Rewards for those who produce Arabic children’s books have come one step closer with the appointment of the judging panel for The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) and sponsored by Etisalat. The jury held its first meeting in Sharjah where they have begun sorting out and evaluating the books that were submitted to select the qualifying applications. The organisers of the Award announced that the members of the jury for its 7th edition will comprise five highly experienced experts in the children's book industry, four of whom are from different Arab countries and one from a foreign country. Together, they represent the publishing industry, academic circles, authors, and illustrators. To ensure full transparency and the integrity of the final results of the award, the identity of jury members is kept secret and will only be revealed with the announcement of the winning books.
Marwa Obaid Al Aqroubi, President of UAEBBY Executive Board, said, “The jury for the 7th Etisalat Award for Arabic children's Literature has already started examining and assessing the entries that captured their attention. They have also noted the high standard of the books submitted and expressed admiration for them. The literary works cover a diverse range of topics, with texts that reflect the skill of their authors, and many also have beautiful illustrations that capture children's imagination. This is what we are striving to achieve through this award.”Al Aqroubi added, “The jury members were impressed with the publications that live up to the award’s aspiration to achieve a real evolution in Arabic children’s books. This year we saw participation of outstanding books for children’s and young adult categories from several Arab countries, and from publishing houses that are participating in the award for the first time. The shortlist of winning entries will be announced during the Frankfurt International Book Fair held in mid-October.”
According to some members of the judging panel, Arabic children's books are witnessing a growing development in terms of the text, illustration and direction, reflecting the desire of authors, illustrators and publishers to strengthen this market and ensure that Arab children are able to enjoy colourful, engaging and educational books in their own language.The judging panel started with the evaluation of the entries that were received from different countries across the world, including foreign countries which have Arab publishing houses or those interested in publishing Arabic books for Arab communities residing there. Among these are publishing houses from the UK and Canada, which are also participating in the award for the first time.The 2015 edition of the Award, one of the largest and most prestigious children’s literature awards in the Arab world, is witnessing strong competition between 97 entries in both children’s book and young adult categories from 12 Arab countries, with 62 books in the children’s book category and 35 books in the young adult category. The judges are keen on giving each book sufficient time to evaluate its text, illustrations and direction, to ensure the integrity and neutrality of the results.
The AED1 million Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is distributed as follows: AED 300,000 for the Children’s Book of the year, to be distributed equally between the author, illustrator and publisher (AED 100,000 each); AED 200,000 for the Young Adult Book of the year, to be distributed equally between the author and publisher (100,000 AED each); and 300,000 AED for the Best Text, Best Illustration, and Best Production categories (100,000 AED each).The Award has allocated the remaining 200,000 AED for organising a series of writing, illustration, and production workshops aimed at nurturing talents and inspiring the next generation of young talented Arabs in the children’s book industry.The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature was launched in 2009 by UAEBBY Founder and Patron Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi with the aim of fostering a culture of reading and instilling a love of Arabic books into children by giving recognition to the best works of authors, illustrators, and publishers in the field of children’s books industry and thereby encouraging the creation of increased numbers of good quality Arabic children’s books.