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The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, one of the most prestigious and well-funded prizes in the Arab World, announced its winners for the year (2010-2011) .The winners were named in five distinct categories, while four other categories were withheld for this year.

The announcement of winners came after discussions at large between the Award’s Higher Committee and Advisory Council of the results submitted by the judging panels across the Award’s nine Categories. The judges independently evaluated a total of 715 nominations received in this year’s session and submitted their evaluations against a stringent, quantifiable scoring criterion to ensure the decision is truly reflective of their independent and expert views.

The award – carrying the name of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who served as the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE for over 30 years- was established in 2006 to foster greater scholarship and creativity by recognizing and rewarding innovators and thinkers in areas of knowledge, arts and humanities.

The award recognizes cultural achievement across one of the broadest and most diverse areas of any cultural awards internationally. The “Cultural Personality of the Year” honours prominent figures for their unique contributions to the advancement of the Arabic culture, and for works that portray tolerance and promote peaceful coexistence.

“Professor Chung has implemented one of the finest models of cultural dialogue. The Award's Advisory Council decision came in recognition of his generous contribution for more than fifty years in rooting the Arabic language in the Far East, by teaching, translating and researching our region’s culture and literature.” Mr. Al Oraimi elaborated. “His translations and writings preserve the essence of our literature across continents, only wrapped in a different language.”

Chung is the author of the 'History of Arabic Literature' encyclopedia, which comprises 1140 pages in two volumes. He currently works in various capacities, among which are Professor of Arabic Language in the University of Peking, head of Chinese Society for Arabic Literature Studies, vice president of the Culture Committee at the China-Arab Friendship Association, member of the Chinese Writers Association, and honorary member of the Arab Writers Union. He has also translated major works of iconic Arab novelists including Kahlil Jibran, Naguib Mahfouz, and Ih’san Abdul Quddus.

The winner of the Cultural Personality of the Year Award will receive a prize of one million Dirhams (around 272,242 US$, 215,007 Euros), a gold medal bearing the Sheikh Zayed Book Award logo, and a certificate of merit.

Winners in the Award’s other categories will receive around US$ 204,182 (Euros 161,255), a gold medal and a certificate of merit.

The 2011 Sheikh Zayed Book Award Winners as per the Judges results succeeded for the below reasons:

1. Best Contribution to the Development of Nations – Dr. Abdel Raouf Sinno from Lebanon for his book “Harb Lubnan 1975-1990”. The Award’s Advisory Council’s decision came in recognition of the value of the book as an accurate resource on the historical era of Lebanon from 1975 through 1990, providing an in-depth scientific analysis of the socio-economic circumstances leading to the disintegration of the country’s structure, culture and economy.

2. Best Book in Literature: Dr. Mohammad Miftah from Morocco, for his book “Mafaheem Muwasa’a Li Nazaryah Shi’ryah” - comprises of three Volumes. The Award’s Advisory Council’s decision came in recognition of the immense value of the author’s work, combining descriptive, analytical and exploratory methodologies in one scientific study of linguistics, music and psychology, in an attempt to establish a theory that links poetry to mysterious forces of the universe.

3. Best Book in Translation - Dr. Mohammad Ziyad Kibbeh from Syria, for his book “Al Tharwah wa Iqtisad Al Ma’rifah” - Translated from “Revolutionary Wealth" by Alvin and Heidi Toffler, Random House 2007. The translated reference offers solutions to critical contemporary quandaries which the winning translator has successfully communicated using excellent language while preserving the essence of the original script.

4. Children’s Literature – Afaf Tabbalah from Egypt, for her book “Al Bayt Wal Nakhlah”. The winning book was named a sophisticated diversion from the children’s literature “mainstream”. It explores the inner worlds of children, in a masterful story-telling style, leaving ample room for the young readers to view their surroundings in light of they read.

Meanwhile, awards for “Young Author”, "Fine Arts”, “Publishing and Distribution”, and “Best Technology in the Field of Culture” were withheld for this session. “This year’s nominations in these categories did not meet the Award’s stringent standards and the Advisory Council opted to withhold them as a result.” Al Oraimi explained.

