Egyptian novelist Reem Bassiouney, who translated Italo Calvino’s work, is a winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
The award in its 18th year has received a remarkable 4,240 submissions from 74 countries, setting a new record. The winners have been announced, and their work is a testament to their skill and dedication.
These talented individuals come from diverse backgrounds, including the UAE, Tunisia, Germany, Egypt, and China. They have showcased their expertise in a variety of genres, including fiction, philosophy, and history.
The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, recently organized a prestigious prize ceremony. Winners were awarded in seven different categories, including the newly launched Editing of Arabic Manuscripts category.
The esteemed winners of the award will be honored at the official ceremony scheduled on 30th April during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. As a token of recognition, each winner will be awarded a cash prize of 750,000 UAE dirhams (£160,621). The Cultural Personality of the Year, in particular, will receive a higher cash prize of 1m UAE dirhams (£214,161), in light of their exceptional contribution to the field.
The successful candidates will be honored at the official ceremony scheduled on April 30th during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. As a token of appreciation, each winner will be awarded a cash prize of 750,000 UAE dirhams (£160,621), while the Cultural Personality of the Year will receive a cash prize of 1m UAE dirhams (£214,161).
The winner of the Literature category is “Al Halwani: The Fatimid Trilogy” written by the Egyptian author and scholar Reem Bassiouney. The book is a fiction that depicts the history of Egypt. In the Arab Culture in Other Languages category, the winning book is “The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam” written by German scholar Frank Griffel and published by Oxford University Press. Finally, in the Translation category, Somai was awarded for translating “The New Science” by Giambattista Vico, an Italian philosophical text.
This year, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award included a new category for Editing Arabic Manuscripts. The award for this category was given to Dr. Mustafa Said, an Egyptian musician and musicologist, for his study of a manuscript. Additionally, Dr. Houssem Eddine Chachia, a Tunisian academic, won the Young Author award for his work on the Morisco expulsion in 17th-century Spain.
