Maisoon Saqer wins Sheikh Zayed literature prize

Emirati author Maisoon Saqer has won the literature prize at The Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, for her novel Maq’ha Reesh, Ain Ala Massr (Eye on Egypt: Café Riche).

The annual awards recognise “outstanding” writing and translation in humanities that “enriches Arab intellectual, cultural, literary and social life”. The winners each receive 750,000 UAE dirhams (£165,000).

Saqer’s novel, published by Nahdet Misr Publishing, centres on a legendary cafe in Cairo that was at the heart of Egypt’s social, political and cultural life in the 20th Century. It chronicles modern Egyptian history and tells the story of a place in the midst of transformation.

The Arabic Culture in Other Languages prize was awarded to Iraqi-American academic Dr Muhsin J Al-Musawi for The Arabian Nights in Contemporary World Cultures: Global Commodification, Translation, and the Culture Industry (Cambridge University Press). Al-Musawi examines the legacy of the nights among writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers and philosophers, spanning Marcel Proust to Walt Disney, considering their translation and appropriation in the context of colonial legacies.

Syrian author Maria Daadoush won the Children’s Literature prize for Loghz al Kora al Zujajiya (The Mystery of the Glass Ball) published by Dar Al Saqi. Set in 2021, it recounts the tale of a young boy and girl who meet on a train ride in the desert and embark on a series of challenging adventures, confronting criminals set on destroying the ecological life of an oasis.

The Young Author prize went to Tunisian writer Dr Mohamed Al-Maztouri for Al Badawa fi al She’er al Arabi al Qadeem (Bedouinism in Ancient Arabic Poetry) published by Manouba University and the GLD Foundation in 2021. The book explores the influence of nomadism in ancient Arabic poetry, particularly looking at how imagery of the Arab desert translates into poetic form, and how poets have transcended stereotypical images of the desert as barren land.

Translation was awarded to Egyptian translator and author Dr Ahmed Aladawi, for his translation from English into Arabic of Nash’at al Insaniyat Einda al Muslimeen wa fi al Gharb al Maseehi (The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West) by the late George Makdisi. The book explores how western thought has its roots in the mediaeval Islamic world. Dr Aladawi’s translation, published by Madarat for Research & Publishing, was praised for balancing a faithfulness to the original text with a keenness to adhere to the spirit of the Arabic language.

Literary and Art Criticism was scooped up by Moroccan author Mohamed Aldahi for Al Sarid wa Taw’am al Rooh: Min al Tamtheel ila al Istinaa’ (The Narrator and the Soulmate: From Acting to Faking) published by Le Centre Culturel du Livre. The book examines the evolving relationship between the author and the narrator in autobiographical texts, from ancient to modern times.

Publishing and Technology was awarded to The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt), in recognition of its global digital archive, and its academic Embassies of Knowledge initiative, which provides resources for students and researchers.

The winning and shortlisted titles in the Children’s Literature and Literature categories will also be eligible for translation funding through the award’s ongoing translation grant, aimed at international publishers.

Dr Ali bin Tamim, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, said: “We are delighted to have had another record-breaking year of submissions, which included rigorous research, creative authorship and authoritative publishing and programming. The work of this year’s laureates presents remarkable intellectual, linguistic and creative diversity and point to a thriving contemporary Arab literary scene. We are particularly pleased to showcase winners representing seven countries around the world and to support Arabic culture on the world stage, by recognising and promoting the global advancement of Arabic literature and culture in both Arabic and non-Arabic languages.”

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Louvre Abu Dhabi on the 24th May, which coincides with the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, running from 23rd to 29th May.