SBA Opens Registration For 40th SIBF Awards

SHARJAH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Jun, 2021) The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has announced the opening of registration for the 40th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) Awards and will be accepting entries until the end of August 2021.

The SBA will honour local, regional, and global excellence in literature in five distinctive awards, including the Sharjah Translation Award 'Turjuman', Best Emirati Book, Best Arabic Novel, Best International Book, as well as the Sharjah Publisher Recognition Award.

SIBF’s AED300,000 Emirati Book Award encourages local literary talents across four sub-categories: Novel (AED100,000), Studies (AED100,000), travel Literature (AED50,000), and Theatre Script (AED50,000). To qualify for this award, a book must present a unique point of view; have been published within the past two years; not be a revised edition, and should not have already won a local or international literary award.

The AED150,000 Best Arabic Novel Award celebrates and support Arab authors in the region. Novels written in standard Arabic language and published within the past two years can be submitted for the award provided they are not revised editions. Short story collections are not eligible.

With a prize of AED50,000 each for the Best International Book Award for Fiction and Non-fiction categories, the SBA seeks to build bridges between different cultures and introduce English language books across several genres to Arab readers.

Submissions in these two categories must have been published within the past two years.

The writer in either category should not have been a recipient of the Sharjah Award for the Best International Book in the past two years.

The Sharjah Publisher Recognition Award will recognise publishers for their contributions across three sub-categories: Best Local Publisher, Best Arab Publisher and Best International Publisher. The AED75,000 prize will be divided equally between three winners whose work has served to advance the publishing sector.

Publishing houses participating in the 40th 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 and should have published at least 10 books in the same year of the award.

The SBA will also accept applications for the fourth edition of the AED1.3-million Sharjah Translation Award titled 'Turjuman', which promotes Arabic literary works globally by encouraging international translators and publishers to translate titles by renowned Arab authors for a global audience.

The Turjuman Award is open to international publishing houses, which have published translations of an original publication in Arabic. Publishers may submit more than one work for the jury’s consideration.

Application forms are available on the SIBF website. The complete list of criteria and other terms and conditions for the awards can be found at: https://bit.ly/2THvuRb.