The winner will be announced at the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Grand Ceremony to be held in The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on March 16, 2011, parallel to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

Date: 6 November 2010

On November 6, La Mamounia will celebrate the first La Mamounia Literary Awards, honoring the best of Moroccan literature. Eager to contribute to the growth of Moroccan literature, La Mamounia has gathered an international French-speaking jury to judge and name the winner of the literary prize, valued at 20,000 euros ($26,000). The awards are designed to position La Mamounia as a center for both literary culture and luxury. By contributing to Morocco’s arts and culture, the awards provide a national and international stage for Moroccan authors writing in French.

The panel of judges, overseen by French journalist and TV/radio host Guillaume Durand, includes author Christine Orban, radio producer and author Denise Bombardier, founder of Editions Le Fennec Layla Chaouni, singer and composer Julien Clerc, literary professor Khalid Zekri, founder of Le Magazine Littéraire du Maroc Abdesselam Cheddadi, author Marc Dugain, Head of the French Literary Academy of Belgium Jacques De Decker, French journalist Elisabeth Tchoungui, and literary connoisseur Layla Chaouni.

Deadline: 1 March 2011

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: WOMEN & NEW MEDIA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION, ISIS CENTER FOR WOMEN & DEVELOPMENT

June 24, 25, 26, 2011 – Fez, Morocco – Palais des Congres

With the growing dominance of the Internet, blog, chat and mobile telephony, the great “big bang” of the new media has begun. Communication is rapidly changing and becoming mobile, interactive, personalized and multi-channel. This extraordinary revolution is affecting the basic structure of Mediterranean societies, especially those in the south, and is raising various discussions and debates that profoundly impact women: the rapid transformation of the boundaries between the public and the private spaces, the relationship between new technology, orality and women’s literature, changes in the relationship between written and oral languages, the increasing use of mother tongues (mainly oral) in the field of education, and the challenges of new transmissions of women’s knowledges.

These issues are the five main axes of the International Congress Forum on “Women and New Media in the Mediterranean Region”, to be held on June 24, 25 and 26, 2011 at the Palais des Congrès, Fez, Morocco :

1. The transformation of the relationship “gender and public space / private space” in the era of new media
2. New media, orality and literature Women
3.Femmes, written languages and mother tongues
4. The new media and education
5. The challenge of new transmissions of women’s knowledge

Papers may be in Arabic, French or English and will last 15-20 minutes.

The deadline for receiving abstracts is March 1, 2011.

The successful participants will be notified by March 31, 2011, and the completed papers need to be emailed send before June 1, 2011.

Participants are responsible for their trip and lodging expenses.

Announcement of winner: 14 March 2011

MOHAMMED ACHAARI, RAJA ALEM, KHALID AL-BARI, BENSALEM HIMMICH, AMIR TAJ AL-SIR and MIRAL AL-TAHAWY are the six authors announced last Thursday 9 December 2010 as the shortlisted finalists for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011. The shortlisted authors were revealed at a press conference with the panel of judges in Doha, Qatar, 2010 Arab Capital of Culture.

The shortlist was announced by Fadhil Al-Azzawi, the 2011 Chair of Judges, whose name was also revealed alongside a panel of four other Judges today. All five Judges are specialists in the field of Arabic literature and come from Iraq, Bahrain, Italy, Jordan and Morocco.

Fadhil Al-Azzawi comments on the shortlist: “From the beginning the judging panel worked together in harmony and with a great degree of agreement. The fact that they reached near consensus on the longlist made choosing the shortlist easy. In the Judges’ opinion, the shortlist shows the high quality of the modern Arabic novel in its different forms.”

The six shortlisted titles were chosen from a longlist of 16, announced in November this year, following 123 submissions from across the Arab world. They are, in alphabetical order:

The Arch and the Butterfly
Mohammed Achaari

Tackling the themes of Islamic extremism and terrorism from a new angle, The Arch and the Butterfly explores the effect of terrorism on family life. It tells the story of a left-wing father who one day receives a letter from Al-Qaeda informing him that his son, who he believes is studying in Paris, has died a martyr in Afghanistan. The novel looks at the impact of this shocking news on the life of its hero and consequently on his relationship with his wife.

