2023 Sheikh Zayed Book Prize Awards Ceremony

Egyptian composer and musician Omar Khairat is perhaps the most famous of the 17th award program’s laureates.

Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize and Chairman of the Arabic Language Center in Abu Dhabi, delivered a welcome address at the award ceremony on 23 May. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson

By: Managing Editor Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson

Composer Omar Khairat joins six honorees

AAn invited audience of hundreds of publishing professionals and Abu Dhabi leadership attended the 17th edition of the Publishing Industry Awards on Tuesday (23 May) to honor the winners Sheikh Zayed Book Prize.

Unlike previous events, the show was held not at the Louvre Abu Dhabi Theater but in the spacious conference hall of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi International Book Fair Runs until Sunday (May 28).

Both the incentive program and the show itself are in Abu Dhabi Arabic Language CenterThis is by Dr AS Alibin TamimUnder his direction, Tuesday’s programming was not only made more comfortable and convenient—with space for a pre-ceremony reception and ample space for invited audiences—but also kept in a very economical time within 20 minutes.

Winners of the 17th Sheikh Zayed Book Prize, publication point of view As readers know, the high point of the month was the announcement on May 15 that Egyptian composer and musician Omar Khairat was this year’s “Cultural Personality of the Year.” Not only does Khairat’s music straddle the boundaries of Eastern and Western instruments, but it can still be heard in live performances hosted by the composer himself, who at 74 seems tireless.

He will present his work at the Cairo Opera House on May 29 before taking the stage at the foot of the Great Sphinx of Giza on June 3. Later in the day, Khairat would remind fans that he started his music career as a drummer for a local band.

A gracious, unassuming man, Khairat seemed genuinely moved publication point of view Talk to him before the ceremony. He reveled in the attention of the media and event attendees and stood proudly on stage with the other honorees as Bin Tamim and others presented him with the award.

The rolling, warm, rich symphony the audience heard in the hall before the ceremony was actually excerpts from some of Hairat’s unpublished orchestral works.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented awards to each member of the Class of 2023 Laureates, presented by Bin Tamim Take the stage to support. As our readers know, the 17th edition proved to be a record-breaking event, with 3,151 submissions from 60 countries, 22 of which were in the Arab world.

Winners of the 17th Sheikh Zayed Book Prize

Winners of the 17th Sheikh Zayed Book Prize received a standing ovation from an invited audience in Abu Dhabi on May 23.

Winners for the six event categories planned for this year include the following groups.

literature: Iraqi poet Ali Jafar Alarak Ira Ain Ayatuha Kasida (Poetry, where are you going? autobiography)From Alaan Publishing, Jordan, 2022.

Arabic culture in other languages: French writer Mathieu Tillier The Invention of Khadi: Justice Among Muslims, Jews, and Christians During the First Century of IslamFrom Editions de la Sorbonne, 2017.

Young Authors: Novel by Algerian author Said Khatibi Nehayat Al Sahra’a (Desert’s End)Antoine/Nofal from Hachette, 2022.

translate: Book translated by Tunisian author Chokri Al Saadi Al-Ibara wa-al-Mi’na: Dirasat fi Nathariyat al-A’amal al-Lughawiya (Expression and Meaning: A Study in the Theory of Speech Acts) by John R. Searle, published in 2021 by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs – Tunisian Institute of Translation and translated from English to Arabic.

Art and Literature Review: Jalila Al Tritar from Tunisia Mara’i an-Nisaa: Dirasat fi Kitabat al-That an-Nisaa’iya al-Aarabiya (Women’s Perspectives: A Study of Arab Women’s Self-Writing)From Tunisian Book House, 2021.

Publishing and Technology: The Egyptian publishing house Dar ElAin Publishing is a cultural institution dedicated to “touching reality and developing book writing in content and form”.

Cultural Figure of the Year: Egyptian composer and musician Omar Khairat, Bin Tamim once said of him: “HMusic has always inspired deeper meaning and emotion, bearing the hallmarks of our cultures in its notes, and he has been able to masterfully blend these cultures with other cultures to create timeless masterpieces that will forever be etched in the In our memories and our identities. “

The book award is one of the richest in the world. In total, it grossed AED 750,000 ($204,209) in each of its book categories, with a total value of AED 7 million ($1.9 million), including a special Cultural Personality of the Year category.

Composer Omar Khairat, cultural figure of the year for the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize, is blessed by the audience after the Zayed Book Prize ceremony at the National Exhibition Center in Abu Dhabi, May 23.Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson

Read more about publishing views on the Sheikh Zayed Book Prize here hereMore information about Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center is hereMore about Arabic literature is heremore about the translation is here. More from our international industry publishing and book awards at here. More publishing views from the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at hereand more The market in the United Arab Emirates is here.

Publishing Perspectives is the world’s media partner Sheikh Zayed Book Prize and International Publishers Association. Our extended coverage of ADIBF 2023 is supported by Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.