الجائزة الدولية لأدب الطفل العربي تواصل استقبال المشاركات حتى 31 أغسطس القادم

The International Prize for Arabic Children's Literature, organized by the UAE Board on Books for Young People, continues to accept submissions for its 17th edition until August 31, 2025. It invites authors, illustrators, and publishers from around the world to submit their creative works in Arabic through the official electronic platform of the prize.

The prize is one of the most prominent cultural initiatives specialized in children's literature, aiming to encourage literary and artistic production directed at children and young people, and to enhance the presence of Arabic books in this field by supporting works characterized by quality and originality, reflecting reality, inspiring imagination, and developing aesthetic and cognitive sensibilities among the youth.

The total value of the prize is 1.2 million UAE Dirhams, distributed across five main categories covering age groups from 5 to 18 years. The awards are granted equally between the author, illustrator, and publisher in four categories, while the Young Adults category award is given to the author and publisher only. Additionally, a fund has been allocated to support training programs aimed at developing the skills of young people working in writing, illustration, and publishing according to professional standards that respect cultural originality and international criteria.

This year's prize categories include: Early Childhood from birth to five years, Picture Books for ages 5 to 9, Chapter Books for ages 9 to 12, Young Adult Books for ages 13 to 18, in addition to this year's changing category, which is Non-Fiction Books, dedicated to works that enhance critical thinking and address real topics in engaging and appropriate artistic styles for the target audience.

It is required that the submitted works be original, written in Arabic, and published in print within the past five years, and they should not have won other awards or violated copyright or intellectual property rights. Manuscripts, educational books, series, electronic or audio publications are not accepted. Participation must be submitted through an accredited publishing house, and resubmission of works previously submitted in earlier editions is not allowed.

The organizing committee has called on all those interested in the children's book industry to participate with their works that combine educational value with literary and artistic creativity, contributing to building a reading, aware, and Arabic language-loving generation, along with attaching a digital copy of the work and filling out all required information in the electronic form.

The winners are scheduled to be announced during the opening ceremony of the Sharjah International Book Fair 2025, with the participation of a select group of writers, publishers, and professionals in the book field from within and outside the country, in a celebration that reaffirms the UAE's commitment to supporting Arab children's culture and enhancing the role of books in developing awareness and knowledge among future generations.