Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature facts for kids

The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is a special prize for books written in Arabic for young people. It celebrates the best books for children and teenagers. This award was started in 2009 by a group called the Arab Children's Book Publisher’s Forum.

The award is supported by Her Excellency Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi. She is the President of UAEBBY, which stands for the United Arab Emirates Board on Books for Young People. UAEBBY has been in charge of organizing the award since 2010. Each year, the winners are announced at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

How Books Can Enter

To enter the Etisalat Award, books must follow certain rules:

• They must be written in Arabic.
• They need to be original stories, not translations or copies of other books.
• The book must have been published within the last three years.
• It cannot have won any other awards before.
• The story must respect the values and traditions of Arab communities.
• Books for children aged 0 to 14 years can enter.
• Each publishing company can suggest up to three books.

The Prize Money

The Etisalat Award gives out a total of DH 1,000,000 (United Arab Emirates Dirhams). This money is shared between the people who create the book. Half of the money goes to the author (the writer) and/or the illustrator (the artist). The other half goes to the publisher, which is the company that prints and sells the book.

From 2009 to 2012, this award was one of the biggest literary prizes in the world for a single winner!

Award Categories

In 2013, the award changed to include several new categories. The 1,000,000 AED prize money is now split among these different winners:

• Best Text: 100,000 AED for the best writing.
• Best Illustration: 100,000 AED for the best pictures.
• Best Production: 100,000 AED for the best overall design and quality of the book.
• Best Children's Book of the Year: 300,000 AED, shared by the author, illustrator, and publisher of the top children's book.
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: 200,000 AED, shared by the author and publisher of the top book for young adults.
• Etisalat Award Workshops for Children’s Books: 200,000 AED for workshops that help people learn how to create children's books.

Winners

Winners from 2009-2012

During these years, the winner received the full 1,000,000 AED prize.

Winners from 2013 Onwards

2013 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year: Rod of Racemes by Afaf Tobala, illustrated by Hanadi Sleet, published by Nahdet Misr Publishing House (Egypt).
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: Ajwan by Emirati writer Noura al Noman, published by Nahdet Misr Publishing House (Egypt).
• Best Text: My Mum Jadida by UAE writer Mariam Suhail Al Rashedi.
• Best Illustration: Rod of Racemes by Hanadi Sleet.
• Best Production: When You Get Angry by Asala Publishing House (Lebanon).

2014 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year: Naughty Kitty by Abeer Ibrahim Taher, illustrated by Maya Fidawi.
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: Extraordinary Journeys to Unknown Places by Sonia Nimr, illustrated by Lubna Taha.
• Best Text: My Mom Loves Fattoosh by Eva Kosma, illustrated by Azza Hussein.
• Best Illustration: The Pomegranate Girl by Rania Zbib Daher, illustrated by Joelle Achkar.
• Best Production: Clever Walker by Nabiha Mheidly, illustrated by Hassan Zahreddine.

2015 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year: The Judge's Mule by Shafeek Mehdi, illustrated by Taiba Abdullah.
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: Getting out of the Bubble by Ibrahim Shalabi.
• Best Text: Me and My Granny written and illustrated by Ebtihaj Al Harthi.
• Best Illustration: Nour Runs Away from the Story written by Abeer Ali Al Kalbani, illustrated by Gulnar Hajo.
• Best Production: The Judge's Mule by Shafeek Mehdi, illustrated by Taiba Abdullah.

2016 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year: Excuse Me, Give Me Away by Nabiha Mheidli.
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: Screams Behind Doors by Rania Hussien Amin.
• Best Text: I Want to Be a Turtle by Amal Farah.
• Best Illustration: The Blue Lake of Questions, written by Maya Abu Al-Hayat.
• Best Production: Boulqash, authored and illustrated by Yara Bamiya.

2018 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year: Homesick (الحنين) written by Aisha al-Harthi, illustrated by Hassan Manasra from Dar al-Alam al-Arabi.
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: The Secret of Oil (سر الزيت) written by Walid Daqqa from the Tamer Institute.
• Best Text: Mama My Classmate (ماما بنت صفي) written by Lubna Taha, illustrated by Maya Fadawi from Al Salwa Books.
• Best Illustration: Think of Others by Mahmoud Darwish, illustrated by Sahar Abdullah from Tanmia Publishing House.
• Best Production: Koozy (كوزي) by Anastasia Qarawani, illustrated by Maja Kastelic from Al Salwa Books.

2019 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year:
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year:
• Best Text:
• Best Illustration:
• Best Production:

2020 Winners

• Best Children's Book of the Year: A Tale Within a Tale Within a Tale written by Hadil Ghoneim, illustrated by Sahar Abdallah for Shahrazizi’s Nights. Published by Dar al-Balsam in Egypt.
• Best Young Adult Book of the Year: شقائق النعمان (The Poppy Anemone), by Haya Saleh. Published by Al Yasmine for Publishing and Distribution in Jordan.
• Best Text: Words by Syria’s Jikar Khorshid. The book was illustrated by Maha Daher.
• Best Illustration: The Monster and Me, illustrated by Baraa Al Awour, written by Aisha Abdullah Al Harithi.
• Best Production: I’ll Be Okay, by Essam Asmir and Lama Azmar, illustrated by Hanane al-Kai. Published by Jabal Amman in Jordan.

See also

• Emirates Telecommunications Corporation
• Etisalat Prize for Literature