The award has extended its invitation to all creators involved in the production of children’s and young people’s books published in the Arabic language from various countries. The five categories of the award, “Early Childhood”, “Illustrated Book”, “Book with Chapters”, “Book for Young People”, and “Book of Poetry”, cater to a diverse range of literary works. The "Book of Poetry" category, a unique feature of the award, is presented every two years, and is now open for submissions for the 15th and 16th rounds of the award.
The “Early Childhood” category, which targets books for children from birth to five years, is of utmost importance. The publisher offers a maximum of five books in this category. As for the “Young Adult” category (13-18 years old), it targets novel, non-fiction, and fantasy books directed at young people. The publisher can offer an unlimited number of books in this category, provided that they are distinctive, new, or modified. The books must also contain a story, dialogue, a catchy plot, and well-developed characters.
In the "Picture Book" category for kids aged 5-9, you can submit up to five books. For the "Chapter Book" category for kids aged 9-12, the story should be told more through words than pictures. Publishers can submit as many books as they want in this category, as long as they are different from each other or have been updated. The "Poetry" category, open to those up to 18 years old, is for poetry books for children and young adults, covering topics like nature, animals, friendship, and family. There's no limit to the number of books publishers can submit in this category, but each book should be creative, original, and engaging, with a high level of poetic skill in both meter and meaning.
Your contributions as creators of children’s and young people’s books in the Arabic language, including authors, publishers and illustrators, are invaluable. You can submit your work by sending photocopies of the nominated books to the UAE Books for Young People’s e-mail address at
[email protected].
The award does not cover publications in the form of book series, educational, scientific, school, electronic, audiobooks, or manuscripts. Similarly, collections of short stories, articles, or CVs are not considered for the award. Submissions must come from an officially registered publishing house, and previous books cannot be re-entered. The jury has the right to withhold the award or disqualify any work that does not meet the criteria, and its decisions cannot be contested. The winners of the sixteenth session will be announced and honoured during the next Sharjah International Book Fair in 2024.
The award's total value is AED1.2 million, with 180,000 dirhams allocated to each of its five categories. This sum is evenly split between the author, illustrator, and publisher, with each winner receiving 60,000 dirhams. The young people category's financial prize is divided between the author and publisher, with each receiving AED90,000. Additionally, 300,000 dirhams are allocated to the “Warsha” program, designed to discover and nurture new Arab talents in children's and young people's books, and develop their creative abilities to produce books that reflect Arab cultural identity and meet international standards.
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