Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature 2017 Now Receiving Entries Online

Publishers, authors, illustrators and app developers of Arabic books for children and young people now have a shot at entering one of the Arab world’s most important children's literature prizes, the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature. They have recently announced that they are opening online registration for the Award’s 9th edition on their official website: www.etisalataward.ae.

The Award is organised by the Sharjah-based UAE Board on Books for Young People

(UAEBBY), and sponsored by Etisalat Group.

The deadline for submission this year is on August 31 for all categories, which are as follows: Children’s Book of the Year, Young Adult Book of the Year, Best Text, Best Illustration, Best Production, and Digital Book App of the Year.

The website is replete with information on why the Etisalat Award was conceived, what kind of talent it seeks to recognise, its history and mission, eligibility criteria, rules of submission, and more. All the conditions that stipulate the Award’s exact requirements are also featured on the website.

The competition is open to all international publishers, as long as their works are in Arabic, are first-editions, and are designed for children and young people under 18 years of age. The entries should not have previously won Arab or international prizes. 

The rationale behind giving prospective participants the option to enter the contest online is to facilitate the submission process in a way that provides the largest number of publishers, authors, illustrators and app developers the opportunity to showcase themselves.

The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is worth a total of AED 1,200,000, and divided among its six categories as follows: Children’s Book of the Year is worth AED 300,000; the Young Adult Book of the Year is worth AED 200,000; Best Text, Best Illustration, Best Production and Digital Book App of the Year – are worth AED 100,000 each.

Additionally, as part of the ‘Warsha’ programme, which supports and inspires a new generation of writers, illustrators, and publishers, AED 300,000 will be dedicated to workshops for harnessing people’s ability to write and illustrate children’s books.

The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature was launched in 2009 by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and Patron of the UAEBBY, with the aim of promoting a culture of reading and instilling a love of Arabic books within children. It works to honour the creative productions of the best authors, illustrators and publishers in children’s literature and motivate them to produce innovative texts, productions and designs that will result in a greater number of unique and high-quality Arabic children's books.