SHARJAH- The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People, UAEBBY, and sponsored by Etisalat Group, has announced that it is now accepting submissions for the 2018 edition from international authors, publishers, illustrators and interactive application developers for books written in Arabic.

Contestants have until the end of August to submit their applications in six categories, with prize money amounting to AED1.2 million to be presented to the winners at the opening ceremony of the 37th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair on 31st October, 2018.

All Arabic and international publishing houses can enter the competition, provided that the book is written in Arabic and not translated or quoted. It must target children and young people up to 18 years old and should be published by a registered publishing house or institution, and not individually issued. It should also be printed and published in hard copy and not have previously won any local, Arab or international award. Regarding the competition, Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY, said, "The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature has motivated authors, illustrators and publishers to offer premium books for children, and has succeeded in encouraging youngsters to read more for a decade.

"The 10th edition of the award aims to attract more creative minds to join us in our quest to improve the level of the children’s book industry by offering more books written in Arabic for young people. We are also looking to motivate app developers and designers to focus more on children by offering reading and entertainment tools, designed especially for them."

The terms and conditions for all categories are available on the etisalataward website. The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature features six categories: Children’s Book of the Year, worth AED300,000, to be distributed equally between the publisher, author and illustrator; Young Adult Book of the Year, with a prize of AED200,000, to be distributed equally between the author and publisher; Best Text; Best Illustration; Best Production; and Digital Book App of the Year, which are each to be awarded AED100,000. As part of the Award’s "Warsha" programme, an additional AED 300,000 will be dedicated to workshops for nurturing young Arabs’ ability to write and illustrate children’s books.

The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature was launched in 2009 as an initiative by Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and Patron of the UAEBBY.

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