Rabat – The shortlist of this year’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award includes three Moroccan writers Said Benkrad, Mustapha Rajouan, and Rajaa Mellah.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced its shortlists for its 16th edition, in the categories of “Literature”, “Young Author”, and “Children’s Literature”, on Thursday, March 17, at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center.
The shortlists include 9 works from Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
Moroccan writer and literary critic Said Benkrad has qualified for the shortlist in the “Literature” category for his work “My Confusion and My Thoughts Take Me Away: Biography of Training”, published by the Cultural Center for Books in 2021.
Moroccan writer Mustapha Rajouan was selected for the “Young Author” category for his book “The Rhetorical Being: Language, Reason, and Ability in the Book Al-Bayan wa Al-Tabeen”, published by Dar Kounouz Al-Maarifa in 2021.
The “Children’s Literature” Category includes Moroccan writer Rajaa Mellah for her work “My appointment with the Light”, published by Dar Al Moualef in 2021.
In addition to the Moroccan participants, “The Exile of Homes” by Egyptian writer Ezzat Al-Kamhawi and “Cafe Riche: Eye on Egypt” by Emirati novelist and poet Maysoon Saqr were picked for the “Literature” category.
The “Young Author” category includes “Bedouinism in Old Arabic Poetry” by Dr. Mohamed Al-Maztouri from Tunisia and “The Saudi Folktale Written in Standard Arabic: a Study in Textual Transcendence” by Saudi writer Manal Bint Salem Al-Qathami.
As for the “Children’s Literature” category, it includes Syrian writer Bayan Al-Safadi for his work “ A Laughing Sun” and Syrian writer Maria Daadouch for her book “The Glass Ball Puzzle”.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award stated that the “Young Author” category saw the highest number of entries in this year’s edition, with 881 works.
The “Literature” category received 582 entries, while the “Children Literature” category received 236 entries.
The Award stated that it will announce the shortlists of the remaining categories in the upcoming few weeks.
