Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces 2024 Literary Longlists

DECEMBER 6, 2024 — The UAE-based Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced longlists in four categories today: literature, young author, children’s literature, and editing of Arabic manuscripts.

In a prepared release, organizers wrote that this year, the prize’s nineteenth, they received “more than 4,000 nominations from 75 countries, including 20 Arab nations and 55 from around the world. Among these, five countries are participating for the first time: Albania, Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mali[.]”

Several of the authors on the 12-book literature longlist will be familiar to those who read Arabic literature, and many have previous works translated to English, including Ahmed Mourad, Saud Alsanousi, Taleb Alrefai, Hoda Barakat, and Yousef Almohaimeed.

The complete literature longlist:

  1. ‘I Speak Your Name, As a Violin’ by Ahmed Elshahawy from Egypt, published by Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah in 2024.
  2. ‘The Sphinx’ by Ahmed Mourad from Egypt, published by Dar El Shorouk in 2023.
  3. ‘The Age of Damiana’ by Ossama Abdelraof Elshazly from Egypt, published by Al Rewaq Publishing in 2024.
  4. ‘Lisan Al-Din Ibn Al-Khatib: The Man with Two Graves or Granada’s Autumn’ by El Bachir Damoun from Morocco, published by Bab Alhikma Publications in 2023.
  5. ‘The Pashador’ by Hassane Aourid from Morocco, published by Markaz Kitab in 2024.
  6. ‘The Ruins… The Mountain Ruin’ by Khaled Alnamazi from Saudi Arabia, published by United Tkween Group in 2024.
  7. ‘Then I Turned to the Shadow’ by Rawda Elhaj from Sudan, published by Rashm Publishing and Distribution in 2023.
  8. ‘Travels of the City of Clay Trilogy’ by Saud Alsanousi from Kuwait, published by Dar Kalimat Publishing & Distribution – Moulaph in 2023.
  9. ‘Ibn Yamma: An Andalusian Myth’ by Tarek Chibani from Tunisia, published by Khraief Edition in 2024.
  10. ‘Dr. Nazel’ by Taleb Alrefai from Kuwait, published by That Al Salasil in 2023.
  11. ‘Hind or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World’ by Hoda Barakat from Lebanon/France, published by Dar Aladab in 2024.
  12. ‘The Man Followed by Crows’ by Yousef Almohaimeed from Saudi Arabia, published by Elain Publishing in 2023.

As in previous years, the “young author” category is a catch-all of genres, with works of “science, literature, culture, fine arts, and humanities.” The “children’s literature” category features picture books and middle-grade novels from authors who will be familiar to fans of kid lit — like Lebanese writer Samar Mahfouz Baraj — as well as newcomers.

The 13-book children’s literature longlist:

  1. ‘The White Demon’ by Ahmed Korani from Egypt, published by Dar Shan Publishing & Distribution in 2024.
  2. ‘Farida’ by Ahmed Elabbasy from Egypt, published by Asala Publishers in 2023.
  3. ‘Threads that Bind Us’ by Eman Alyousuf from the UAE, published by Al Hudhud Publishing and Distribution in 2024.
  4. ‘Princess of the Nile’ by Eiwan Zoheir from Egypt, published by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2022.
  5. ‘To You, My Beloved Teacher’ by Hessa Juaan Almazrouei from the UAE, published by Dar Ashjar Publishing & Distribution in 2024.
  6. ‘Scraps’ by Rahima Belfar from Algeria, published by Orjouha Publishing & Distribution in 2023.
  7. ‘Juha and the Genie in the Jug, Fushan’ by Samar Mahfouz Baraj from Lebanon, published by Kiwi Stories in 2023.
  8. ‘You’re Not a Cat, Mabhour’ by Shaikha Alzeyara from Qatar, published by Hzaya Library in 2023.
  9. ‘Maymouna and Her Crazy Ideas’ by Shireen Sabanegh from Jordan, published by Hachette Antoine/Nofal in 2023.
  10. ‘The Phantom of Sabiba’ by Latifa Labsir from Morocco, published by Markaz Kitab in 2024.
  11. ‘Queen of Balloons’ by Lina Qtaishat from Jordan, published by Taghyeer Organization – We Love Reading Program in 2023.
  12. ‘My Father, the Great Canary’ by Maryam Alzarooni from the UAE, published by Al Hudhud Publishing and Distribution in 2023.
  13. ‘The Digital Fox’ by Hegra Elsawi from Egypt, published by Dar Shan Publishing & Distribution in 2024.

There is also a 13-book longlist for the Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category, which you can find on the SZBA website. The prize is set to announce the rest of its longlists in the coming weeks.