Abu Dhabi, UAE – The Sheikh Zayed Book Award at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre announced, on Thursday, the longlists for the twentieth session (2025–2026) for the branches of “Translation,” “Development and State Building,” and “Arts and Critical Studies.”
The award’s jury is currently working on a comprehensive evaluation of all titles included in this year’s longlists.
In its twentieth session, the award received more than 4,000 entries from 74 countries, including 21 Arab countries and 53 foreign countries.
The highest number of entries in the award’s categories was in the literature category, followed by the young author category, and then the children’s and young adult literature category.
The following other award categories are: Arts and Critical Studies, Development and State Building, Translation, Arabic Culture in Other Languages, Manuscript Verification, Publishing and Cultural Technologies, and Cultural Personality of the Year.
The long list of the “Translation” branch included 9 titles translated from and into Arabic, across 4 languages: English, Italian, Spanish, and French, by a group of translators from 8 different countries: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Syria.
The longlist for the “Development and State Building” branch included 6 titles from 4 Arab countries: Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, and Egypt.
It addressed intellectual and cognitive issues that intersect with development and the modern state.
The longlist for the Arts and Critical Studies branch included 10 titles from 8 different countries: the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Their topics varied between literary criticism, philosophy, theater arts, and identity.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, organized by the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language with support from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, confirms its position as one of the most prominent literary and intellectual awards in the Arab world.
It continues to promote cultural mobility, support translation, writing and creativity, and honor creative people who contribute to building civilized bridges between cultures.
Embodying the UAE’s vision of tolerance, enlightenment and peace.
