As part of its endeavor to enhance the presence of Arabic literature at the global level, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced the launch of six translations of four works that won the award in the child literature and literature branches.
the works which were published in English, French, German and Ukrainian languages, in cooperation with four international publishing houses, in conjunction with celebrations of the circles. Literary Day, the International Day of the Arabic Language, which falls on December 18 of each year.
The list of winning books in the Child and Young Adult Literature branch that has been translated includes the story “I dream of being a cement mixer” by Kuwaiti writer Hussein Al-Mutawa, the winner in 2019, which was translated into English and French, in cooperation with the Canadian publishing house “The Book Land Press”, and into German. In cooperation with the “Sujit Verlag” publishing house, and the story “Without a Hat” by Kuwaiti writer Latifa Butti, winner of 2017, which was translated into French in cooperation with the Canadian publishing house “The Book Land Press”.
As for the translations of the winning novels in the Literature Branch, they included the novel “Autumn of Bara” by the Lebanese writer Abbas Baydoun, which won in 2017, which was translated into Ukrainian in cooperation with “Anita Antonenko Publishers”, and “Crazy Bethlehem” by the Palestinian writer Osama Al-Eisa, the winner in the year 2015, which was translated into French by the “Belleville Editions” publishing house, after “Anita Antonenko Publishers” last year translated it into Ukrainian after receiving a translation grant in its first year.
On this occasion, Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Secretary-General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and President of the Abu Dhabi Center for Arabic Language, said: “Translation is an important means to achieve cultural and civilizational communication among the peoples of the world, as it plays an important role in transferring peoples’ cultures, heritage and literary output to other languages, and for this reason Through the translation grant, we sought to provide a window for readers from different languages to see the best Arabic literary products in their mother tongue. ”
He added: “Our commitment to support Arab writers is continuous and enduring, by providing opportunities for international publishers to translate winning works and publish them in various languages, to enrich international literature with the best Arabic works. We are pleased that the grant available to publishing houses around the world will achieve the interaction of the major publishing houses for the winning works of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. Therefore, starting next year, the grant will be available for the shortlisted works as well. “
It is worth noting that the Sheikh Zayed Book Award launched a translation grant in 2018 to promote the spread of Arabic literature around the world, as the grant provides financial funding of up to $ 19,000, and includes the award-winning works, and is available to all international publishing houses working to publish books in foreign languages.