The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), has announced that it will continue to receive applications for the 39th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) Awards until September 1, 2020.

The authority is accepting nominations for seven categories including Best Emirati Book, Best Arabic Novel, Best Creative Emirati Book (Travel), Best Emirati Book in the Field of Studies, Sharjah Publisher Recognition Award and Best International Book Awards for Fiction and Non-fiction.

Interested parties can access the Awards’ online application forms here http://www.sibf.com/en/content?id=10374.

Honouring local creativity

One of the aims of the SIBF Awards is to encourage Emirati literary talents through the Emirati Book Award, which includes four sub-categories: Novel, Studies, Creativity, and TheatreScript.The four winners of these sub-categories will each receive a cash prize of AED 100,000. The Creativity Award is dedicated to a different subject in each edition of SIBF. This year, the award will focus on travel literature that highlight the amazing experiences and journeys of Emirati authors.

To apply for these categories, the book must present a unique point of view; should have been published within the past two years; should not be a revised edition; and should not have already won a local or international literary award.

Supporting regional growth of literature

In recognition of the impact of literary fiction on culture, SBA has dedicated a prize of AED 150,000 for the Best Arabic Novel to celebrate and support Arab authors in the region.

To be nominated in this category, the submitted literary work must be a novel written in standard Arabic language, must have been published within the past two years, and should not be a revised edition. Short story collections are not eligible for the award.

Strengthening cultural bridges with the world

As part of the SIBF’s goals to build bridges between different cultures and introduce foreign literature to Arab readers, SBA has set a prize of AED 50,000 each for theBest International Book Award for Fiction and Non-fiction categories.

Submissions in these two categories must have been published within the past two years and the writer should not be a recipient of the Sharjah Award for the Best International Book in the past two years.

Forward momentum for publishers locally and internationally

The Sharjah Publisher Recognition Award seeks to advance the publishing sector by recognising and honouring publishers for their contributions with a prize of AED 75,000 divided equally between its three sub-categories: Best Local Publisher, Best Arab Publisher and Best International Publisher.

Only participating publishing houses in the current SIBF edition are eligible to apply for this award. The publisher must be a member of a publisher’s association in the country of incorporation. The publisher should also have published at least10books in same the year of the award.

The complete list of requirements, terms &conditions for the awards can be found on SIBF’s website: https://www.sibf.com/en/content?id=10374

Turjuman Award

SBA previously announced that it will continue to receive applications for the fourth edition of the prestigious Sharjah Translation Award ‘Turjuman’ until September 1.

The AED 1.3 million award aims to promote Arabic titles globally by encouraging international translators and publishers to pick up titles written by renowned Arab authors and translate them for audiences worldwide, thereby contributing to global appreciation of Arabic literature and enhancing cross-cultural communication.