The Sharjah Department of Cultural Affairs has announced the winners of the 28th edition of the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity, organised under the patronage of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

Mohammed Ibrahim Al Qaseer, Director of Cultural Affairs at the Sharjah Department of Culture and Secretary General of the Award, revealed that 18 winners from various Arab countries were recognised across six literary fields: poetry, novel, short story, playwriting, children’s literature and literary criticism.

“With each new edition, the award reaffirms its essence by recognising emerging talent in the world of Arabic literature. This initiative embodies the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, who laid the foundation stone for an award that stands as a pioneer in nurturing creativity. Its focus on young writers and their debut literary achievements reflects an exceptional cultural approach, prioritising the encouragement of talent from across the Arab world,” Al Qaseer stated.

He added: “This year, the award attracted more than 470 literary works from Arab countries and some foreign countries, submitted by Arabic speakers and residents in these countries. This highlights the importance of the award for Arab writers, with each edition opening new doors to uncover fresh creative voices.”

The Secretary-General of the Award also noted that the submitted works for the six categories included 108 entries in poetry, 116 in short story, 90 in novel, 64 in playscript, 79 in children’s literature, and 13 in literary criticism.

The three winners in poetry are Ala Allah Taher Ala Allah Mohammed Siddiq from Yemen for his collection “Memoirs of an Ignorant Citizen,” Moroccan Mohammed Abijo for his collection “Fingers of Nostalgia,” and Sudanese Sherihan Al Tayeb Kalbash Dalil for her collection “The River’s Prayer for the Land”.

The three winners in the short story are Syrian Batoul Yassin Abu Ali for her collection “Women of the Family”, Sa’ad Sabbar Daham Al Samarrai from Iraq, for his collection “Colors of the Tigris”, and Moroccan Ilham Zneid for her collection “Office of the Exchange of the Senses”.

The winners in the novel category include Syrian Marwa Diab Al Haiji for her novel “As a Shipment in the Space of an Atom”, Hisham Al Mouden from Morocco, for his novel “Tattoos of the Soul – the Patient”, and Bushra bint Qasim bin Musabah Al Kalbaniya – Oman, for her novel “The Waterwheel of the Soul”.

The three winners in the field of theatre are all from Egypt, including Huda Helmy Youssef Metwally for her play “The Great Jump”, Amr Abdel Hadi El Sayed Madi, also from Egypt, for his play “The Envious… This Is What My Father” and Taha Hussein Mahmoud Hammad for his play “A Superfluous Man”.

The winners in the field of children’s literature are Fatima Abdel Hamid Mohamed Ali from Egypt for her collection “A Robot Is in Our House”, Ahmed Kamal Ahmed Mohamed from Egypt for his collection “Mazen and the City of Enchanted Dolls”, and Yaman Fouad Amin Abdul Razzaq from Syria for her collection “In Honesty Is Salvation”.

The winners in the field of criticism include Mahmoud Wajih Mahmoud Ibrahim Aweidah from Egypt, for his study “Manifestations of Modernity in Arabic Poetry”, Mohammed Zaki Ahmed Al Qudah from Jordan, for his study “Between the Two Arab Poetic banks between Authenticity and Modernization”. The third winner is Nabila Qutb Roshdy Zaid – Egypt, for her study “Meta-poetic self-awareness”.

The award ceremony honouring the winners will take place in April 2025, at the Palace of Culture in Sharjah.