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The Sheikh Zayed Book Award announced today the list for 'Literature' and 'Children's Literature' classifications following a series of intensive conferences of the Scientific Committee recently. The list consists of three titles per category which have been unanimously authorized by the judges in their particular classifications.

Titles in the Literature list include works from Yemen, Iraq and Egypt as follows;

'Bakhur 'adani' (Incense from Aden); by Yemeni Novelist Ali Al-Muqri (2014) released by Dar al-Saqi, Beirut. The novel is inspired by the social and political history of the city of Aden, typically understood for its religious tolerance and ethnic diversity. The unique narrates the trip of a French soldier upon reaching the port of Aden throughout World War II. The soldier finds out Arabic Language, and engages in Yemeni public life, in a tolerant environment which quickly appears into extreme dispute zone where suffrage and migration begins; turning Aden's once known paradise to a location of human torment. The author ponders the significance of home and what constitutes it.

'Thi'bat al hob wal kutub' (The she-wolf of love and books), by Muhsin al-Ramli from Iraq. The novel is released by Dar Al-Mada, Baghdad 2015. The author takes the reader through an intricate journey of emails in between Hyam and Muhsen posing as his brother, Hassan.

'Ma wara'a al kitaba' (Beyond Writing) by Egyptian novelist Ibrahim Abdelmeguid and published by Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah, Cairo 2014. In his book, the author seeks to expose the political, social and cultural contexts that accompanied his work as a literary author, created in the narrative building often dependant on "time", along with event of the place, particularly the city of Alexandria his birthplace.

As for kids's Literature, 3 titles were picked from Lebanon, Syria and Saudi;

'Ta'er al warwar'(The bee-eater) by Lebanese author Hassan Abdallah, published by Academia International, Lebanon 2015. The story is about a group of school-aged children going after a little bird with a damaged wing, which conceals behind the bushes to avoid getting caught.

'Al bahth 'an al saqr ghannam' (Looking for Ghannam, the Falcon) by Lina Al Hassan Hawyan from Syria and published by Dar Al Adab, Lebanon 2015; The story spins around a 14 year-old boy called 'Sabah' whose uncle Khalid loses his falcon 'Ghannam'; they set out to search for him in the desert accompanied by Sarhan, the hunting dog. On the first day of the journey, Sabah forgets his uncle and finds himself all alone with the canine and a bottle of water, some flour and ghee. The author takes us on a trip of seven long days into the strange and gorgeous world of the Sahara to follow Sabah's lone roam through the desert.

'Eed fi ibreeq' (Fest in a Jug) by Saudi author Nouf Alosaimi, released by Kadi and Ramadi, Saudi Arabia 2014. The story is about the spiritual festival commemorated by Muslims (Eid al-Adha) and how a little lady finds out about it and experiences the gorgeous traditions surrounding it.

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award will be revealing the rest of the short lists in the coming couple of days followed by announcement of winners. The yearly award discussion event will be held throughout the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (April 27 to May 3, 2016) at the International Exhibition Center in Abu Dhabi.

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