Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, presented the awards to the winners in the presence of regional and global publishing professionals at the conference.
The award, launched by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) earlier this year is designed to turn the spotlight on the contributions and innovations of rights professionals and celebrate their achievements in successfully promoting the growth of the global publishing industry.
Congratulating the winners of the inaugural edition of the award, Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publisher's Services at SBA, remarked: “The Sharjah Rights Connection Award has reinforced the invaluable work put in by agents, individuals and companies who are in the business of buying and selling translation rights. SBA is proud to celebrate their dedication and efforts to build bridges of exploration and exchange through the written word, as they passionately take the diversity of voices, narratives and literary prowess that exists in different parts of the world to readers everywhere”.
“In Sharjah, our goal is to open as many windows into global cultures as possible, and with the Sharjah Rights Connection Award, we seek to support and honour one of the key enablers of this process,”
‘Award will help publishers with their translations projects’
Spangol, whose entry was shortlisted along with two strong contenders from Lithuania and South Africa, was awarded thanks to glowing customer testimonials, which described him not only as an expert in all fields no matter what the genre, market or territory, but also for additional competencies like being entrepreneurial, proactive, efficient and passionate. The agent has also been lauded for getting the balance exactly right re-pitching the best and most relevant ideas to the right publishers.
Elated to receive this prestigious international recognition, Spangol noted, “I have been an agent for 20+ years, mainly in the UK, and still after so many years I am passionate about selling rights. The secret is - always be curious… curious about what the new trends are, but most importantly, curious about people, cultures and the publisher you work with. The curiosity to know, understand and discover more will take you very far in this business.”
Mauro added that he will be sharing the prize money with certain publishers he works with to help them with their translation projects. “My award is equally my publishers’ award”.
‘Award has opened new borders and opportunities to learn from the Arab world’
Gabriel Nieto, who won the award for selling rights on behalf of Mexico-based, Editorial Planeta, was in the running for the award’s second category against finalists from the UK and Egypt. The customer testimonials for Gabriel described him as prompt and professional with rights negotiations, knowing the ins and outs of foreign rights business and contracts. He was also selected winner for his unrivalled understanding of the complex publishing scene in Latin America and his optimistic and warm disposition.
Upon receiving the award, Nieto said: “I am deeply grateful for this recognition as it is very valuable for my region - Latin America. The award has opened new borders and new opportunities to learn from the Arabic world. The award gives visibility to the authors we represent and highlights the challenges they face, some of which are quite similar to those faced by this region.”
Submissions were received from 14 countries around the world for the award’s inaugural edition, with the highest number of applications from Egypt, India and the UK. Entries were also received from the UAE, Albania, Argentina, Argentina, Canada, Finland, Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, and South Africa.
The shortlist of finalists was announced at a reception dinner hosted by SBA on the eve of Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022 last month.
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