works span diverse fields such as literary criticism, philosophy, theatre arts, and identity studies.
Organised by the ALC with the support of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the Sheikh Zayed Book Award remains one of the Arab world’s most influential literary honours. The award continues to strengthen cultural exchange while supporting translation, authorship, and creative excellence, embodying the UAE’s vision of tolerance, enlightenment, and global cultural dialogue.
