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Entries For 2011 Etisalat Award Extended To 11 Sept |
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The UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) has extended the deadline for submission of nominations for the 3rd annual Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature from 31 August to 11 September. In an announcement UAEBBY said that the step is taken to accommodate publishers who were unable to make the original deadline due to Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr. The winner of the Award will be announced in November at the opening of the annual Sharjah International Book Fair. UAEBBY management has sent a circular about the decision to its members and urged them to speed up the submission of their entries, emphasising the importance of the AED1 million Award and its significance on the Arabic and international levels. The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature was launched in 2009 by UAEBBY President Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, with the support of Etisalat, and is the most significant award for children’s literature in the Arab world. The AED1 million Award - one of the largest single-book prizes in the world - is awarded each year to the best Arabic children’s book, with 50 percent of the prize money going to the winning publisher, and the remaining 50 percent being divided between the author and illustrator as per the decision of the Jury. Commenting on the decision to extend the deadline for submission of nominations, Sheikha Bodour said, "The decision was made both to accommodate the huge response received from various publishing houses dedicated to children’s books, and to accommodate publishing houses that wish to participate but were unable to make their submissions by the original deadline because of the coincidence of the deadline for submission and the holy month of Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr holidays." "The response we have received for this year’s award exceeded our expectations, in spite of current political tension and developments in a number of Arab countries. Although we expected these circumstances to negatively affect the number of publishing houses making submissions, there has in fact been a notable increase in the number of entries received from both Arab and international publishing houses - a fact that reflects the success of the Award and its stature within the children’s book industry," she added.
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