Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2026 Longlists Announced

The longlists for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2026 were announced in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, starting on Thursday, November 27, 2025.

Now in its landmark 20th edition, the award honours Arab writers, intellectuals, publishers, and young talent whose works and translations in the humanities have enriched Arab cultural, literary, and social life. One of the world’s most valuable literary prizes, it is given in the categories of Cultural Personality of the Year, Children’s Literature, Young Author, Contribution to the Development of Nations, Translation, Literature, Literary and Art Criticism, Arab Culture in Other Languages, and Publishing and Technology.

This year, the award received over 4,000 submissions from 74 countries, including 21 Arab nations and 53 others worldwide. This significant international response underscores the award’s growing global presence on the cultural stage. The Africans who were longlisted this year were;

The Literature Category

• Births in the Zoo by Ashraf Elashmawy (Egypt), published by Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah in 2024.
• Al Tanfa by Seddik Hadj Ahmed (Algeria), published by Fadaat for Publishing & Distribution in 2025.
• The End of the World by Abdelrahim Kamal (Egypt), published by Dar Alkarma Books in 2024.

The Young Author Category

• Asil’s Summoner: From London to Jeddah by Dina Shahata (Egypt), published by Elain Publishing in 2025.
• 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.
• The Arabic Novel and Recognition in the Third Millennium by Mohammed Aaziz (Morocco), published by Kunouz Al Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution in 2024.
• 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.

The Children’s Literature Category

• Dark Web by Ahmed Korani (Egypt), published by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2024.
• When Wishes Came True by Mona Kamal (Egypt/Canada), published by Dar Raheeq AlKotob in 2024.
• My Beloved Daughter by Wiem Ghades (Tunisia), published by Diwan Publishing in 2024.

The Editing of Arabic Manuscripts Category

• Encyclopaedia of World Religions (6 volumes) by Prof. Dr. Mohamed Elkhosht (Egypt), published by Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities in 2025.
• Al-Mu’nis fī Akhbār Ifrīqiyya wa-Tūnis edited by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Elbahi (Tunisia), published by Souhnoun Edition Diffusion in 2025.
• The Encyclopaedic Lexicon of the Terms and Tools of Civilisation in Egyptian Official Documents in the 19th and 20th Centuries by Prof. Dr. Essam Ahmed Essawy (Egypt), published by Arab Heritage Authentication Center – Misr University For Science and Technology in 2025.
• Kitāb Ṭayf al-Khayāl edited by Prof. Dr. Amro Abdelaziz Mounir (Egypt), published by Brill in 2024.

The Translation Category

• Historia de las Indias (History of the Indies) by Bartolomé de las Casas, translated from Spanish to Arabic by Dr. Chaimaa Majdy (Egypt), published by Elmasry Publishing in 2024.
• Traité de L’Argumentation (The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation) by Chaïm Perelman et Lucie Olbrechts-Tytetca, translated from French to Arabic by Dr. Mohamed El Ouali (Morocco), published by Dar Alkitab Aljadeed in 2023.
• Word and Object by Willard Van Orman Quine, translated from English to Arabic by Dr. Youssef Tibesse (Morocco), published by Al Rawafed Culture Publishers and Ibn al Nadim Publishing and Distribution in 2025.

The Literary and Art Criticism Category

• Jurisprudence of Theatre: Issues of Thought and Performing Arts by Prof. Dr. Aboulhassan Sallam (Egypt), published by Dar Alwafaa Publishing in 2025.
• News and Eyewitness Accounts: Towards a New Conception of Perspective and Point of View in the Storytelling Arts by Dr. Ahmed Gasmi (Tunisia), published by Latrach Édition in 2024.
• Monument Sculpture in the Arab World: Limits of Figuration in Public Space by Benyounes Amirouche (Morocco), published by Khatout and Zilal Publishing and Distribution House in 2024.
• Metaphor: A Study of Construction Issues and Mechanisms of Interpretation by Dr. Brahim Assikar (Morocco), published by Kunouz Al-Ma’refa Publishing and Distribution in 2023.
• Emotions in the Sufi Experience: Between Regression and Rebellion by Dr. Asma Khoualdia (Tunisia), published by Editions Difaf, Editions El Ikhtilef, Sameh Publishing in 2025.

The shortlists and winners will be announced in 2026.