FEBRUARY 18, 2026 — The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) today announced the shortlists for the 2026 prize in seven categories.
The most high-profile category — the “Literature” category — announced a three-book shortlist of contemporary Arabic novels. These are:
Egyptian author Ashraf Elashmawy’s Births in the Zoo, “a satirical allegory of contemporary Egypt which portrays the Giza zoo as a microcosm of Egyptian society.” As SZBA organizers note, two of Elashmawy’s novels are available in English translations from AUC Press: The House of the Coptic Woman and The Lady of Zamalek, both translated by Peter Daniel.
Iraqi author Nizar Abdulsattar’s Fourrure, which “sees its protagonist tracing the legacy of his mother from the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Baghdad to Egypt, Lebanon, and finally London, where he becomes immersed in the world of Christie’s auction house and the inner workings of the art market.”
Saudi author Badriah Albeshr’s Secret of the Al Za‘farana, which “portrays three generations of Bedouin women to create a tapestry of women’s lives in Bedouin society. In the novel, a young girl becomes a gifted storyteller, retelling women’s stories passed down through generations.”Albeshr’s Hend and the Soldiers is available from University of Texas Press in Sanaa Dhahir’s translation.
The 2026 “Young Author” shortlist features three very different books: a collection of poetry, a critical work, and a nonfiction work about the history of bookmaking. They are:
Palestinian poet Alaa Alqatrawi’s My Undying Butterfly, a poetry collection dealing with the loss of her four sons. You can read one of the poems on ArabLit, in Sahar Othmani’s translation.
Moroccan scholar Mustapha Rajouane’s Plots and Characters: A Rhetorical Argumentative Approach to the Arabic Novel, which “analyses rhetorical approaches to the novel, in particular how Arabic fiction has been used to distil arguments on complex topics.”
Jordanian author Omar Zakaria’s The Companion: A Book About Books, a “meditation on the book as both an object and an idea. From the physical craft of bookmaking to the cultural practices surrounding reading and publishing, Zakaria’s book follows the evolution of books across centuries, with a particular focus on the Arab world.”
This year’s “Translation” shortlist features four books:
James E. Montgomery’s translation A Demon Spirit: Arabic Hunting Poems, an English-language anthology of poetry by the classical Arabic poet Abu Nuwas.
Geert Jan Van Gelder’s translation Contrariness in Classical Arabic Literature: Beautifying the Ugly and Uglifying the Beautiful, a translation of the 10th-century writer Abu Mansur al-Tha’alibi.
Nawal Nasrallah’s translation Smorgasbords of Andalusi and Maghribi Dishes and Their Salutary Benefits, an English-language version of the 13th-century cookbook Anwāʿ al-Ṣaydala fī Alwān al-Aṭʿima.
Mohamed El Ouali’s translation into Arabic of Traité de L’ Argumentation by Belgian scholars Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca,
There are three more categories: “Manuscripts, Encyclopaedias and Lexicons,” “Arab Culture in Other Languages,” “Literary and Art Criticism,” and “Publishing and Technology.”
Four books were shortlisted in the “Arab Culture in Other Languages” category: Nathaniel A. Miller’s The Emergence of Arabic Poetry: From Regional Identities to Islamic Canonization, Stefan Weidner’s Der arabische Diwan: Die schönsten Gedichte aus vorislamischer Zeit, Salah Nati’s Vers une éthique de l’excellence dans la culture arabe classique, and Sara Fani’s Prendi, aggiungi, mescola e scrivi: Ricettari arabi sulla preparazione di inchiostri.
The “Manuscripts, Encyclopaedias and Lexicons” category featured four writers: Italian scholar Dr Paolo La Spisa, shortlisted for Martyrium Arethae Arabice; Mohamed Elkhosht, shortlisted for The Encyclopaedia of World Religions; Tunisian academic Ahmed Elbahi is shortlisted for his work on a new edition of Al-Mu’nis fī Akhbār Ifrīqiyya wa-Tūnis; and Saudi scholar Ebraheem Mohammad Hamad Albatshan, shortlisted for his work on The Dīwān of Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī and His Anecdotes, a collection of works from the celebrated 10th century Abbasid poet al-Mutanabbī.
The “Literary and Art Criticism” shortlist included Lebanese academic Professor Ramzi Mounir Baalbaki, Jordanian scholar Zuhair Tawfiq, and Tunisian scholar Ahmed Gasm.
This year’s “Publishing and Technology” shortlist is made up of three organizations whose “pioneering work has significantly advanced the international study, dissemination, and reception of Arabic literature and culture.” They are: the Emirates Literature Foundation, Iqraaly Audio Books, and the Dar Al Adab publishing house.
The winners of the 20th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award are set to be announced in March. They will each receive 750,000 UAE dirhams (approximately $200,000), while the Cultural Personality of the Year will receive 1,000,000 UAE dirhams.
Organizers also note that all literary works on this year’s shortlists will be eligible for translation support from Arabic into any world language.