Sheikh Zayed Book Award reveals shortlist

Sheikh Zayed Book Award Abu Dhabi - Arab Today The Sheikh Zayed Book Award - an annual honours programme staged in tribute to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, has revealed its shortlisted candidates in seven categories covering: Contribution to the Development of Nations; Literary and Art Criticism; Young Author; Translation; Children's Literature; Literature and Arabic Culture in Other Languages. The shortlist follows a meeting of the award's Scientific Committee held in Abu Dhabi to assess reports submitted by each category's judging panel and the evaluation of nominated works. "We appraised works against stringent, quantifiable scoring criteria to arrive at 3 to 4 eligible contenders per category in light of a rigorous review of the judges' panel reports", explained Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Sheikh Zayed Book Award Secretary General. Titles under the Contribution to the Development of Nations category included: Al Thiqqaf fil azminah Al Ojaf: Falsafat Al Thaqafa fil Gharb wa ind Al Arab' (The Intellect in the Age of Scarcity: The Philosophy of Culture in the West and the Arab World) by Dr. Mohammad Shawqi Zain from Algeria (published by Dar Al Ikhtilaf, 2013) Malhamt Al Tatawwor Al Bashari (The Epic of Human Evolution) by Dr. Sa'ad Al Abdullah Al Suwayyan from Saudi Arabia (Published by Dar Madarek 2013) E'aadat Intaj Al Turath Al Sha'abi' (Reproducing Folkloric Heritage) by Dr. Sa'eed Al Masri from Egypt (published by the Higher Council for Culture 2012). Three books were named under Children's Literature including: Mu'jizaton fil Sahra'a (A Miracle in the Desert) by Egyptian writer Yacoub Al Sharooni (published by Dar Nahdet Misr 2013) Qubba'it Raghda' (Raghda's Hat) by Jordanian Novelist Taghreed Al Najjar (published by Al Salwa Publications 2012) Thalathoun Qaseedah Lil Atfal' (Thirty Poems for Children) by Jawdat Fakhr Al Din from Lebanon (published by Dar Al Hada'eq 2013) In the Young Author category, the following were short-listed: Al Ma'rifah wal Irtiaab: Al Musa'ala Al Irtiyabyya li Qimat Al Ma'rifah ind Nietzsche wa Imtidadatha fil Fikr Al Falsafi Al Mu'aser' (Knowledge and Skepticism - Sceptical Accountability of the Knowledge Value according to Nietzsche and its Extensions in Contemporary Philosophical Thought) by Dr. Abdul Razzaq Bil'aqrouz from Algeria (published by Muntada Al Ma'aref) Al Khitab Al Ishtibaahi fil Turath Al Lisani Al Arabi' (The Apprehensive Discourse in the Arab Lingual Heritage) by Al Basheer Al Tihali from Morocco (published by Dar Al Kitab Al Jadeed 2013) Al Rasees Wal Mukhatala - Khitab Ma b'd Al Coloniyalyya fil Naqd Al Arabi Al Mu'aser: Al Nathariyya wal Tatbee'( The Sagacious and the Artifice - Post-colonial Discourse in Arab Contemporary Critique: Theory and Practice) by Rami Abu Shehab from Jordan (published by The Arab Institute for Research and Publishing 2013. The following three books were shortlisted under Translation: Asian Philosophies' (by John M. Koller 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.) translated from English by Naseer Fleih from Iraq (published by the Arab Organisation for Translation 2013) Housing the Stranger in the Mediterranean and the Middle Ages' (by Olivia Remie Constable, Cambridge University Press, 2003) translated from English by Mohammad Al Mansouri from Tunisia (published by Dar Al Madar Al Islami 2013) ?sthetik: Einleitung' (by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. 1842) or Lessons in Aesthetics' translated from German by Dr. Naji Al Awlani from Lebanon (published by Dar Al Jamal 2014) The Literature category shortlist includes: Ghareeb Al Nahr' (The Stranger of the River) -by Jamal Naji from Jordan (published by Al Dar Al Arabiyyah Lil Oloum 2012) Farashat li Ibtisamat Buddha' (Butterflies for Buddha's Smile) by Lebanese Poet Shawqi Bazi' (published by Dar Al Adab 2013) Poetry Collection Diwan Al Said Al Bahri (Marine Fishing) by Tunisian Poet Munsef Al Wahaybi (published by Dar Afaq 2013) Ba'd Al Qahwa (After Coffee) by Abdul Rashid Mahmoudi from Egypt (published by Al Dar Al Arabiyya Library 2013) Finally, the shortlist for Arabic Culture in Other Languages includes: Poetics of Love in the Arabic Novel: Nation-State, Modernity and Tradition' by Wenchin Ouyang in Studies in Modern Arabic Literature, Edinburgh University Press 2013 Immaginare Babele, by Mario Liverani - Editori Laterza 2013, Roma-Bari. The Power of Oratory in the Medieval Muslim World by Linda G. Jones -- Cambridge University Press, 2012 Enlightenment Orientalism: Resisting the Rise of the Novel', by Srinivas Aravamudan-- University of Chicago Press, 2012 This year's Sheikh Zayed Book received a record number of nominations totalling 1,385 across its nine categories which is a growth of 12% the 2013 session. The nominations were earlier filtered down to 75 long-listed titles. The final winners will be announced in a press conference in April, to be followed by an Awards Grand Ceremony held in the UAE capital on May 4 to coincide with the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Source: WAM