Jordanian Writer Taghreed Najjar Receives Second Shortlisting for Etisalat YA Prize

The five shortlists for the Etisalat Prize for Arabic Children’s Literature were announced several days ago at the Frankfurt Book Fair, but the press release didn’t come out until October 11, which meant many shortlistees found out who they were only yesterday:

Perhaps the shortlist most of interest to readers of this blog is the Young Adult category, as many of the titles — including 2013 shortlistee Taghreed al-Najjar’s Sit al-Kol and last year’s winner, Noura Al Noman’s Ajwan — could cross over to adult readerships.

This year’s YA shortlist:

Pizarro and the Pirates, by Nadia Al Shehri, published by Kadi and Ramadi

Extraordinary Journeys to Unknown Places, by Sonia Nimr, published by the Tamer Institute

One Year in Qena, by Hadil Ghoneim, published by Al Balsam Publishing House

Hawk Eye Mystery,  by Taghreed al-Najjar, published by Al Salwa Publishers

The Night of Fire, by Yacoub el-Sharouny, published by Nahdet Misr Publishing House

In the prepared release, UAEBBY president Sheikha Bodour commented: “We are thrilled with the great success made achieved by the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature in its 6th edition. We are extremely impressed by the quality of entries this year, which reflect an outstanding development in children’s book industry in the Arab world, not only in terms of the high quality of the texts, but also in terms of the beautiful illustrations and distinctive production which makes these books attractive resources that are able to compete with the modern technology’s resources.”

The winners are set to be announced at the opening of the upcoming Sharjah International Book Fair, scheduled for Nov. 6-16.

The titles from the other shortlists can be found here.