An Oriental Dance
Khalid al-Bari

An Oriental Dance tells the story of a young Egyptian who, on marrying an older British woman, moves to England. Through his eyes, the reader is given a vivid account of the struggles and relationships of the Arab expatriate community living in the UK.

The Hunter of the Chrysalises (Or the Head Hunter)
Amir Taj al-Sir

The Hunter of the Chrysalises is the story of a former secret service agent who, having been forced to retire due to an accident, decides to write a novel about his experiences. He starts to visit a café frequented by intellectuals, only to find himself the subject of police scrutiny.

Brooklyn Heights
Miral al-Tahawy

Brooklyn Heights tells the story of the New York’s Arab immigrants and those who live among them through the eyes of the female narrator. By contrasting her experiences in her chosen home, America, and her homeland Egypt, she reveals the problematic relationship between East and West. It is a story of fundamentalism and tolerance, loss and hope in love. Simple yet full of rich detail, the novel evokes the atmosphere of America over the last decade.

The Doves' Necklace
Raja Alem

The sordid underbelly of the holy city of Mecca is revealed in this astonishing story. The world painted by heroine Aisha embraces everything from prostitution and religious extremism to the exploitation of foreign workers under a mafia of building contractors, who are destroying the historic areas of the city. This bleak scene is contrasted with the beauty of Aisha’s love letters to her German boyfriend.

My Tormentor
Bensalem Himmich

In a gripping novel, whose narrative style is a blend of Kafka and One Thousand and One Nights, Himmich imagines an innocent man’s experience of extraordinary rendition in an American prison. During his captivity, the protagonist is subjected to interrogation and torture by both Arabs and foreigners and yet, against all odds, the author manages to find some hope in an otherwise desperate situation.

Banipal publishes its fortieth issue, and by amazing coincidence the issue celebrates Libyan literature at this extraordinary historical moment of uprising and change in the Arab world, especially in Libya. Page 1 is given over to a statement by hundreds of Arab intellectuals, writers and journalists that is circulating online, a declaration of “full solidarity with the Arab peoples who have gone out into the streets to demand their legitimate rights”.

With 135 pages of terrific reading from both Libya’s foremost and emerging fiction writers, introduced by Omar Abulqasim Alkikli on The Libyan Short Story and Ibrahim Ahmidan on The Libyan Novel, the feature presents a wide range of works by 17 authors from inside and outside Libya, as well as a profile of the pioneer literary figure Ali Mustafa al-Musrati, and other articles.

The hard-hitting and compelling short stories draw on life experiences, on family tales, on loss, emotions and fears, dreams, travelling, exploring different cultures, growing up, relations between the sexes. They also have equally intriguing titles, such as Omar el-Kiddi’s The wonderful short life of the dog Ramadan, Ghazi Gheblawi’s The Rosy Dream, Mohammed al-Asfar’s The Hoopoe, Ahmed Fagih’s pyschological drama Lobsters, Najwa Binshatwan’s His Excellency the Eminence of the Void, Azza Kamil al-Maghour’s The Bicycle, Mohammed al-Arishiya’s The Snake Catcher, Mohammed al-Anaizi’s He was Holding a Rosary. Giuma Bukleb gives us two tales set in North London, while Omar Abulqasim Alkikli and Redwan Abushwesha provide much food for thought with their very short satirical stories.

The excerpts and chapters from novels include Saleh Snoussi’s historical saga, set in Ottoman times, Valley of the Wind, Hisham Matar’s new work, written in English, Anatomy of a Disappearance, Wafa Al-Bueissa’s Hunger has Other Faces, Ibrahim al-Koni’s New Waw, about the winged people – birds of the desert, Mohammed Mesrati’s work-in-progress Mama Pizza, whose hero is Ali Guevara, and Razan Naim Moghrabi’s Women of the Wind, which was longlisted for the 2011 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Banipal 40 also includes works by award-winnning authors from Morocco, Oman and Lebanon, respectively Abdelkarim Jouiti, Jokha al-Harthi, Abdo Wazen, plus an in-depth interview with Lebanese novelist Alawiya Sobh.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: samuel@banipal.co.uk

Website: http://www.banipal.co.uk/