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Dh7-million book award gets 150 entries

Nominations for the nine-category Shaikh Zayed Book Awards are open until September and hundreds of entries are expected.

Abu Dhabi - In just one month since opening the nomination process, the Shaikh Zayed Book Awards (SZBA) has received 150 entries from writers. Nominations for the nine-category award are open until September and hundreds of entries are expected.

In its previous session, the SZBA received 526 nominations — 158 were from Egypt, 56 from Morocco, 48 came from Iraq and 30 from the UAE.

Launched in 2007 to promote scholarship and creativity in Arab culture, the SZBA comes with cash prizes totalling Dh7 million — Dh750,000 per winner in eight categories. The ninth category, Cultural Personality of the Year, is an honourific title. The winners also receive a certificate of merit and a gold medal. Among the record 150 nominations received in just one month this year, most are for the ‘Literature’ and ‘Literary and Art Criticism’ categories.

Applications are available for download from the award’s website www.zayedaward.ae. Once completed and signed, the application forms should be submitted to the award’s offices along with the candidate’s resume, passport copy, personal photo and five copies of the nominated work.

Applicants for the Cultural Personality of the Year Award should be nominated by academic, research and cultural institutions; or by literary associations and universities; or by three intellectually and culturally prominent figures. -silvia@khaleejtimes.com

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