The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, SZBA, today announced the first longlist of its 11th cycle for 2016/2017, in the ‘Contribution to the Development of Nations’ and ‘Literary and Arts Criticism’ categories.

The longlist for Development of Nations consists of six titles out of 145 nominations received from Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria and Syria. The works named in the category are: ‘Jadal Aldin wal hadatha’ (The Controversy of Religion and Modernity), written by Salah Salem from Egypt and published by General Egyptian Book Organization (2016). ‘Fil Islam al thaqafi’ (In cultural Islam), written by Bensalem Himmich of Morocco and published by Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah, Egypt (2016), ‘Al Islam Wal Insan’ (Islam and the Human Being), written by Mohammad Chahrour from Syria and published by Dar Al Saqi (2016), ‘Ijtihad wa Jadal al Hadatha’ (Ijtihad and Controversy of Modernity), written by Nora Bouhenache from Algeria and published by Difaf Publishing (2016), ‘Murafa’a Lil Mustalbalat al Arabiyya al Mumkina’ (A Plea for Probable Arabic Futures), written by Fehmi Jadaane from Jordan and published by Arab Network for Research and Publishing (2016) and ‘Al Dawla wal Din Fil Ijtima’ al Arabi al Islami’ (State and Religion in the Arabic-Islamic Sociology), written by Abdel ilah Belkeziz from Morocco and published by Al Maaref Forum (2015).

In the ‘Literary and Arts Criticism’ category, the longlist consists of 7 titles out of 120 nominations received from Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Lebanon.

The longlist works are: ‘Al Mahabba ‘ind al Sufiya’ (Love in Sufism), written by Asmaa Khoualdia from Tunisian and published by Difaf Publishing (2016), 'Fann al Sira fil Turath al ‘Arabi’ (The Art of Biography in Arabic Heritage), written by Noureddine Benkhoud of Tunisia and published by Deanship of Academic Research, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University (2016), ‘Faa'liah Alkhial alA'dbi’ (the Validity of Literary Fiction), written by Said Al Ghanimi of Iraqi/Australian nationality and published by Al Kamel Verlag (2015), ‘Al Sh’ir al ‘Arabil Hadith’ (Modern Arabic Poetry), written by Charbel Dagher from Lebanon and published by Al Maaref Forum (2015), ‘Afaq alNazariyya al Ndabiyya’ (The Prospects of Literary Theory), written by Saleh Zayyad from Saudi Arabia and published by Dar al Tanweer (2016), ‘Tayf Suleiman’ (Suleiman’s Spectrum), written by Mustapha Ennahhal from Morocco and published by Dar Abiraqraq (2016), and ‘Khitabul Akhlaq wal Hawiyya fi Rasa’el al Jahez (Moral and Identity Discourse in al Jahiz), written by Mohammad Mishbal of Morocco and published by Dar Konoz Al Ma’rifah (2015).

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award says that announcements will continue on a bi-weekly basis for the remaining awards.