The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, Etisalat Award, has announced that its ninth edition has received entries from the USA, the UK and Cyprus. The award has confirmed that this is the first time that entries have been received from these three countries since its inception in 2009.

The Etisalat Award is organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People, UAEBBY, and sponsored by the Emirates Telecommunication Corporation, Etisalat Group.

The USA has submitted three entries for this year’s Etisalat Award, with the UK and Cyprus submitting one entry each. The organisers said that the receipt of entries from publishing houses based outside the Arab region reflects the growing stature of the award and stressed that since its inaugural edition, it has been increasingly successful in promoting Arabic children’s literature at a global level.

"For the first time in the history of the Etisalat Award, we have succeeded in attracting publishers from the USA, the UK and Cyprus, which is an important outcome that aligns with our mission, vision and objectives. We would like to reiterate that all publishing houses that publish Arabic children’s books from around the world are eligible to participate in the Etisalat Award," said Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY.

Al Aqroubi highlighted that the competition is open to all participants, and that those interested must send in their applications before 31st August.

The Etisalat Award comprises six categories; ‘Children’s Book of the Year,’ valued at AED300,000 distributed equally between the publisher, author and illustrator; ‘Young Adult Book of the Year’ worth AED200,000 distributed equally between the author and publisher and ‘Best Text,’ ‘Best Illustration,’ ‘Best Production’ and ‘Digital Book App of the Year,’ worth AED100,000 each. AED300,000 from the Award is dedicated to organising workshops and international conferences to help develop the talent of promising Arab writers, illustrators and publishers through its ‘Warsha’ programme.

Source: Wam