Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces Lit Longlist

NOVEMBER 27, 2025 — The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) today announced the longlists in four of the prize’s categories for 2026: Literature, Young Author, Children’s Literature, and Editing of Arabic Manuscripts.

Organizers noted, in a news release, that for the latest edition of the prize — its 20th — they had received more than 4,000 submissions from 74 countries.

The largest share of submissions were to the Literature category, followed by Young Author and Children’s Literature. The 2025 Literature prize went to acclaimed Lebanese novelist Hoda Barakat for her 2024 novel, Hind, or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.

The 11-book Literature longlist includes a number of celebrated authors.

1. (The Tear of Granada) by Ahmed Alsubait (Saudi Arabia), published by Madhamin Publishing and Distribution House in 2025.
2. (Nightly Archery) by Ahmed Zain (Yemen), published by Almutawassit Books in 2024.
3. (Births in the Zoo) by Ashraf Elashmawy (Egypt), published by Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah in 2024.
4. (A Swiss Summer) by Inaam Kachachi (Iraq/France), published by Takween Publishing in 2024.
5. (Al Tanfa) by Seddik Hadj Ahmed (Algeria), published by Fadaat for Publishing & Distribution in 2025.
6. (Secret of the Al Za‘farana) by Badriah Albeshr (Saudi Arabia), published by Dar Elshorouk in 2025.
7. (Symphony of the Seventh Day) by Jalal Barjas (Jordan), published by Dar Elshorouq in 2025.
8. (Dukhi: Taqasim in Al Saba) by Taleb Alrefai (Kuwait), published by That Al Salsil in 2025.
9. (The End of the World) by Abdelrahim Kamal (Egypt), published by Dar Alkarma Books in 2024.
10. (The Summer of Sarofim’s Widow) by Mazen Haidar (Lebanon/France), published by Hachette Antoine – Naufal in 2025.
11. (Fourrure) by Nizar Abdulsattar (Iraq), published by Hachette Antoine Naufal in 2024.

The Young Author category, which features a variety of work by emerging authors in a wide range of categories — critical studies, creative works, academic theses, and poetry — featured eight titles, including one by gifted Palestinian poet from Gaza, Alaa Alqatrawi.

1. (Scent of the Lone Tree) by Ahmed Alrowaie (Saudi Arabia), published by Takween Publishing in 2025.
2. (My Butterfly Never Dies) by Alaa Alqatrawi (Palestine), published by Arab Institute for Research & Publishing in 2025.
3. (Worlds of Experimentation: A Structural Approach to the Classical Saudi Theatrical Script) by Dr. Jaber Mohammed Yehya Alnijadi (Saudi Arabia), published by Kunouz Al Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution in 2024.
4. (Asil’s Summoner: From London to Jeddah) by Dina Shahata (Egypt), published by Elain Publishing in 2025.
5. (Imagining al Andalus: Narrating History Between Reality and Ideology in the Arabic and Spanish Novel) by Dr. Said El Fellak (Morocco), published by Editions Difaf, Sameh Publishing, Editions El Ikhtilef, Dar Elamane in 2025.
6. (The Companion: A Book About Books) by Omar Zakaria (Jordan), published by Elharf Publications in 2024.
7. (The Arabic Novel and Recognition in the Third Millennium) by Mohammed Aaziz (Morocco), published by Kunouz Al Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution in 2024.
8. (Plots and Characters: A Rhetorical Argumentative Approach to the Arabic Novel)” by Mustapha Rajouane (Morocco), published by Kunouz Al Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution in 2025.

Nine titles are longlisted for the Children’s Literature  category, including one by multi-award-winning Kuwaiti author Bothayna Al-Essa.

1. (Dark Web) by Ahmed Korani (Egypt), published by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2024.
2. (Lulwa’s Summer) by Anas Aburahma (Palestine), published by Dar Dinason in 2025.
3. (A Tiny Problem) by Bothayna Al-Essa (Kuwait), published by Arwa Al Arabeia for Publishing in 2025.
4. (The Village of Darkness) by Souad Sleibi (Lebanon), published by Souad Publishing House in 2025.
5. (My Identity) by Fadhil Al Kaabi (Iraq), published by Noon Books – Nahed Alshawa Cultural Foundation in 2025.
6. (Suns of My Country) by Maryam Saqer AlQasimi (UAE), published by Araam Publishing in 2024.
7. (When Wishes Came True) by Mona Kamal (Egypt/Canada), published by Dar Raheeq AlKotob in 2024.
8. (Lord of the Amphibians) by Hend Saif Albar (UAE), published by Kuttab Publishing in 2023.
9. (My Beloved Daughter) by Wiem Ghades (Tunisia), published by Diwan Publishing in 2024.

Eight works were also longlisted in the Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category.

1. (Kitāb al-Fawz), edited by Fares Ahmad Alelawi (Syria), published by Ninawa Publishing House in 2025.
2. (Martyrium Arethae Arabice) (The Martyrdom of Arethas in Arabic), edited by Paolo La Spisa (Italy), published by Harrassowitz Verlag in 2021.
3. (Encyclopaedia of World Religions (6 volumes) by Prof. Dr. Mohamed Elkhosht (Egypt), published by Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities in 2025.
4. (The Dīwān of Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī and His Anecdotes) edited by Ebraheem Mohammad Hamad Albatshan (Saudi Arabia), published by King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language in 2023.
5. (Al-Mu’nis fī Akhbār Ifrīqiyya wa-Tūnis) edited by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Elbahi (Tunisia), published by Souhnoun Edition Diffusion in 2025.
6. (Explanation of Diwan al-Mutanabbī), edited by Abdulrahman bin Dakheil Rabbah Almatrafi (Saudi Arabia), published by King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language in 2024.
7. (The Encyclopaedic Lexicon of the Terms and Tools of Civilisation in Egyptian Official Documents in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries) by Prof. Dr. Essam Ahmed Essawy (Egypt), published by Arab Heritage Authentication Center – Misr University For Science and Technology in 2025.
8. (Kitāb Ṭayf al-Khayāl) edited by Prof. Dr. Amro Abdelaziz Mounir (Egypt), published by Brill in 2024.

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is set to announce the longlists for its other categories over the coming weeks.