The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) has revealed the shortlisted titles in the ‘Young Author’ and ‘Children’s Literature’ categories for the 13th edition of the Award. The ‘Young Author’ shortlist included three titles that were selected from among 12 longlisted books, while the ‘Children’s Literature’ shortlist also included three works that were selected from among 10 longlisted titles.

The titles shortlisted for the Young Author category are: ‘Hamam Al Dar’ (Doves of the House) by Kuwaiti writer Saud Alsanousi, published by Arab Scientific Publishers – Difaf Publishing (2017), ‘Al Ma’rifa Wal Sulta’ (Knowledge and Power: Approaching the Worlds of Michel Foucault) by Moroccan scholar Omar Al Tawer, published by Editions Approaches (2018) and ‘Rouh Al Qiyam Wa Houriyat Al Mafaheem’ (The Essence of Values and the Freedom of Social Concepts) by Algerian scholar Dr. Abderrezak Belagrouz‏,  published by The Arabian Establishment for Thought and Innovation (2017).

On the other hand, the shortlist for the Children’s Literature category includes: ‘Ana Lastu Anta’ (I Am Not You) by Syrian author Jekar Khourchid, published by AlHadaek Group in 2018, ‘Ahlam An Akoun Khalat Asmant’ (I Dream of Being a Concrete Mixer) by Kuwaiti author Hussain Almutawaa, published by AlHadaek Group in 2018 and ‘Ayna Minqari?’ (Where is My Beak?) by Jordanian author and illustrator Yara Bamieh, published by Palestine Writing Workshop in 2018.

It is worth mentioning that the ‘Young Author’ category received 365 nominations this year, while the Children’s Literature category received 168 nominations.