Sharjah – The UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY), organiser of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, has announced that the call for entries for the fifth edition of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature has now closed.
The UAEBBY received 107 entries of which 55 were children’s books and 52 were young adult books, from the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia. This is also the first year that publishers in Libya and Sudan have participated in the competition.
The Dh1 million Etisalat Award is an initiative launched by Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, UAEBBY Patron, in 2009 and the Award’s prize money is divided between the children’s and young adult categories.
The award aims to enrich the culture of reading and instil a love of Arabic books in children by highlighting the best works of authors, illustrators, and publishers. “The increase in number of entries will serve to motivate us even more strongly to shed light on these books and make them accessible to children and young adults with the aim to help youngsters and adults develop a love of reading, enrich their knowledge and feed their minds,” said Marwa Obaid Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY Executive Board.
With a higher number and quality of submitted works this year, the competition is expecting more competition as this edition has added three new categories that cover different areas in children’s books including Best Text, Best Illustration, and Best Production.
