Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2025 Winners Announced

Post by: Pratik Kumar

Photo : Abu Dhabi Media Office

Under the care of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is the President of the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre told the names of the winners of the 19th Sheikh Zayed Book Award. They also told the name of the Cultural Person of the Year. This big prize is given to people who write good books, do deep thinking, or help share culture. The judging team read all the books carefully and chose the best ones. They used fair and honest rules while choosing.

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People from seven different countries won this year. These countries are the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, and the UAE. The meeting to agree on the winners was led by His Excellency Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan and other top leaders who work in culture and learning in the UAE. They all met, shared ideas, and then chose the winners together.

Writer Hoda Barakat, who is from Lebanon and France, won in the Literature part. Her book is called Hind or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World and was printed in 2024. The book talks about a woman who has a health problem that changes how she looks. The story shows her life and feelings. It talks about how some people live on the side of society and how others treat them. It also asks questions about beauty in different places.

Latifa Labsir from Morocco won in the Children’s Book part. Her book is named The Phantom of Sabiba, and it was also printed in 2024. The book tells the story of a girl and her brother who has autism. It is told by the sister, and shows how she learns to care for and understand him. The book uses soft and easy words so children can understand the story well. It also teaches children to care for others who are different.

Marco Di Branco from Italy won in the Translation part. He worked on an old book called Orosius. This book was first written in Latin, then changed into Arabic long ago, and now he has turned it into English. The new version has both Arabic and English pages. This helps people understand how ideas moved between old cultures. His work makes it easier for many people to read and learn from this book.

Dr Said Laouadi from Morocco won for his book Food and Language: Cultural Digs in Arab Old Writings. He studied how people talked about food in old Arab poems, stories, and sayings. He showed how food is more than just eating—it has meaning in culture and speech. His ideas are new and deep, and they help people look at writing in a new way.

Professor Dr Mohammed Bechari from the UAE won the award for his book The Right to Strive: Thoughts on Muslim Women’s Rights. His book talks about how women in Islam can work and take part in today’s world. He used strong old books and writings to support his points. His book says women can be partners in life and work, just like men.

Andrew Peacock from the UK won for his book Arabic Writing Life in Southeast Asia in the 1600s and 1700s. He wrote about how the Arabic language and Muslim thinking reached Southeast Asia. He also talked about kings and leaders there who used Arabic. His book helps people know how far Arabic culture traveled.

Rasheed Alkhayoun, who is from Iraq and the UK, won for his work on an old book called News of Women. He worked hard to bring this old book back with clear words. It shares many stories about women from long ago. His work helps today’s readers learn about women’s voices in history.

The famous writer Haruki Murakami from Japan was named the Cultural Person of the Year. His books are loved by people all over the world and have been printed in many languages, including Arabic. His writing mixes dream and real life. His stories talk about people, their thoughts, and their search for meaning. This award says thank you to him for sharing deep stories that bring different cultures together.

The winners will get their awards on 28 April 2025 during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Murakami will get a gold medal, a thank-you paper, and one million dirhams. The other winners will each get 750,000 dirhams, a gold medal, and a thank-you paper.

This year, the award got over 4,000 books from 75 countries. For the first time, people from Albania, Bolivia, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mali sent in their work.

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a big and known prize. It helps writers, thinkers, and book lovers. It supports sharing books in many languages. The award helps different cultures come closer by reading and learning from each other.

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